Monthly Archives: March 2019

Texas: “Harris County, DOJ reach settlement over poll access”

March 13, 2019, 7:18 amvoters with disabilitiesRick Hasen

Houston Chronicle: The U.S. Department of Justice will monitor Harris County elections, at county expense, for up to four years under the settlement of a federal lawsuit over inadequate access to polling places for voters with disabilities.

“Citizen grand jury disbands in Kobach case without returning indictment”

March 12, 2019, 9:29 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Lawrence Journal-World: A citizen-initiated grand jury that was impaneled in January to investigate alleged election-related crimes by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office has adjourned without bringing an indictment, according to a court document in the case.After… Continue reading

“California Teen Voter Pre-registration Lags”

March 12, 2019, 9:18 pmvotingRick Hasen

Laura Brill: High school students in California can pre-register to vote when they are 16 or 17 years old. Students who pre-register are automatically registered to vote when they turn 18. But according to a new analysis released today… Continue reading

City of Santa Monica Files Writ Petition in CA Court of Appeal to Clarify Whether It Must Hold New District Elections During Pendency of Appeal over California Voting Rights Act

March 12, 2019, 9:16 pmCVRARick Hasen

This is a side issue but could tell us something about the ultimate merits of the case. Petition here. Note that I am adding this to a new blog category, CVRA, given that this issue is heating up. (Most… Continue reading

Texas: “DA under pressure to probe more voter fraud cases”

March 12, 2019, 3:03 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

The Monitor: A Houston attorney filed a criminal complaint last week accusing a candidate in the upcoming McAllen municipal election of voting illegally in Mission, and a few days later, he published a video on social media accusing the Hidalgo… Continue reading

“ACLU Sues Georgia Counties Over Inadequate Election Resources”

March 12, 2019, 3:01 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

HuffPost reports.

Chuzpah Dep’t: North Carolina Republican Legislative Leader Phil Berger Criticizes Democratic Governor Cooper for Not Appointing Republican to State Supreme Court

March 12, 2019, 7:25 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

This coming from someone who has done more to make North Carolina a partisan battleground is too, too rich: One of the state’s top Republican politicians, Senate leader Phil Berger, criticized Cooper for not appointing a Republican to the… Continue reading

“Federal investigators issue subpoenas in NC-9 investigation”

March 11, 2019, 8:04 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WBTV: The Department of Justice has issued subpoenas for a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.The US Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section has issued at least three subpoenas for… Continue reading

Iowa Looks to Make It Harder for Students and Others to Vote (for Apparently No Good Reason)

March 11, 2019, 4:56 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Des Moines Register: Students at Iowa’s public universities would not be allowed to vote early on campus under a wide-ranging election bill that advanced in the Iowa Senate this week.The expansive measure would also make changes to other state election… Continue reading

Wisconsin: “State finds two dozen possible cases of voter fraud over past year”

March 11, 2019, 4:48 pmchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Wisconsin State Journal: The Wisconsin Elections Commission found two dozen cases of suspected voter fraud or other voting irregularities in the past year’s elections after a statewide review.The commission documented 24 cases of suspected fraud, such as voters reportedly… Continue reading

“Argument preview: Virginia racial gerrymandering case returns to Supreme Court”

March 11, 2019, 4:24 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Very readable Amy Howe preview at SCOTUSBlog of Bethune Hill II.

“Election Watchdog Hits Jeb Bush’s Super-PAC With Massive Fine for Taking Money From Foreign Nationals”

March 11, 2019, 3:39 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Mother Jones: The Federal Election Commission has hit Right to Rise USA, the super-PAC that backed Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential bid, with a record fine for accepting a seven-figure donation from a company owned by Chinese nationals who were in… Continue reading

“Texas again mistakenly flags voters for citizenship reviews”

March 11, 2019, 3:32 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

Texas Tribune: The list of missteps in the Texas secretary of state’s review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens grew again Monday, when the office inadvertently added additional people to its already flawed list of voters flagged for… Continue reading

“Facebook and Twitter Turned to TurboVote to Drive Registrations. Officials Want Them to Turn Away.”

March 11, 2019, 3:29 pmcampaigns, election administration, voter registrationRick Hasen

ProPublica: n 2018, Facebook and Twitter decided to play a role in helping people register to vote in what promised to be a momentous midterm election. To do so, the social media platforms directed users almost exclusively to a… Continue reading