Category Archives: The Voting Wars

“The Trailer: The mail voting debate gets more confounding”

May 21, 2020, 3:31 pmabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Weigel: Since the start of the pandemic, vote-by-mail has been expanded in multiple states. The debate over that expansion has grown increasingly surreal and politically contradictory. As they ramp up their own absentee ballot programs, aimed at their base,… Continue reading

Breaking: Federal District Court, in Sweeping Opinion, Holds That Texas Must Allow Voters Who Wish to Vote by Mail to Do So In Light of COVID, But The Opinion is Vulnerable to Reversal by 5th Circuit

May 19, 2020, 2:59 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

In a sweeping opinion complete with lofty language and an odd choice of using Appendices, a federal district court has held that it would be unconstitutional to bar Texas voters who lack immunity from COVID-19 and wish to vote by… Continue reading

Must-Read NYT: “Freed by Court Ruling, Republicans Step Up Effort to Patrol Voting; Officials seek to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend millions to fight voter fraud. Democrats say the real goal is to stop them from voting.”

May 18, 2020, 7:55 amElection Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squad, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

NYT: Six months before a presidential election in which turnout could matter more than persuasion, the Republican Party, the Trump campaign and conservative activists are mounting an aggressive national effort to shape who gets to vote in November —… Continue reading

Another Lawsuit Filed Over Absentee Ballot Procedures in Texas

May 11, 2020, 3:35 pmabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Details here. Note: An earlier version of this post says that it was filed by Democrats. Although Marc Elias is one of the lead lawyers, the plaintiffs are not Democratic party organizations.

“Trump intensifies war with Democrats over voting laws; The GOP has doubled its budget to fight Democratic lawsuits to $20 million.”

May 7, 2020, 8:39 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Politico reports.

“How to Punish Voters; The prosecution of individual voters for fraud is a trend that seems intended to intimidate.”

May 7, 2020, 8:35 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Josie Duffy Rice NYT oped.

“I’m the Judge Who Won in Wisconsin. This Principle Is More Important Than Winning.”

April 27, 2020, 7:28 amjudicial elections, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Jill Karofsky NYT oped: Now, over two weeks later, we have an uptick in Covid-19 cases, especially in dense urban centers like Milwaukee and Waukesha, where few polling places were open and citizens were forced to stand in long… Continue reading

“New Voting Rights Battles Erupting In Key Swing States”

April 20, 2020, 10:51 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Steven Rosenfeld for National Memo.

“GOP war on mail ballots may backfire”

April 20, 2020, 7:53 amabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

I have written this oped for the NY Daily News. It begins: If there’s one lesson the farce of conducting the April 7 Wisconsin elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic should have taught Republicans, it is that the… Continue reading

Pam Fessler: “Coronavirus Likely To Supercharge Election-Year Lawsuits Over Voting Rights”

April 17, 2020, 8:25 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Pam Fessler for NPR: Election year legal battles around voting procedures are nothing new. But their scope and intensity are growing this year amid deep partisan polarization and the logistical challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. The legal fights are… Continue reading

“The brewing state battles over how to hold elections in a pandemic”

April 15, 2020, 8:10 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

The Voters You Hurt May Be Your Own—A Cautionary Tale from Wisconsin

April 15, 2020, 7:34 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

NYT: There is little history in the state of voting by mail, leaving Democrats to improvise as the virus transformed the election, while contending with onerous restrictions put in place by the Republicans in power. Early results suggest Democrats… Continue reading

“Democrats fear for November after Wisconsin voting spectacle”

April 13, 2020, 1:16 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Politico: Democrats looked on in horror last week as thousands of voters in Wisconsin trekked to polling places and waited in lines for hours to cast ballots in the midst of a pandemic.Now national Democratic Party leaders are scrambling… Continue reading