Monthly Archives: December 2021

Can federal courts hear private litigants’ statewide partisan gerrymandering claims arising under the Freedom to Vote Act?

December 28, 2021, 7:33 amredistrictingDerek Muller

In Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the Supreme Court held, “We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.” The Court emphasized that state court or legislative solutions would remain available to reformers.… Continue reading

“Supreme Court term limits are popular — and appear to be going nowhere “

December 28, 2021, 6:45 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From Bob Barnes and Seung Min Kim at the Washington Post: President Biden’s commission to study structural revisions to the Supreme Court found one potential change both Democrats and Republicans have said they could support: implementing term limits for the… Continue reading

“Committee investigating Jan. 6 attack plans to begin a more public phase of its work in the new year”

December 27, 2021, 5:40 pmchicanery, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans to begin holding public hearings in the new year to tell the story of the insurrection from start to finish while crafting an ample interim report… Continue reading

“Trump’s 2020 fixation is putting him at odds with some of his biggest fans”

December 27, 2021, 1:45 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NBC News: Former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election fueled anger among Republicans who flocked to local-level GOP chapters in hope of playing a greater role in future elections.Now, some leaders of those grassroots outfits say… Continue reading

Some Skeptical Thoughts About “The Vote Collectors,” A New Book About Election Fraud in North Carolina’s Bladen County (Rerun 2018 Congressional Election in NC-09)

December 27, 2021, 10:22 amchicanery, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

I just had a chance to read The Vote Collectors, by journalists Michael Graff and Nick Ochsner. I found it unsatisfying and I want to write a bit about why. About two thirds of the book is an examination… Continue reading

Chicago Gangs and PACs

December 27, 2021, 8:23 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Here’s a take on campaign finance you don’t often see. I was reading Evan Osnos’ new book, Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury, and came across this surprising story, as Osnos recounts it: In the 1990s, the Gangster Disciples, with… Continue reading

“The Democratic Dilemma on Dark Money”

December 27, 2021, 8:16 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

A deep dive on this issue from Rachel Cohen for the American Prospect: Democrats passed the DISCLOSE Act through the House in June 2010, but fell one vote short of breaking a Republican filibuster in the Senate. Democrats were united… Continue reading

“Alleged ‘dead’ Georgia voters found alive and well after 2020 election”

December 27, 2021, 7:48 amabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AJC: False claims that there were thousands of ballots cast in the names of dead Georgia voters can now rest in peace.Election investigators found just four absentee ballots in the 2020 presidential election from voters who had died, all… Continue reading

“Wisconsin Republicans pump new life into scrutinizing the 2020 election; The aim of the investigations has shifted to trying to subvert election boards and long-standing voting protocols”

December 27, 2021, 7:43 amelection subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Star Tribune: The cash bar was open for business, the Lilydale Dance Hall decked out in holiday garland, but Michael Gableman wasn’t here with good tidings.The attorney stood in front of Republican activists to share horror stories he’d heard… Continue reading

My 2021 Opeds and Commentaries

December 26, 2021, 11:21 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Here they are: Here’s What Congress Can Do to Keep the Next Trump from Stealing an Election, Washington Post, Sept. 29, 2021 The Legal Minds Who Tried to Overturn the Election for Trump Are Being Welcomed Back Into Polite Society,… Continue reading

Moving My 2020 Opeds and Commentaries Off the Sidebar

December 26, 2021, 11:20 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Here is a list of opeds and commentaries wrote in 2020: Barr’s Undermining of the Election is Downright Dangerous, CNN Opinion, Sept. 17, 2020 Democrats May Not Trust the Election Results if Trump Wins, Wash. Post, Sept. 10, 2020… Continue reading

California Redistricting Commission Posts Final Report, Including Extensive Voting Rights Act Analysis

December 26, 2021, 11:14 amredistrictingRick Hasen

You can find it here.

“Surprisingly, there has been a redistricting turnaround”

December 26, 2021, 11:08 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Paul Waldman WaPo column: In the 2020 elections, Democrats failed to win control of any new state legislatures and saw their margin in the House of Representatives shrink by more than a dozen seats, an outcome that portended bad… Continue reading

“Election Officials Fight Voter Skepticism After Trump’s False Fraud Claims”

December 24, 2021, 12:18 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WSJ: Educational efforts like this have taken on a new urgency in Florida and around the country as many supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump continue to question his election defeat. As skepticism about the election… Continue reading