Category Archives: campaigns

“Ballot Selfies Allowed as U.S. Supreme Court Rebuffs New Hampshire”

April 3, 2017, 7:16 amcampaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Greg Stohr: Voters in New Hampshire are free to take selfies with their election ballots and post the photos online after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to revive a state ban on the practice. The justices, without comment, left intact… Continue reading

“How States Could Force Trump to Release His Tax Returns”

March 30, 2017, 7:22 amballot access, campaignsRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Politico. A snippet: Now, though, a band of state lawmakers is attempting to succeed where so many others have failed. In at least 24 states, legislators have introduced bills that would force Trump… Continue reading

“Why Democrats Have a Shot in a Georgia District Dominated by Republicans”

March 29, 2017, 7:34 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for NYT’s The UpShot: Mr. Ossoff probably would not have raised nearly as much money if he’d been competing for attention with 434 other races. His fund-raising tally is better than that of 96 percent of the congressional… Continue reading

“Judicial Candidates’ Right to Lie”

March 27, 2017, 1:13 pmcampaigns, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Nat Stern has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming Maryland Law Review). Here is the abstract: A large majority of state judges are chosen through some form of popular election. In Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, the Supreme Court… Continue reading

“Rewriting the Rules of Presidential Succession”

March 27, 2017, 7:25 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Norm Ornstein in the Atlantic: The Constitution leaves a lot of leeway for Congress. So it is time to consider a new law, one that cleans up the issues and discrepancies in the existing succession act but does more. It… Continue reading

“F.B.I. Is Investigating Trump’s Russia Ties, Comey Confirms”

March 20, 2017, 9:15 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Tuesday’s NYT A1: The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, took the extraordinary step on Monday of announcing that the agency is investigating whether members of President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Mr. Comey’s testimony before … Continue reading

“The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency”

March 18, 2017, 2:11 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Must-read Jane Mayer on Robert Mercer for The New Yorker: Mercer strongly supported the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Trump’s Attorney General. Many civil-rights groups opposed the nomination, pointing out that Sessions has in the past expressed racist views.… Continue reading

“Colorado Amends Law After Win in Pillar Ballot Selfie Free Speech Case”

March 18, 2017, 1:05 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Steve Klein: Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 1014 yesterday, amending the state’s election law to allow voters to take and share photographs of their own marked ballots, an activity known as taking a “ballot selfie.” The bill followed… Continue reading

“The Voting Rights of Ex-Felons and Election Outcomes in the United States”

March 16, 2017, 1:45 pmcampaigns, felon votingRick Hasen

Tilman Klumpp, Hugo Mialon, and Michael Williams have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Approximately one in forty adult U.S. citizens has lost their right to vote, either temporarily or permanently, as a result of a felony… Continue reading

“Data Firm Says ‘Secret Sauce’ Aided Trump; Many Scoff”

March 6, 2017, 9:35 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Cambridge Analytica’s rise has rattled some of President Trump’s critics and privacy advocates, who warn of a blizzard of high-tech, Facebook-optimized propaganda aimed at the American public, controlled by the people behind the alt-right hub Breitbart News. Cambridge is… Continue reading

“Patience Gone, Koch-Backed Groups Will Pressure G.O.P. on Health Repeal”

March 5, 2017, 8:30 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Saying their patience is at an end, conservative activist groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and other powerful interests on the right are mobilizing to pressure Republicans to fulfill their promise to swiftly repeal the Affordable Care Act.… Continue reading

“Trump pleads for cash at closed donor retreat”

March 5, 2017, 8:22 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: President Donald Trump buttered up a room full of Republican donors Friday night by boasting of his upset 2016 election win and ticking through a list of his surprise swing state victories that even the party high rollers at… Continue reading

“Measure S mailers are probably protected free speech, law expert says”

March 1, 2017, 6:17 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

KPCC: You might have gotten a nasty surprise in the mail recently that read, “County of Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. EVICTION NOTICE.” It’s not real, though. It’s a political mailer. And Los Angeles County officials were not happy. “The political… Continue reading

“N.J. Dems want to push future presidents to do what Trump wouldn’t: Release tax returns”

February 14, 2017, 1:41 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Philly.com: If President Trump, or anyone else, wants to get on the New Jersey ballot to run for president in 2020, he could have to release his tax returns, if some Democratic lawmakers have their way. Whether legislators have that… Continue reading