Monthly Archives: April 2021

California: “Facebook, Google, other corporate giants flooded Newsom with record $226 million in charity donations in 2020”

April 28, 2021, 7:21 amcampaign finance, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

LA Times: Facebook, Google and Blue Shield of California are among the companies that contributed $226 million to government causes on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s behalf last year, an unprecedented level of spending that is raising alarms about the influence large… Continue reading

INSTITUTIONAL REALISM, DISCLOSURE LAWS, AND THE AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY CASE

April 27, 2021, 12:38 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

There’s an intriguing, underappreciated aspect to the constitutional issues before the Supreme Court in this case, which involves California’s requirement that certain charitable organizations which fundraise in the state file non-public forms with the Attorney General’s office that include disclosure… Continue reading

“California: The Ball is in Newsom’s court — signature removal laws, spending issues and the signature failure rates”

April 27, 2021, 11:36 amrecall electionsRick Hasen

The Recall Elections Blog.

In Odd Ruling About U.S. Territorial Citizen Voting, Court Holds It Lacks Power to Remedy Voting Rights Violation

April 27, 2021, 10:45 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Odd decision in Reeves v. Nago, holding plaintiffs lack standing because court lacks the power to remedy a voting rights violation. Nick Stephanopoulos explains in the tweet thread starting here: What an odd, unsettling decision in a case I've… Continue reading

Originalist and Textualist Justices Should Reject Argument that First Amendment Includes Right to Anonymous Association, and Instead Apply Well-Established Exacting Scrutiny in AFP Case

April 27, 2021, 8:58 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Yesterday I wrote about how I understood the oral argument in AFP v. Bonta. Today I want to highlight some points raised by Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett about whether the First Amendment includes a right to anonymously associate. You… Continue reading

“If D.C. Becomes a State, the National Mall Gets to Vote for President”

April 27, 2021, 8:39 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Ben Jacobs: On Thursday, Democrats in the House passed a bill on a straight party-line vote that would carve almost all of what’s now Washington, D.C., out of the federal district and create a state called Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. (To… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Wary of Donor Disclosure Requirement for Charities”

April 27, 2021, 7:06 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The Supreme Court on Monday seemed skeptical of California’s demand that charities soliciting contributions in the state report the identities of their major donors.A majority of the justices appeared to agree that at least the… Continue reading

“Gov. Gavin Newsom to face recall election as Republican-led effort hits signature goal”

April 26, 2021, 6:19 pmrecall electionsRick Hasen

LA Times: Propelled by growing voter frustration over California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Republican-led drive to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office collected enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, state officials reported Monday, triggering for only… Continue reading

“2020 Census: What the Reapportionment Numbers Mean”

April 26, 2021, 6:00 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Dave Wasserman from Cook Political Report: The power shift from the Frost Belt to Sun Belt and western states is a familiar trend. But even states without a gain or loss will have to redraw lines to adjust for population… Continue reading

“‘Never heard of them’: Republicans hire ‘ninja’ firm for Arizona vote audit; Almost no one involved in GOP politics in Florida, where the company is headquartered, has a clue about the firm conducting the review.”

April 26, 2021, 5:42 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Marc Caputo for Politico.

“Facebook Stopped Employees From Reading An Internal Report About Its Role In The Insurrection. You Can Read It Here.”

April 26, 2021, 5:41 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

BuzzFeed News: Last Thursday, BuzzFeed News revealed that an internal Facebook report concluded that the company had failed to prevent the “Stop the Steal” movement from using its platform to subvert the election, encourage violence, and help incite the… Continue reading

Thoughts on Today’s Oral Argument in the AFP v. Bonta Case in the U.S. Supreme Court: California Will Lose, But the Question is How It Will Lose and What the Case Will Mean for Campaign Finance Disclosure

April 26, 2021, 8:54 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I just listened to the oral argument in this case (listen here). You can read my tweet thread. Here is my general takeway: California is likely to lose. It collected donor information for law enforcement purposes but allowed… Continue reading

“Gerrymandering, Redistricting and Developments in the Statehouses After the 2020 Election”

April 26, 2021, 8:22 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

I recently spoke with Georgetown SALPAL Executive Director Meryl Chertoff. Watch.

“Half a Year After Trump’s Defeat, Arizona Republicans Are Recounting the Vote”

April 26, 2021, 7:38 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Michael Wines for the NYT: Almost half a year after the election Mr. Trump lost, the promised audit has become a snipe hunt for skulduggery that has spanned a court battle, death threats and calls to arrest the elected leadership… Continue reading

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