Category Archives: electoral college

“The Deadline That Could Hand Trump the Election; A 133-year-old law creates perverse incentives for the Trump administration—and could make a chaotic postelection period even more tumultuous.”

September 9, 2020, 7:55 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

The Atlantic: Many Americans know that counting all of the votes in this November’s presidential election is going to take extra time. Few people realize there’s a specific deadline by which states must finish.The 1887 Electoral Count Act seems… Continue reading

“A delayed mail truck can decide the presidency”

September 9, 2020, 6:25 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

John Koza Hill oped: The National Popular Vote compact has already been enacted into law by 15 states and the District of Columbia (together possessing 196 electoral votes) and will take effect when enacted by states with 74 more… Continue reading

“The Electoral College Will Destroy America; And no, New York and California would not dominate a popular vote.”

September 9, 2020, 6:17 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Jesse Wegman NYT column.

Ninth Circuit Unanimously Rejects Challenge to California’s “Winner-Take-All” System for Allocating State’s Electoral College Votes

September 8, 2020, 5:48 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

No surprise.

Must Read from Larry Diamond and Ned Foley: “The Terrifying Inadequacy of American Election Law; The country has narrowly averted catastrophic deadlocks over the presidential-election outcome before. We may not be so fortunate in 2020.”

September 8, 2020, 7:38 amElection Meltdown, electoral collegeRick Hasen

Atlantic ideas piece: In that event, who ought to be obeyed as commander in chief starting at noon on January 20: a reelected President Trump, or an Acting President Pelosi?The best time to act to avert this disaster scenario… Continue reading

Suit Seeking to Kick Kanye West Off Virginia Ballot Alleges That At Least Three People Listed as West Electors Had Their Signatures Obtained via Fraud

September 1, 2020, 6:19 pmcampaigns, chicanery, electoral collegeRick Hasen

You can find the complaint at this link. As Ben Jacobs noted the other day, this may be the first time a candidate for President has been sued by one of the candidate’s purported presidential electors.

“How Has the Electoral College Survived for This Long?”

August 3, 2020, 1:19 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Alex Keyssar NYT oped: As our revived national conversation on race has made clear, the legacies of slavery and white supremacy run wide and deep in American society and political life. One such legacy — which is particularly noteworthy… Continue reading

“Bloc voting is a bigger problem than electors going rogue. Here’s a fix.”

July 13, 2020, 9:41 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Kevin Johnson at The Fulcrum.

“Can We Please Pick the President by Popular Vote Now? The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in the faithless electors’ case is another reminder of how antiquated and undemocratic the Electoral College is.”

July 6, 2020, 9:19 pmelectoral college, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Jesse Wegman NYT column.

“Did the Popular Vote Get a Win Today? A Supreme Court ruling on faithless electors could indirectly help those who want to circumvent the Electoral College entirely.”

July 6, 2020, 9:14 pmelectoral college, UncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Supreme Court Allows States to Punish ‘Faithless’ Electoral College Voters”

July 6, 2020, 8:52 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs.

“Supreme Court Rules State ‘Faithless Elector’ Laws Constitutional”

July 6, 2020, 3:44 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Nina Totenberg for NPR: Even Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, who represented the rogue electors before the Supreme Court, appeared only mildly disappointed at the loss. “We took this case initially because we just thought this needed to be… Continue reading

Analysis: Supreme Court Saves the Country from Potential Chaos by Ruling (Unanimously) That States May Replace or Punish “Faithless Electors”

July 6, 2020, 8:22 amelectoral college, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The Court’s decision in Chiafalo (the Washington election case) is at this link. The per curiam opinion in Baca (the Colorado case), with Justice Sotomayor recused, is at this link. The decision is a great relief because a contrary… Continue reading

Ned Foley on Why the Wirth-Rogers Electoral College Scenario is Unlikely (and What to Really Worry About)

July 4, 2020, 10:38 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

The other day Tim Wirth and Tom Rogers wrote: How Trump Could Lose the Election and Still Remain President. Ned Foley responds in a thread starting here: 1/5 I very much support idea of congressional hearing on 12th… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law