Monthly Archives: December 2023

Recent news of pending Section 3 challenges

December 12, 2023, 5:41 amballot accessDerek Muller

In Michigan, the case has been submitted without argument to a court of appeals panel. The Michigan Supreme Court declined to take immediate review of the case. In Colorado, the state supreme court heard oral argument last week.… Continue reading

“Special Counsel Asks Supreme Court to Quickly Rule on Trump’s Immunity”

December 11, 2023, 1:34 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

Jess Bravin and Ryan Barber in the Wall Street Journal: Special counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to take up Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution and can’t face criminal charges related to efforts to… Continue reading

“OpenSecrets Welcomes Hilary Braseth as New Executive Director”

December 11, 2023, 1:34 pmcampaign financeDerek Muller

Press release.

“Still Annoyed at Biden, New Hampshire Democrats Gear Up to Help Him”

December 11, 2023, 1:34 pmballot access, campaignsDerek Muller

New York Times on a primary write-in campaign: New Hampshire Democrats were furious at President Biden when he shook up the party’s nominating calendar last year, diminishing their state’s political importance by pushing its primary election behind South Carolina’s. Kicking… Continue reading

ABA webinar: “Eighth Annual State of Voting Rights”

December 11, 2023, 6:00 amvotingDerek Muller

Today, registration link here.

Recent news on paper ballot shortages

December 11, 2023, 5:49 amelection administrationDerek Muller

In 2022, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania had ballot marking device paper shortages for some voters. Last week, a federal court denied (in part) a motion to dismiss in French v. County of Luzerne, brought by voters who did not… Continue reading

“Jury trial will decide how much Giuliani must pay election workers over false election fraud claims”

December 11, 2023, 5:32 amcampaigns, election administrationDerek Muller

Associated Press.

“The expensive, daunting fight to get RFK Jr.’s name on state ballots”

December 11, 2023, 5:31 amballot accessDerek Muller

Axios: The Kennedy campaign has divided the state requirements into a tiered system based on whether they require a VP pick, the amount of signatures needed, whether there is a date for when they can begin petitioning and their… Continue reading

“Less appetite — and opportunity — to serve as fake Trump electors in 2024”

December 11, 2023, 5:25 amelectoral collegeDerek Muller

Excerpt from the Washington Post: Another force will make it harder for electors to do what Trump’s slates did in 2020: The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, bipartisan legislation intended to prevent the chaos surrounding the events of… Continue reading

“Talk of a Trump Dictatorship Charges the American Political Debate”

December 9, 2023, 4:31 pmauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Peter Baker for the NYT: When a historian wrote an essay the other day warning that the election of former President Donald J. Trump next year could lead to dictatorship, one of Mr. Trump’s allies quickly responded by calling for… Continue reading

“Small segment of voters will wield outsize power in 2024 presidential race”

December 8, 2023, 3:04 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

WaPo article, with the subhed: “The electoral college system empowers a sliver of the U.S. population in a diminishing number of battleground states. And the majority may not even prevail.”

“Exclusive: Pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro cooperating in multiple state probes into 2020 fake electors plot”

December 8, 2023, 2:14 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

CNN: The pro-Trump lawyer who helped devise the 2020 fake electors plot and already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in Georgia is now cooperating with Michigan and Wisconsin state investigators in hopes of avoiding more criminal charges, multiple sources told CNN. In a dramatic… Continue reading

“Appeals Court Upholds, but Narrows, Gag Order on Trump in Election Case”

December 8, 2023, 1:55 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: A federal appeals court on Friday largely upheld the gag order imposed two months ago on former President Donald J. Trump in the criminal case accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, but narrowed its terms to… Continue reading

Indispensable Resource from Federal Judicial Center: “Emergency Election Litigation in Federal Courts: From Bush v. Gore to Covid-19”

December 8, 2023, 9:27 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

It’s hard to overstate how rich a resource this Federal Judicial Center book is going to be. It is totally free online; a hard copy will be available for sale soon: Robert Timothy Reagan, Margaret S. Williams, Marie Leary, Catherine… Continue reading