“Presidential Election Disruptions: Balancing the Rule of Law and Emergency Response”
A new report from the Fordham Rule of Law Clinic on the Electoral Count Reform Act.
Category Archives: electoral college
“Trump 2020 lawyer indicated he may be target of Fulton County probe, court docs say”
Kyle Cheney in Politico:
Ray Smith III, a lawyer who represented President Donald Trump in litigation aimed at reversing Georgia’s 2020 election results, has indicated he may be a target of Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis’ criminal probe.
Smith’s… Continue reading
“Wisconsin judge rejects request to break up lawsuit targeting false Trump electors”
WisPolitics has the order here.
“Atlanta DA Fights Trump’s Bid to End Election Interference Probe”
Jan Wolfe in the Wall Street Journal:
Atlanta-area prosecutor Fani Willis defended her investigation of Donald Trump, urging a judge to reject the former president’s request to disqualify her from further probing efforts to overturn the November 2020 presidential… Continue reading
Why did Justice O’Connor abandon her own Article II argument in Bush v. Gore?
Yesterday, I looked at the draft memorandum Justice Sandra Day O’Connor circulated on December 10, 2000, ahead of the December 11 oral argument in Bush v. Gore. Her memorandum focused on Article II. By December 12, however, the per… Continue reading
Justice O’Connor created the framework and the heart of the language for Chief Justice Rehnquist’s concurring opinion in Bush v. Gore
Many of the papers of the late Justice John Paul Stevens have been released, including papers from Bush v. Gore. Over at CNN, Joan Biskupic has a four-page memorandum that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor circulated to the justices before oral… Continue reading
“Counting Electoral Votes: How the Constitution Empowers Congress—and Not the Vice President—to Resolve Electoral Disputes”
New report from Joseph Bessette and Gary Schmitt at AEI. Highlights:
The vice president does not have “plenary” authority under the Constitution to settle disputes over Electoral College votes.
Analysis of the Constitution’s history, text, and underlying principles, along with… Continue reading
Supreme Court’s developing Compact Clause jurisprudence may affect National Popular Vote
Years ago, as a law student (!), I published a piece in the Election Law Journal on the Compact Clause and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. I wrote a follow-up there, too. In these pieces, I argued… Continue reading
“Jan. 6 documents: Georgia legislators answered Trump’s call to overturn election”
AJC:
With his chances of winning Georgia slipping away in December 2020, then-President Donald Trump hit upon a novel scheme to stay in power: State legislators would name him the winner.
So, while his allies spun dubious tales of voting … Continue reading
Cleta Mitchell, in Jan. 6 Committee Deposition, Expresses View that (Old) Electoral Count Act is Unconstitutional and Legislatures Have Absolute Power over Electors; The People’s Vote for President is Just “Advisory”
Amazing from the Cleta Mitchell deposition transcript, at pp. 20-21:
State legislatures should examine their election codes after passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act
The new Electoral Count Reform Act will have an effect on state election laws in presidential elections. The timing mechanisms have changed, and rules now expressly invite state legislatures to make explicit choices before Election Day. And states should be… Continue reading
“The Electoral College is hazardous to democracy, Raskin says”
Politico:
Rep. Jamie Raskin said Sunday the Electoral College “has become a danger” to American democracy.
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the Maryland Democrat said: “I think that the Electoral College now, which has given us five popular vote… Continue reading
Parliamentary tweaks to the Electoral Count Reform Act
Earlier this week, I noted that the Senate’s Electoral Count Reform Act was included in the omnibus bill, with “quite minor technical and parliamentary changes.” I wanted to highlight what those are.
There are a few word choice changes… Continue reading
After Celebrating Likely Passage of Bill Fixing the Electoral Count Act, We Must Focus on What Didn’t Make It into the Omnibus to Help Prevent Future Election Subversion
I’m thrilled, as Derek reported, that the must-pass omnibus bill in the Senate includes reform of the Electoral Count Act. As I detailed in this Harvard Law Review Forum piece, Donald Trump and his allies in 2020 tried… Continue reading