Category Archives: electoral college

Pam Karlan: “The Virtues of the Electoral Count Reform Act”

August 1, 2022, 7:30 amelection subversion risk, electoral collegeRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Pam Karlan, now back at Stanford: The Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) is a vast improvement over the existing Electoral Count Act of 1887, whose ambiguities and gaps became evident during… Continue reading

Some thoughts on the judicial review mechanism in the Electoral Count Reform Act

July 22, 2022, 9:54 amelectoral collegeDerek Muller

I was pleased to join a statement with Professors Foley, McConnell, Pildes, and Smith in support of the Electoral Count Reform Act. That statement includes a nice summary of the highlights of the legislation. I wanted to drill down on… Continue reading

Is the Senate Close to an Electoral Count Act Deal?

July 14, 2022, 4:31 amelectoral collegeDan Tokaji

Politico reports that it may be: “Senators involved in the monthslong effort say they’re getting close to a deal. Their goal is passing legislation on the Electoral Count Act by the end of the year, well in advance of the… Continue reading

“Jan. 6 hearings highlight problems with certification of presidential elections and potential ways to fix them”

July 7, 2022, 6:29 amelectoral collegeDerek Muller

I have this updated piece at The Conversation on Electoral Count Act reform.

“Reform the Electoral Count Act”

July 6, 2022, 7:42 amelectoral collegeDan Tokaji

Josiah Daniel op-ed in the Dallas Morning News.

“Congressman Hatton W. Sumners’s 1928 Amendment to the Electoral Count Act”

June 21, 2022, 12:27 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Josiah Daniel has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Inspired by the April 4, 2022 issuance of “Principles for ECA Reform” by the working group convened by the American Law Institute, this paper makes three points. First,… Continue reading

“Pence-world’s final takedown of Trump’s Jan. 6 bid to remain in power revealed in his lawyer’s memo”

June 11, 2022, 2:56 pmelectoral collegeDerek Muller

Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan & Kyle Cheney have a three-page memo from Vice President Mike Pence’s attorney Greg Jacob on January 5, 2021. It appears he’s responding to a six-page memo from John Eastman (which followed a shorter memo),… Continue reading

The (unsteady) origins of the Plenary Presidential Elector Selection Power Doctrine

June 10, 2022, 10:41 amelectoral collegeDerek Muller

Rick P. has posted something that I’ve been puzzling over for a while, and I’m glad he did so: there’s a formal legal distinction between the “Legislature Thereof Clauses,” more popularly known as the “independent state legislature doctrine”… Continue reading

Must-read CNN Oped by Judge Luttig: “The Republican blueprint to steal the 2024 election”

April 27, 2022, 6:59 amchicanery, election subversion risk, electoral college, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Judge Luttig: That objective is not somehow to rescind the 2020 election, as they would have us believe. That’s constitutionally impossible. Trump’s and the Republicans’ far more ambitious objective is to execute successfully in 2024 the very same plan… Continue reading

Will there be a “spoiler” in 2024?

April 25, 2022, 7:07 amalternative voting systems, electoral college, political partiesNed Foley

Andrew Yang is the guest on the new must-listen episode of Sarah Longwell’s Focus Group podcast. They discuss the possibility of a significant third-party, or independent, candidate in the 2024 presidential race. Yang, who’s started his own Forward Party, essentially… Continue reading

“Lawmakers worry 2020 will provide a blueprint for stealing a future election”

April 17, 2022, 4:08 pmelection subversion risk, electoral collegeRick Hasen

NBC News: Congress is trying to strengthen the law, though with little to show for its work. For much of the past year, Democratic lawmakers who control both houses focused instead on broader election reform aimed at expanding… Continue reading

“Here’s What Electoral Count Act Reform Should Look Like”

April 5, 2022, 12:12 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Thomas Berry of Cato and Genevieve Nadeau of Protect Democracy offer these ideas over at Lawfare.

Breaking: American Law Institute Issues Proposals for Electoral Count Act Reform Endorsed by Key Bipartisan Legal Leaders

April 4, 2022, 7:23 amelection subversion risk, electoral collegeRick Hasen

This could well have large influence over ECA reform, not only for its substance but for who is behind the set of endorsements: At the invitation of the leadership of The American Law Institute, a group whose members span a… Continue reading

Arizona’s new proof of citizenship law treats presidential & congressional voters differently, a constitutional distinction in federal power over elections

March 31, 2022, 12:10 pmElections Clause, electoral collegeDerek Muller

Rick linked to an NPR story on Arizona’s HB 2492, and this line caught my eye: “Under HB 2492, if elections officials can’t find evidence that a federally registered voter is a U.S. citizen, that voter can’t vote by… Continue reading