Monthly Archives: June 2016

“Reid reviews scenarios for filling Senate seat if Warren is VP pick”

June 3, 2016, 2:09 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Boston Globe: Reid recently gave voice to those concerns and said he would not want Clinton to pick a vice presidential nominee from a state with a Republican governor — such as Massachusetts. But subsequently Reid commissioned a review… Continue reading

CA “Supreme Court to rule Monday on Governor’s criminal justice initiative”

June 3, 2016, 12:08 pmdirect democracyRick Hasen

David Ettinger: On Monday morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinion in Brown v. Superior Court, which was argued — with just six days’ notice — on the early-May calendar. Brown is a high-profile case. It concerns… Continue reading

“Surge Pricing for American Elections”

June 3, 2016, 12:00 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Free Speech for People: On the night of June 1st, Uber disclosed an unprecedented $3.5 billion investment from the Saudi Arabian government. Aside from its stock ownership, the repressive kingdom also bought itself a seat on the company’s board… Continue reading

Federal Court Rejects Partisan Gerrymander Objection to NC Congressional Redistricting Plan

June 3, 2016, 11:58 amredistrictingRick Hasen

A few months ago, a three judge court held that North Carolina’s congressional redistricting included an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. This case is currently on appeal to the Supreme Court. To remedy the violation, the NC legislature came up with a… Continue reading

“The case of the mysterious congressional donations”

June 3, 2016, 11:15 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Must-read Javier Panzar, on what could well develop into a criminal investigation.

“Partisan Balance in Three-Judge District Courts under BCRA”

June 3, 2016, 8:30 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post by Prof. Michael Solimine, the country’s leading expert on the use of three-judge courts to decide a small set of (mostly election) cases, which go on direct appeal to the Supreme Court: The… Continue reading

“California’s Election Calamity”

June 3, 2016, 7:48 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Jonathan Bernstein: California voters are set to vote in their primary on Tuesday, and will suffer the consequences of a serious self-imposed mistake in how they run their state. No, it has nothing to do with the presidential race.… Continue reading

“Trump Could Threaten U.S. Rule of Law, Scholars Say”

June 3, 2016, 7:25 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Important Adam Liptak analysis. (Sure beats covering the history of food at SCOTUS.) In the article Adam performs the rare Double Ilya.

“The Lousy Senate Democratic Campaign Finance Reform Plan Would Change Nothing”

June 3, 2016, 7:13 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Lessig in the Daily Beast: Sensing Americans’ enormous frustration with money in politics, Senate Democrats have now signaled they are preparing a “Democracy Package.” Following the lead of President Obama in his final State of the Union address, the… Continue reading

“Koch Groups Are Still Spending Millions, But Choosing Door Knocks Over More Ads”

June 3, 2016, 7:11 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Tarini Parti for BuzzFeed.

“Arizona attorney general hires outside counsel for Reagan inquiry”

June 2, 2016, 10:11 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

Arizona Republic: Attorney General Mark Brnovich has appointed a former federal prosecutor to lead the investigation into the Arizona secretary of state’s failure to mail publicity pamphlets in advance of last month’s special election. Michael Morrissey, who worked in… Continue reading

“De Blasio Defends Fund-Raising and Stokes Feud With Cuomo”

June 2, 2016, 9:48 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: For a combative but contained 17 minutes, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday offered terse answers to an abundance of questions from reporters, mostly dealing with the fallout from overlapping federal and state investigations into his administration, in… Continue reading

“As altered Supreme Court term comes to end, signs point to a muted finale”

June 2, 2016, 9:37 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Bob Barnes: With important decisions on abortion, affirmative action and immigration looming, the Supreme Court’s two most consistent liberals spoke out this week — about food. At a Smithsonian event Wednesday night, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a sharp… Continue reading