Monthly Archives: October 2020

“The Supreme Court has remained surprisingly centrist on voting rights. That’s a pleasant surprise.” (Ned Foley)

October 29, 2020, 7:55 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Ned Foley in WaPo: The center holds at the Supreme Court in voting cases, at least for now, and that is a very good thing.In rulings from the presidential battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Chief Justice… Continue reading

“Why Pennsylvania’s Vote Count Could Change After Election Night” (Get Ready for Trump to Be Ahead in PA on Election Night Even if Biden Ultimately Wins)

October 29, 2020, 7:51 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

538: So what would this mean if something similar happened on election night in Pennsylvania? Well, if we use what our presidential forecast currently says about the race in Pennsylvania, we can game this out a little to understand what… Continue reading

“The Trump Plan for Legislatures to Appoint Electors Would Be a Blatant Attack on Democracy”

October 29, 2020, 7:35 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

David Gans for Slate.

In Outrageous 2-1 Decision Ignoring Reliance Interests and Rejecting the Purcell Principle, 8th Circuit Panel Orders Segregation of Late Arriving Ballots in Minnesota, With Strong Hints Late Arriving Ballots Will Be Excluded from The Count

October 29, 2020, 4:03 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

It is hard to know where to start with this opinion. The majority suggests that a consent decree extending the deadline for absentee ballots in Minnesota, entered into by the Secretary of State and plaintiffs and approved by a… Continue reading

“How a fake persona laid the groundwork for a Hunter Biden conspiracy deluge”

October 29, 2020, 3:35 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC News: Nine month before a purported leak of files from Hunter Biden’s laptop, a fake “intelligence” document about him went viral on the right-wing internet, asserting an elaborate conspiracy theory involving former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and… Continue reading

“Ruling Revision ‘Doesn’t Go Far Enough’, Vermont Secretary of State Tells Justice Kavanaugh”

October 29, 2020, 3:33 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Jess Bravin for the WSJ: Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos isn’t satisfied with Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s revision to a recent voting-rights opinion that Mr. Condos said misstated his state’s election rules.On Wednesday, Justice Kavanaugh revised a Monday opinion that… Continue reading

“How The 2020 Election Could End Up In The Courts”

October 29, 2020, 3:31 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WMFE talks to Ciara Torres-Spelliscy.

Ariane de Vogue and I Joined John King on CNN to Talk About Latest Supreme Court Rulings on Voting (Video)

October 29, 2020, 3:23 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can watch here:

“So, Russia, You Want to Mess With Our Voting Machines? The United States should threaten to retaliate — and I’m not talking about economic sanctions or legal indictments.”

October 29, 2020, 2:47 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Tim Wu for NYT Opinion. I made the same point in Election Meltdown. An attack on our election infrastructure or power grid on Election Day should be seen as an act of war and declared that in advance by the… Continue reading

Why Did Justice Alito Not Address the Huge Standing Issue in Yesterday’s Pennsylvania Case?

October 29, 2020, 12:09 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Yesterday I wrote about the Supreme Court order in the Pennsylvania case and Justice Alito’s separate statement strongly suggesting the PA Supreme Court acted unconstitutionally in taking power away from the state legislature. It’s a controversial theory but I want… Continue reading

Supreme Court, With At Least 3 Justices Dissenting and No Participation by Justice Barrett, Rejects Remaining Challenge to North Carolina Ballot Extension Deadline

October 29, 2020, 11:48 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Given yesterday’s developments at the Supreme Court out of North Carolina, this result is expected. The same three Justices (Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas) noted their dissents. From the Supreme Court press office: “Justice Barrett did not participate in the consideration… Continue reading

“Trump’s Ballot-Counting Demand Would Disenfranchise Overseas Troops”

October 29, 2020, 11:41 ammilitary votingRick Hasen

HuffPost: President Donald Trump, in social media posts and remarks, is demanding that all ballots be counted by election night, even though federal law permits states to count ballots from troops stationed outside the United States, diplomats and other… Continue reading

Laches and Post-2020 Election Challenges: Why Many of the Republican Gambits Challenging Election Laws Will Come Too Late

October 29, 2020, 11:39 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

There’s been much talk about what kinds of claims might be brought post-election if the election is close that could allow Trump to try to stop or delay counting, or otherwise seek to mess with the election. In this post,… Continue reading

“Pennsylvania struggles with how — or if — to help voters fix their mail ballots”

October 29, 2020, 10:03 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Jonathan Lai for the Philly Inquirer: Officials across Pennsylvania are trying to help voters fix mail ballots that would otherwise be disqualified because of technical mistakes in completing them, creating a patchwork of policies around how — or even whether… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law