Monthly Archives: January 2022

Some Brief Thoughts on Gorsuch’s Opinion in NFIB v. OSHA

January 15, 2022, 8:06 amUncategorizedlegislation, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court, textualism, vaccine mandateAnita Krishnakumar

There is much to say about the Court’s opinions in NFIB v. OSHA staying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency rule requiring employers with at least 100 employees “to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative… Continue reading

“Democrats Face a Dilemma on Voting: Compromise or Keep Pressing?”

January 14, 2022, 4:43 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Jonathan Weisman for the NYT: With their drive to secure far-reaching voting rights legislation nearing a dead end, Senate Democrats face a decision they had hoped to avoid: Should they embrace a much narrower, bipartisan effort to safeguard the vote-counting… Continue reading

“Estimating partisan advantage” (Ramsay guest post)

January 14, 2022, 1:29 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

This is a guest post by Alec Ramsay of Dave’s Redistricting about a new class of metrics that measure whether redistricting plans favor one political party or the other. People tend to use the terms “bias” and “fairness” interchangeably and… Continue reading

“Campaign Finance Returns to Supreme Court in Ted Cruz Case”

January 14, 2022, 1:25 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

New Brennan Center analysis of the pending Ted Cruz case. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this Wednesday in a case that marks the latest attempt to dismantle federal campaign finance rules. The case, Federal Election Commission v. Ted … Continue reading

Breaking: “Redistricting: Ohio Supreme Court strikes down congressional map, forcing another round of drawing”

January 14, 2022, 9:16 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Columbus Dispatch: The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the state’s congressional district map, saying Republicans violated the Ohio Constitution by drawing districts that favored GOP candidates.Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor was, once again, a… Continue reading

“The Case for Reforming the Electoral Count Act”

January 14, 2022, 9:10 amUncategorizedNed Foley

The National Constitution Center, as part of its “We the People Podcast” hosted this discussion moderated by Jeff Rosen, NCC president, with Brad Smith and me. The discussion built on the Washington Post op-ed that Brad and I co-wrote with… Continue reading

“What Democrats put in their voting rights megabill — and what got left out”

January 14, 2022, 7:29 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

A good summary of the contents of the FTVJRLA (I think that’s the right acronym). The new combined legislation largely draws on the Freedom to Vote Act to expand ballot access in several ways. The provisions include requiring states to… Continue reading

Election Law-Cases and Materials (7th Edition) Teacher’s Manual Now Available for Instructors

January 14, 2022, 6:54 ampedagogyRick Hasen

The newest edition of the Lowenstein et al Election Law casebook is now shipping after some supply chain delays, and the electronic teacher’s manual is available from the publisher. If you are an instructor and need it, please reach… Continue reading

Me on the Diane Rehm Podcast: “What’s Next In The Push To Protect The Vote”

January 14, 2022, 6:30 amelection subversion risk, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Listen: For the past year Democrats have pushed two major bills aimed at protecting voting rights in federal elections: the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.Now the fight over the vote is taking… Continue reading

Analysis of the House Committee’s Staff Report on Proposals for Electoral Count Act Reform

January 14, 2022, 4:42 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Committee on House Administration, chaired by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), has released its majority-staff analysis of current problems with the Electoral Count Act and a series of seven proposed reforms. The report is a good start and endorses… Continue reading

More wrong claims about accountability

January 13, 2022, 6:54 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

In his opinion concurring with today’s decision striking down OSHA’s vaccine/testing/masking rule, Justice Gorsuch reiterated the arguments he made in Gundy about congressional accountability. “The nondelegation doctrine ensures democratic accountability by preventing Congress from intentionally delegating its legislative powers to… Continue reading

“Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes charged with seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol riot”

January 13, 2022, 6:37 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

I believe these are the first sedition charges filed on the basis of the Jan. 6, 2021 events: Stewart Rhodes — founder and leader of the extremist group Oath Keepers — was arrested Thursday on a charge of seditious conspiracy,… Continue reading

“Absentee ballot drop boxes can’t be used in Wisconsin any longer, a Waukesha County judge rules”

January 13, 2022, 6:35 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

A Wisconsin judge suddenly discovers that, despite years of use, absentee ballot drop boxes are actually unlawful: Drop boxes have long been available in some Wisconsin communities, but their use expanded greatly in 2020 when absentee voting exploded because of… Continue reading

“Sinema and Manchin confirm opposition to eliminating filibuster, likely dooming Democrats’ voting rights push”

January 13, 2022, 6:32 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

WaPo on Senators Manchin and Sinema prioritizing the filibuster over election reform: Democrats’ hopes of finally pushing through voting rights legislation after months of Republican opposition appeared to be fatally wounded Thursday as two Democratic senators announced they would not… Continue reading