Monthly Archives: February 2018

“Memphis City Council quietly works on anti-instant runoffs bill”

February 22, 2018, 7:17 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Gannett: The Memphis City Council worked behind the scenes to find a sponsor for legislation this year that could ban instant-runoff elections statewide and forestall the Shelby County Election Commission from using the method for the first time in 2019.… Continue reading

A VRA Claim in Pennsylvania?

February 21, 2018, 8:07 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

Rick noted that there’s been some talk of a VRA challenge to the new Pennsylvania congressional districts. An initial obstacle to such a claim is that the relevant new districts are nearly identical, demographically, to their predecessors. PlanScore’s pages for… Continue reading

NAACP LDF Files Brief in Eleventh Circuit on Legality of Alabama Voter ID Law.

February 21, 2018, 6:07 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Read the brief and press release.

“New Pa. congressional district map could be challenged by Common Cause, NAACP on civil rights grounds”

February 21, 2018, 6:01 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

This development is unexpected: Micah Sims, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said his organization and the state NAACP are considering filing suit in federal court to challenge the new map imposed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this week. He… Continue reading

“The Myth of the Hacker-Proof Voting Machine”

February 21, 2018, 4:47 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Kim Zetter for NYT Magazine: But for as long as experts have warned about security problems, voting machine makers and election officials have denied that the machines can be remotely hacked. The reason, they say, is that the systems are… Continue reading

Breaking: Pennsylvania Republican Legislative Leaders Petition Justice Alito AGAIN to Block Pa Congressional Redistricting Plan Ordered by State Supreme Court

February 21, 2018, 4:35 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find the new petition here. The petition will go to Justice Alito, who can decide the matter himself or refer to the entire Court. Last time Justice Alito decided the matter himself, after asking for a response from… Continue reading

Kentucky: “‘No voter fraud’ in Bullitt County election, clerk says, despite Johnson campaign’s claims”

February 21, 2018, 1:26 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Courier Journal: The Bullitt County Clerk’s Office rejected claims from Rebecca Johnson’s campaign that her defeat was caused by voter fraud in Tuesday night’s special election. “There was no voter fraud,” Bullitt County Clerk Kevin Mooney told Courier Journal. “While… Continue reading

“Trump’s former bodyguard makes $15,000 a month from a GOP ‘slush fund'”

February 21, 2018, 12:54 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

CNBC: When President Donald Trump‘s longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller decided to leave his White House job last fall, many in the West Wing wondered how the president would manage without his personal security chief-turned-confidant, who had been working for… Continue reading

“FAN 179 (First Amendment News): Does existing First Amendment law endanger our national security and sovereignty? Prof. Hasen says yes”

February 21, 2018, 11:03 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

I have this guest post over at Concurring Opinions. It begins: Last week, special counsel Robert Mueller secured a grand jury indictment of 13 Russian nationals for interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential elections by, among other things, paying for… Continue reading

Breaking: “Legal Team Led by David Boies and LULAC Files Lawsuits Challenging Winner-Take-All Approach to Selecting Electors in Presidential Elections”

February 21, 2018, 9:19 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Release: A coalition of law firms led by David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, and The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) today announced the filing of four landmark lawsuits challenging the winner-take-all method states use to allocate… Continue reading

Wisconsin: “Burns says his approach to Supreme Court race most honest way to run”

February 21, 2018, 8:32 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

WisPolitics: Middleton attorney Tim Burns said he has not started to process whether his approach to the Supreme Court primary was a mistake. But he believes it is the most honest way to run. “I am still just 100 percent,… Continue reading

Losing Kentucky Candidate Claims Voter Fraud, But It May Be That Eligible Voters Were Incorrectly Purged from Voter Rolls

February 21, 2018, 8:28 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Courier-Journal: An hour after being defeated by Linda Belcher in a special election in Bullitt County Tuesday night, a spokesman for Rebecca Johnson said she is claiming voter fraud. “The big story out of Bullitt County appears to be voter… Continue reading

“Wealthy donors ramp up political giving for 2018 midterms”

February 21, 2018, 8:21 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

“Republican challenge to Pennsylvania map likely to fail; For Republicans, it’s not clear yet what legal avenue they plan to proceed with first, or the relief for which they will ask”

February 21, 2018, 8:15 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico reports. UPDATE: Looks like Pa Republican leaders opposed to the state Supreme Court redistricting remedy will file a SCOTUS petition AND a new separate federal district court lawsuit. Here’s why both are likely to fail.

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law