Monthly Archives: May 2025

DOJ files first voting complaint of new Administration – and it’s a follow-up to the Riggs/Griffin judicial race in NC

May 27, 2025, 10:47 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, judicial elections, voter registrationdue process, HAVAJustin Levitt

The Civil Rights Division is out with its first new voting case of the new Administration, and it comes directly out of the long-contested Riggs/Griffin race for the North Carolina Supreme Court. In the Riggs/Griffin contest, there were three main … Continue reading

“Trump wants an investigation of Democrats’ fundraising. His own campaign has issues”

May 27, 2025, 10:45 pmcampaign finance, Department of JusticeJustin Levitt

The AP’s lede: When President Donald Trump directed his attorney general last month to investigate online fundraising, he cited concerns that foreigners and fraudsters were using elaborate “schemes“ and “dummy accounts” to funnel illegal contributions to politicians and causes.… Continue reading

“High-profile lawyers face lasting consequences of election fraud claims”

May 27, 2025, 10:44 pmchicanery, election law biz, ethics investigations, fraudulent fraud squadJanuary 6, The Big LieJustin Levitt

Elections have consequences. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reminds us that — at least sometimes – lying about elections has consequences too.

“Eric Adams sues Campaign Finance Board for denying him millions in matching funds”

May 27, 2025, 10:43 pmcampaign finance, chicanerymatching funds, public financingJustin Levitt

Politico has the latest in the Eric Adams adventure.

“Pennsylvania tallies up votes for poll workers, amid shortage of candidates”

May 27, 2025, 10:42 pmelection administrationpollworkersJustin Levitt

Someone once explained me to a third person thus: “‘Pollworker’ is Justin’s love language.” They weren’t wrong. Pennsylvania ran primaries for electing its 27,000 pollworkers last week, and Votebeat has the story on the now-unique practice dating back to 1799. … Continue reading

“Experts: Narrow timeline creates strain on New Bedford’s elections”

May 27, 2025, 10:39 pmelection administration, primarieselection timingJustin Levitt

This is a good article about a horrible idea: an October 7 municipal primary for a November 4 municipal general election. In accessible fashion, the local independent New Bedford Light breaks down a bunch of the logistics that occupy election… Continue reading

“Elections board prepares to revamp R.I.’s aging campaign finance software. It just needs the money.”

May 27, 2025, 10:39 pmcampaign finance, election administrationelection budgetsJustin Levitt

Yet another piece – this one from States Newsroom affiliate the Rhode Island Current – about yet another impact of radically underfunding elections offices.

“What Just Happened: The Trump Administration’s Dismissal of Voting Rights Lawsuits”

May 27, 2025, 7:48 amDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Hot off the presses at Just Security, Chiraag Bains — a former colleague at both DOJ and the White House — walks through in impressive detail the current Administration’s dismissal of “all salient pending cases” brought by the decimated… Continue reading

“Deepfake Election Laws Spread Amid Court Challenges”

May 27, 2025, 7:38 amcheap speech, chicanery, legislation and legislaturesArtificial IntelligenceJustin Levitt

Bloomberg News out this morning with an analysis of the legislative landscape for deepfakes in the electoral process.

USCIS updates SAVE immigration database to be queried with Social Security numbers

May 26, 2025, 1:38 pmvoter registrationproof of citizenshipJustin Levitt

From the press release this past Thursday: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to ensure a single, reliable source for verifying immigration status and U.S. citizenship nationwide. State and local authorities can… Continue reading

“Qatari foreign agents frequently donate to the congressional offices they lobby”

May 26, 2025, 1:36 pmcampaign finance, lobbyingJustin Levitt

From the Washington Examiner. I suspect the practice isn’t limited to Qatar.

Judicial elections at home and abroad

May 26, 2025, 1:36 pmjudicial electionsinternational electionsJustin Levitt

The Kansas City Star reports the latest on a plan to switch from merit elections to direct elections for the Kansas Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group summarizes the landscape ahead of Mexico’s impending June 1 elections, when the… Continue reading

“Controversial voting machine gaining use in NY elections”

May 26, 2025, 1:35 pmelection administration, voting technologyJustin Levitt

Per the Times-Union, the controversy with the ES&S ExpressVote XL is the barcode used to tally results (which also drew the ire of President Trump’s executive order on elections, though the purported mandate with respect to voting machines… Continue reading