Monthly Archives: November 2016

“Judge to IRS: ‘Strong showing’ on Tea Party bias claim”

November 22, 2016, 8:14 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

USA Today: A federal judge ruled this month in a lawsuit in the ongoing IRS Tea Party saga that there was “a strong showing” that the agency had discriminated against conservative groups because of their political stances. And U.S. District… Continue reading

“Billionaires vs. the Press in the Era of Trump”

November 22, 2016, 8:10 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Emily Bazelon for NYT Magazine: The new president will be a man who constantly accuses the media of getting things wrong but routinely misrepresents and twists facts himself. “Their single goal will be to burnish their reputation,” Tim O’Brien predicts… Continue reading

“FEC hits Trump on 1,100 errors, totaling roughly $1.3M”

November 22, 2016, 8:06 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

CNN: The Federal Election Commission is asking the campaign of Donald Trump to correct more than 1,000 errors in its latest financial filing. The FEC determined that the Trump campaign accepted close to 1,100 donations, which amounted to roughly $1.3… Continue reading

“FEC Deadlocks on Charges Candidate Sought ‘Soft Money’”

November 22, 2016, 8:02 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission dismissed on a deadlocked, party-line vote allegations that Jon Keyser, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Colorado illegally solicited $3 million in unlimited “soft money” contributions to aid his 2016 campaign. Documents released by… Continue reading

“Don McGahn, Trump Transition Lawyer, Has Long Courted Controversy”

November 22, 2016, 7:52 amelection law bizRick Hasen

Arn Pearson blogs.

“No, NC Republicans can’t just declare Pat McCrory a winner without courts having a say”

November 21, 2016, 8:29 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Peter St. Onge for Charlotte Observer: So what’s the misinformation? The New York Times wrote Saturday, and Slate repeated Monday, that N.C. law not only allows the General Assembly to declare a winner in the governor’s race, but… Continue reading

“Supreme Court won’t investigate leaks”

November 21, 2016, 8:21 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined Monday to appoint a special master to investigate leaks from a long-running John Doe probe to a newspaper, leaving it to Attorney General Brad Schimel to look into it on his own. The… Continue reading

926-Page Record in Tomorrow’s NC Gov McCrory Challenge Hearing

November 21, 2016, 8:08 pmrecounts, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Here.

If the NC Legislature Overturns NC Gov’s Election, Expect a Federal Lawsuit Despite State Law, One Which Could Well Succeed

November 21, 2016, 5:25 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Some have pointed to the fact that the North Carolina legislature’s decision in an election contest is “unreviewable” by the courts. Whether or not that is true in North Carolina state courts, the NC legislature through a statute cannot divest… Continue reading

NC House Speaker Doesn’t Rule Out Overturning NCGov Elections, Packing NC Supreme Court

November 21, 2016, 4:54 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Such a move would be a brazen power grab with really no modern analogue.

Does Kris Kobach Have Plans to Amend National Voter Registration Act, Presumably to Make Registration Tougher?

November 21, 2016, 1:15 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Via Ryan Reilly Kobach memo: "Draft Amendments to National Voter…." https://t.co/pmB28YeHF1 (CC: @rickhasen) — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) November 21, 2016

Election Data Services Offers Its 2016 Election Results Poster

November 21, 2016, 1:11 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Ordering info.

Breaking: 3-Judge Federal Court, on 2-1 Vote Holds WI Assembly Districts Unconstitutional Partisan Gerrymander, Teeing Up Issue for #SCOTUS

November 21, 2016, 12:42 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

In a major victory for those who believe that courts should be in the business of policing redistricting plans that give partisan advantage to one party or another, a three-judge court has ruled 2-1 that the Wisconsin assembly districts drawn… Continue reading

Restrictive Voter ID Laws and Turnout: What We Might Learn from Texas

November 21, 2016, 9:41 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Whether the various new voter-ID laws have a significant effect on voter turnout has been notoriously difficult to assess empirically. The recent election results from Texas, however, might provide a way to get some insight into this question not previously… Continue reading