“The Doom Spiral of Pernicious Polarization”

May 21, 2022, 2:02 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

Yasha Mounk has a new piece in The Atlantic that highlights a study by the Carnegie Endowment led by Jennifer McCoy. Here’s a key passage of Mounk’s piece towards the end: “One approach that could alleviate polarization in the U.S.… Continue reading

“Voting is Surging In Georgia Despite Controversial New Election Law”

May 21, 2022, 12:17 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Ned flagged this article earlier, mentioned it includes a lot of rich details, but used his post to turn to other issues. Given the controversies around the changes to Georgia’s voting laws over the last year, I thought it was… Continue reading

2022 Redistricting Likely to Undercut Strides Made by Women in Recent Elections

May 21, 2022, 8:11 amredistricting2022 redistricting, Gender EquityTabatha Abu El-Haj

The AP reports on new analysis from the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University which looks at the likely negative impact of new congressional maps on female incumbents. It appears that being the last to the table… Continue reading

“Final New York maps released and lead to midnight shuffle of congressional delegation”

May 21, 2022, 7:58 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: A court released final maps for New York’s 26 congressional and 63 state Senate districts in the midnight hour on Saturday morning, setting in motion a flurry of campaign activity as candidates quickly jockeyed for position in critical seats.The… Continue reading

Some good news from Georgia–and a caveat

May 21, 2022, 6:12 amUncategorizedNed Foley

The Washington Post reports “after three weeks of early voting ahead of Tuesday’s primary, record-breaking turnout is undercutting predictions that the Georgia Election Integrity Act of 2021 would lead to a falloff in voting.” The story, which has lots of… Continue reading

Third Circuit Rules Undated mail ballots should be counted. Error was immaterial.

May 20, 2022, 6:49 pmabsentee ballots, court decisions, votingDecisionTabatha Abu El-Haj

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled to today, in Migliori et al v. Lehigh County Board of Elections–a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union–that 257 mail-in ballots that had been excluded from the 2021… Continue reading

“Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice, pressed Ariz. lawmakers to help reverse Trump’s loss, emails show”

May 20, 2022, 1:40 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

A Washington Post exclusive reports on new emails showing Ginni Thomas’ efforts to secure a second term for Trump. This of course is part of a larger story and the questions her activism raises about Justice Thomas and the Court.… Continue reading

“Eastman provides new details of Trump’s direct role in legal effort to overturn election”

May 20, 2022, 5:19 amElection Meltdown, election subversion riskJan. 6 investigationsTabatha Abu El-Haj

From Politico: Attorney John Eastman once again seeks to shield emails and other communication with former President Trump and allies from the select committee. The new filing reveals routine communication “with Trump either directly or via ‘six conduits’ during the… Continue reading

“How our system of primary elections could destroy democracy”

May 19, 2022, 2:45 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

I’ve written this column for the Washington Post. Building upon ELB posts I’ve written recently on this topic, it argues in part: Duverger’s law does not work in party primaries. Political science has not settled on why; one theory… Continue reading

New Report on State Legislative Efforts to Politicize Election Administration

May 19, 2022, 2:34 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

A new Report from Protect Democracy, States United Democracy Center, and Law Forward systematically surveys state legislative efforts introduced as of April 2022 to politicize election administration, including bills that attempt to give legislators more control over election… Continue reading

Jan. 6 Roundup

May 19, 2022, 1:14 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

There have been a number of developments in the ongoing and separate investigations of the select committee and the Department of Justice this week. On the House side, new evidence indicates Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), a member of the House … Continue reading

Kentucky Law Journal Inviting Proposals: Drawing the Lines: Redistricting After the 2020 Census

May 19, 2022, 12:43 pmredistrictingUpcoming SymposiumTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Kentucky Law Journal is pleased to invite proposals for its annual symposium, which will be held on October 14, 2022. The KLJ symposium is entitled Drawing the Lines: Redistricting After the 2020 Census and will focus on the legal… Continue reading

New Fox Poll Shows Kemp with Comfortable Lead in Polls

May 19, 2022, 5:20 amchicanery, Election Meltdown, election subversion riskTabatha Abu El-Haj

A new Fox News poll shows Republican primary voters supporting Brian Kemp by wide-margins. This strikes me as going to the point that it is easier to distrust “other” people’s election systems than one’s own. Even in a swing state,… Continue reading

Updated: “Trump urges Oz to ‘declare victory’ before vote tally complete in Pa.”

May 18, 2022, 7:45 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post (and others) reporting Trump’s posturing and anti-absentee ballot nonsense. But buried way down in the article is some actual interesting information on turnout (see quote below. For more on the state of the count and likelihood of a… Continue reading