Monthly Archives: June 2020

Upcoming Webinars: Global Legislative Responses to Coronavirus

June 16, 2020, 1:40 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Announcement via email: The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and the journal Theory and Practice of Legislation are happy to invite you to a series of three webinars on Global Legislative Responses to Coronavirus. The first webinar will take place on… Continue reading

New ELB Tag: “Court Decisions”

June 16, 2020, 12:13 pmcourt decisionsRick Hasen

I’ve just taken up a suggestion to include a new tag, Court Decisions, on #ELB. We will use it when the post includes a link to a new court decision (not to commentary on court decisions or other information… Continue reading

Iowa: “Kim Reynolds confirms she will sign felon voting rights executive order”

June 16, 2020, 12:11 pmfelon votingRick Hasen

Des Moines Register: Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters Tuesday that she will sign an executive order restoring voting rights to people with past felony convictions, a move that will address Iowa’s status as the last state in the country with… Continue reading

“As COVID-19 Delays Census, Fmr Gov Schwarzenegger, Common Cause and League of Women Voters CA Urge Extending Redistricting Deadlines”

June 16, 2020, 12:05 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Release.

In Risky Move, Texas Democrats Appeal 5th Circuit Absentee Voting Decision to Supreme Court, Claiming 26th Amendment Violation

June 16, 2020, 11:07 amabsentee ballots, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find the cert petition here and application to vacate the 5th circuit’s stay of the district court order here. Here is the question presented: “Does Texas’s limitation of the right to cast a no-excuse mail-in ballot to… Continue reading

New Jersey: “One in 10 Ballots Rejected in Last Month’s Vote-by-Mail Elections”

June 15, 2020, 9:16 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NJ Spotlight: About one in every 10 people who mailed in ballots in last month’s special elections had their votes rejected, which could forebode the potential disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of New Jerseyans in next month’s primaries.An NJ… Continue reading

Federal Court Orders Minnesota to Conduct a Lottery for Ballot Order, Preliminary Enjoining Law that Put Democrats Last on Ballot

June 15, 2020, 9:04 pmballot access, court decisionsRick Hasen

You can find the court’s order at this link. The court along the way was pretty dismissive of the rights of third parties. The Eleventh Circuit rejected a similar challenge to Florida law on standing grounds.

“Predictive Facts”

June 15, 2020, 8:45 pmcourt decisions, UncategorizedRick Hasen

Brent Ferguson has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Washington Law Review). Here is the abstract: A substantial portion of constitutional law rests on untested factual predictions made by the Supreme Court. Such forecasts have played a large role in… Continue reading

“Federal Court Rules in Favor of Alabama Voters during COVID-19 Pandemic”

June 15, 2020, 8:33 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Release: Today, in a decision that will protect the health and right to vote of medically vulnerable Alabamians, a federal court waived onerous absentee ballot requirements in at least Jefferson, Mobile, and Lee Counties – including the requirement that… Continue reading

“Voting group recalls 80,000 unusable ballot applications in North Carolina”

June 15, 2020, 4:38 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NBC News: A voting advocacy group is recalling 80,000 North Carolina absentee ballot applications for having voters’ names and addresses pre-printed on them.The group, the Center for Voter Information, has sent millions of election mailers this year alone. The… Continue reading

Leonard Leo-Backed (and Orwellian-Named) “Honest Elections Project” Takes Position that Courts Should Not Modify Any Voting Rules to Help Voters in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic

June 15, 2020, 10:59 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

From the brief authored by the Consovoy firm: “COVID-19 cannot make an otherwise constitutional law unconstitutional.A global virus is not state action. Even if it were, the State’s interest in maintaining the integrity of elections does not go away during… Continue reading

Eighth Circuit Grants Stay Pending Appeal in Arkansas Case Blocking District Court Rule Relaxing Some Requirements for Initiative Petition Circulators

June 15, 2020, 10:51 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Order here. There’s also an expedited briefing schedule.

“The Rising Trump Lawyer Battling to Reshape the Electorate”

June 15, 2020, 9:36 amelection law bizRick Hasen

NYT profiles William Consovoy. That’s a weirdly neutral NYT title given what Consovoy does, which is to litigate to make it harder for people to register and to vote.

Incumbent Virginia Congressman, Who Loses Party Nomination at Party Convention Over Officiating at Same Sex Marriage, Claims “Voter Fraud”

June 15, 2020, 9:31 amchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Mr. Riggleman, as well as outside observers, denounced the setup — enabled by state laws that allow local party officials to choose congressional nominees by conventions instead of traditional primary elections — which has tended to benefit hard-line… Continue reading