Monthly Archives: June 2025

“Inside Trump’s gutting of the Justice Department unit that enforces voting laws”

June 4, 2025, 2:16 pmDepartment of JusticeDerek Muller

CNN: The Justice Department’s unit tasked with enforcing federal voting laws is down from roughly 30 attorneys to about a half-dozen, as most of its career staff has departed in the face of escalating pressure tactics from the Trump… Continue reading

“With Missouri abortion access in limbo, both sides eye battles in court, on the ballot”

June 4, 2025, 8:29 amballot access, voter initiativesDerek Muller

Missouri Independent: Both sides of the abortion debate seemed caught by surprise last week by the Missouri Supreme Court’s order that essentially reimposed the state’s abortion ban. Planned Parenthood clinics were sent scrambling, cancelling abortion appointments and working with… Continue reading

Elon Musk, GOP, and the challenges of Super PACs

June 4, 2025, 8:29 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

And a reason why political parties are trying to get more control of campaigns. From Politico: The top two congressional Republicans rebutted Elon Musk’s criticism of their “big, beautiful bill” Wednesday as the tech mogul and former Trump… Continue reading

“Trump’s Pardon Attorney Mulls Clemency for Fake Electors—Dead or Alive”

June 4, 2025, 8:28 amDepartment of Justice, electoral collegeDerek Muller

Mother Jones

“Judge tosses Democratic Party challenge to Trump order’s impact on FEC”

June 4, 2025, 3:59 amcampaign finance, campaigns, federal election commissionDerek Muller

Politico: A federal judge has dismissed a Democratic Party lawsuit claiming an executive order issued by President Donald Trump was intruding on the independence of the Federal Election Commission. In a ruling Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali… Continue reading

“Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office responds to social media post claiming county residents can vote in Municipal Election”

June 4, 2025, 3:52 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Not great: After a social media post circulated on election day claiming county residents can vote in Municipal Elections, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office made a Facebook post reminding voters this isn’t true. Allegedly, the initial social media… Continue reading

“Some of Trump’s Biggest Inaugural Donors Benefit From Early Government Actions”

June 4, 2025, 3:47 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

Wall Street Journal: The biggest contributor to President Trump’s inauguration was chicken processor Pilgrim’s Pride, which gave $5 million. In April, its Brazilian parent company, JBS, received government approval for a U.S. stock listing that it had long sought. … Continue reading

“Ohio election security: LaRose issues 6th statewide directive for 2025”

June 3, 2025, 2:35 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

Cleveland.com: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued his sixth statewide election security directive Monday, providing new cybersecurity protocols for all 88 county boards of elections. This latest directive builds upon prior security enhancements that have positioned LaRose as… Continue reading

“Failure of Texas proof-of-citizenship law is not the end”

June 3, 2025, 2:33 pmvoter registrationDerek Muller

Washington Post And from the Associated Press, “Republican push for proof of citizenship to vote proves a tough sell in the states.”

Mountainhead from Mountainview: “Google’s New AI Tool Generates Convincing Deepfakes of Riots, Conflict, and Election Fraud”

June 3, 2025, 12:34 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Time: Google’s recently launched AI video tool can generate realistic clips that contain misleading or inflammatory information about news events, according to a TIME analysis and several tech watchdogs. TIME was able to use Veo 3 to create realistic videos,… Continue reading

The Court Rightly Granted Cert. in the Illinois Election Case

June 3, 2025, 10:47 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections raises important questions about who, if anyone, has standing to bring federal challenges to certain types of election laws in advance of an election. These are laws that expand opportunities to vote but… Continue reading

“Firings, pardons and policy changes have gutted DOJ anti-corruption efforts, experts say”

June 3, 2025, 6:02 amDepartment of JusticeDerek Muller

NBC News

“Low Turnout in Mexico’s Far-Reaching Judicial Election Fuels Legitimacy Concerns”

June 3, 2025, 3:33 amcomparative election lawDerek Muller

New York Times: Mexico’s sweeping reorganization of its judicial system got off to a rocky start. The nationwide election of thousands of judges over the weekend was marked by an exceptionally high level of abstention, with nearly 90 percent… Continue reading

New Iowa law allows poll workers to challenge voters on the basis of citizenship, bans ranked choice voting, and changes major party status rules

June 3, 2025, 3:32 amalternative voting systems, ballot access, election administrationDerek Muller

Tom Barton for the Cedar Rapids Gazette: House File 954 addresses elections laws regarding voter registration, citizenship and major party status. It also bans ranked choice voting in Iowa. It adds citizenship status to age and residency under which… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law