Category Archives: The Voting Wars

In Worrisome Decision, 11th Circuit Panel on 2-1 Vote Rejects Challenge to Alabama Voter Identification Law Without Allowing a Trial

July 22, 2020, 10:51 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find the opinion in Greater Birmingham Industries v. Alabama at this link. This opinion is very troubling because the majority held it was appropriate to grant summary judgment to the state of Alabama despite evidence that at… Continue reading

In Must-Read Piece on Dysfunction at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Jessica Huseman Reveals that Excellent Republican Commissioner Matt Masterson Was Forced Out by Von Spakovsky and EAC Commissioner McCormick for Being “Insufficiently Partisan”

July 22, 2020, 9:40 amchicanery, election administration, Election Assistance Commission, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

In my 2012 book, The Voting Wars, I chronicled how Congress created the United States Election Assistance commission in 2002 after the debacle of 2000’s Bush v. Gore, how the agency started out with great promise as one that… Continue reading

“As November Looms, So Does the Most Litigious Election Ever”

July 7, 2020, 2:08 pmElection Meltdown, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Michael Wines for the NYT: Four months before Election Day, a barrage of court rulings and lawsuits has turned one of the most divisive elections in memory into one that is on track to be the most litigated ever.With voting… Continue reading

“Biden campaign readying hundreds of lawyers in expansive vote protection effort”

July 2, 2020, 8:33 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

The “armies of lawyers” stories are coming earlier this election season.

Supreme Court, on 5-4 Vote, Blocks Federal District Courts Rules Easing Voting in Alabama Primary in Light of COVID-19

July 2, 2020, 5:57 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

The Court’s order is here, breaking along ideological/party lines. I expected this. See my earlier post, Alabama Goes to Supreme Court to Reverse Lower Court Orders Making Voting Easier During Pandemic (and I Expect Alabama Will Win) These changes are… Continue reading

I’ll Be Talking Voting Rights with The Texas Observer at Virtual Event 7/7

July 2, 2020, 10:36 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Announcement and registration link: Voting in Texas has never been easy. Join the Texas Observer for a discussion of the voting challenges in Texas ahead of the July runoffs. About this Event Voting in Texas has never been easy. But… Continue reading

“In Wisconsin, Every Ruling on Voting Counts; Two critical court decisions gave both parties hope in a state where election margins are often razor thin.

July 1, 2020, 8:36 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

NYT reports.

Breaking: 7th Circuit, after 3 Year Delay, Decides Challenge to Wisconsin Voter ID and Related Voting Provisions, in Short Unanimous Opinion, Upholding and Striking Down Some Parts of Law; This is Mostly a Loss for Voting Rights Plaintiffs

June 29, 2020, 4:37 pmcourt decisions, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

You can find the 27-page unanimous decision, with no explanation for the 3 year delay in this case, at this link. This is mostly a loss for the plaintiffs in these cases, as the appeals court rejected many (though… Continue reading

Bizarre Washington Examiner Article Posits Republican Fear That Democrats Will “Wield Voting Rights Like a Cudgel” After Georgia Primary Election Meltdown

June 12, 2020, 3:47 pmElection Meltdown, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Washington Examiner: Republican insiders in Georgia are warning after a balloting meltdown in Fulton County that Democrats could wield voting rights like a cudgel, galvanizing turnout this fall to defeat President Trump in the traditionally red state.Georgia Republicans blame… Continue reading

The list of COVID-19 election cases

June 11, 2020, 5:34 pmelection administration, Election Meltdown, The Voting Wars, votingJustin Levitt

Updated as of December 23: the post below lists 335 cases in 45 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. AND ANOTHER UPDATE: I’ve joined forces in this enterprise with the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, and a team led by Zahavah… Continue reading

“Editorial: Republicans would rather undermine California’s elections than honorably take their lumps”

May 28, 2020, 6:58 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

LAT editorial.

“Republican National Committee sues California to halt vote-by-mail for November general election”

May 25, 2020, 3:44 pmabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

CNN: The Republican National Committee and other Republican groups have filed a lawsuit against California to stop the state from mailing absentee ballots to all voters ahead of the 2020 general election, a move that was made in response … Continue reading

“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

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law