Category Archives: electoral college

“Should Members Of The Electoral College Be Allowed To Vote Their Conscience?”

February 11, 2020, 7:56 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Listen to Texas Public Radio: The Electoral College has the ultimate decision-making power when choosing the next president and members are supposed to — and in some states required to — vote for the winner of their state’s popular vote.… Continue reading

Breaking: Supreme Court Takes Colorado and Washington Faithless Elector Cases, Teeing Up Major Issue and Possible Uncertainty in 2020 Presidential Election

January 17, 2020, 12:38 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

The Court’s order granting and consolidating the two cases is here. From my earlier Slate piece on these cases: As Lessig explained to me, the Supreme Court “should have the opportunity to reflect on the question without it determining… Continue reading

The Electoral College

January 6, 2020, 2:12 pmelectoral collegeJustin Levitt

The latest issue of The Canvass leads off with a primer on some of the policy options for choosing electors (and the pending litigation on whether the choices of “faithless electors” can be punished or superseded).

Ned Foley on Billionaires, Ranked Choice Voting, and the Electoral College

December 16, 2019, 8:33 amalternative voting systems, electoral collegeRick Hasen

Ned at CNN: How can it be that our electoral system is so vulnerable to the personal fancies of individual plutocrats? I explore the answer in my new book, but the short of it is that our Electoral College… Continue reading

Uniform Law Commission Urges Supreme Court to Hear Colorado “Faithless Elector” Electoral College Case

December 9, 2019, 10:40 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

You can find the brief (Jim Bopp counsel of record) here.

Michael Rosin and David Post File Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Urging It to Take Washington State Faithless Elector Case

November 8, 2019, 7:47 amelectoral college, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Read it here.

Watch the Archived Video Recording of the Recent Harvard Law School Conference on the Electoral College

October 24, 2019, 2:06 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

It was a great conference, and you can watch these videos: Introductory Remarks & Panel I: The Electoral College and Majority Rule: Past, Present, and Future Panel II: Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? A Discussion Keynote … Continue reading

“End the Electoral College?”

October 21, 2019, 5:36 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Harvard Gazette: With the 2020 race for the White House in full swing, speakers at a Harvard panel on Saturday sharply differed on whether an interstate compact to effectively disable the Electoral College and move to a national popular vote… Continue reading

Robert Bennett: Are Presidential Election Ballots Invalid?

October 21, 2019, 4:47 pmballot access, electoral collegeRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Robert William Bennett of Northwestern Law: The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently held unconstitutional a Colorado law that forbade the state’s presidential electors from voting “faithlessly.” Under… Continue reading

Is Colorado Acting Strategically in Seeking Supreme Court Review of the Faithless Elector Case?

October 16, 2019, 8:47 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Colorado has filed this cert petition in the faithless elector case, making it the second case raising the issue to reach the Supreme Court within a month. (Here is my coverage of the Washington state case, and my earlier… Continue reading

“Why ‘faithless electors’ have little power to change the winner of presidential elections”

October 14, 2019, 4:59 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Derek Muller blogs.

Live Webcast of Harvard Law School Electoral College Symposium Coming Saturday

October 14, 2019, 10:59 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

You will be able to find the webcast at this link on Saturday. Here is the agenda: Friday, October 18th (5:15 PM – 6:45 PM)5:15 PM Welcome ReceptionSaturday, October 19th (9:00 AM – 5:30 PM)A light, continental breakfast will be… Continue reading

“‘Faithless Electors’ Could Tip the 2020 Election. Will the Supreme Court Stop Them?”

October 14, 2019, 8:08 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Adam Liptak Sidebar column. I wrote about this case earlier at Slate.

Faithless Elector Lawsuit Arrives at SCOTUS

October 7, 2019, 2:34 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Here is the cert petition (via Ariane de Vogue): This petition presents a clear split in authority between state and federal courts on a critically important question of federal constitutional law: whether, after appointment, a state may by law… Continue reading