Monthly Archives: January 2017

#SCOTUS Does Not Act Yet in TX or NC Election Cases

January 19, 2017, 8:13 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Although the Court granted cert. in two cases today, no word yet on the Texas redistricting case (now up at three conferences) or the North Carolina racial gerrymandering case. There was a chance the Court could have acted on… Continue reading

Incoming DOJ Deputy Assistant AG for Civil Rights Worked Defending Redistricting Plans

January 19, 2017, 7:28 pmDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

David Lat lists a number of Jones Day lawyers going to work for the Trump administration. Among those listed is attorney John M. Gore to be the deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights in the DOJ. According to Gore’s… Continue reading

“Harvard Ash Center Appoints Miles Rapoport, Longtime Democracy Advocate, as Senior Fellow”

January 19, 2017, 2:39 pmelection law bizRick Hasen

Release.

“OSCE Observers Release Report On November 8 US Election”

January 19, 2017, 7:32 amelection administrationRick Hasen

A ChapinBlog.

“Under Trump, Approach to Civil Rights Law Is Likely to Change Definitively”

January 19, 2017, 7:31 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Few areas of federal policy are likely to change so definitively. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, opposes not only the Justice Department’s specific policies on civil rights but its entire… Continue reading

“Emoluments: Trump’s Coming Ethics Trouble”

January 19, 2017, 7:27 amconflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

Painter, Tribe, Eisen, and Matz in the Atlantic.

“With morale in tatters, Federal Election Commission eyes changes”

January 19, 2017, 7:22 amelection law biz, federal election commissionRick Hasen

CPI: Federal Election Commission leaders — dogged by abysmal staff morale and a top manager improperly obtaining employees’ confidential critiques — are considering changes to how the agency operates in a bid to restore staff trust. Chief among them: the… Continue reading

“FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump”

January 19, 2017, 7:21 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

McClatchy: Investigators are examining how money may have moved from the Kremlin to covertly help Trump win, the two sources said. One of the allegations involves whether a system for routinely paying thousands of Russian-American pensioners may have been used… Continue reading

“Aide to Md. lawmaker fabricated article on fraudulent votes for Clinton”

January 18, 2017, 9:36 pmchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: A Republican legislative aide in Maryland who was behind a fake news site that accused Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of election-rigging was fired Wednesday. Del. David E. Vogt III (R-Frederick) said he terminated Cameron Harris “on the… Continue reading

“Obama calls voter fraud fears ‘fake news'”

January 18, 2017, 9:33 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

CNN: President Barack Obama broke out the term “fake news” in reference to concerns about voter fraud on Wednesday, making the case that voting should be easier, not more difficult. Obama was asked in his final news conference as… Continue reading

Trump: Super PACs Need to be “Straightened Out”

January 18, 2017, 9:30 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Maggie Haberman for the NYT: President-elect Donald J. Trump, in a free-flowing speech Wednesday night at a dinner honoring his running mate, Mike Pence, jabbed at his new Republican allies and his critics alike, questioned the ethics of “… Continue reading

“Playing Cards in a Hurricane: Party Reform in an Age of Polarization”

January 18, 2017, 9:10 pmpolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Heather Gerken has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Houston Law Review). Here is the abstract: In his Frankel Lecture, “Outsourcing Politics: The Hostile Takeovers of Our Hollowed Out Parties,” Sam Issacharoff suggests that legal changes have systematically disabled the… Continue reading