“Mitch McConnell’s un-conservative plea to the Supreme Court”

December 31, 2021, 7:26 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Ruth Marcus from the Washington Post about an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court in a pending campaign-finance case: The brief comes in a case involving Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), challenging an obscure provision of federal election law that… Continue reading

“The New Pro-Majoritarian Powers”

December 30, 2021, 6:22 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

I wrote this short essay for the California Law Review in response to Pam Karlan’s Jorde Lecture, “The New Countermajoritarian Difficulty.” The abstract is below. Also check out the responses by Franita Tolson and Will Baude. In her… Continue reading

“Convicted former top KY Democrat makes a case for U.S. Supreme Court consideration”

December 30, 2021, 11:49 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Kentucky.com: A month after he reported to prison, prominent Kentucky businessman and former Kentucky Democratic Party chief Jerry Lundergan has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider overturning his conviction for illegally funneling $200,000 to his daughter’s political… Continue reading

“Ungerrymandered: Michigan’s Maps, Independently Drawn, Set Up Fair Fight”

December 30, 2021, 11:33 amcitizen commissions, redistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: One of the country’s most gerrymandered political maps has suddenly been replaced by one of the fairest.A decade after Michigan Republicans gave themselves seemingly impregnable majorities in the state Legislature by drawing districts that heavily favored their party,… Continue reading

Chris Walker on Congress’s Power to Set Up an Independent Agency to Help Promote Democracy in the States (As Contained in the Freedom to Vote Act)

December 30, 2021, 11:29 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Thread starts here.

“Year that broke the recall? Why COVID led to recalls flopping nationwide”

December 30, 2021, 11:26 amrecall electionsRick Hasen

Joshua Spivak in The Hill. MORE at the Recall Elections Blog.

“‘They know where Black voters live’: Challengers say ‘race blind’ redistricting maps are anything but”

December 29, 2021, 4:04 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

CNN: In states like Texas and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers in charge of redrawing the political maps for the next decade say that the new plans are “race blind.” Their opponents in court say that the claim is implausible… Continue reading

Must-read AP: “‘Slow-motion insurrection’: How GOP seizes election power”

December 29, 2021, 1:36 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Nicholas Riccardi for AP: In the weeks leading up to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a handful of Americans — well-known politicians, obscure local bureaucrats — stood up to block then-President Donald Trump’s unprecedented… Continue reading

“Why So Many Democracies Are Floundering”

December 29, 2021, 12:02 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

This is my latest NYT essay. It reflects ideas in this article, which is still a work-in-progress. An excerpt from today’s essay: We pay too little attention to delivering effective government as a critical democratic value. We are… Continue reading

“Facebook’s Pushback: Stem the Leaks, Spin the Politics, Don’t Say Sorry”

December 29, 2021, 8:56 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

The latest from the WSJ.

Unredacted Opinion in Giffords v. FEC Shows Reasons for Long Delay in Consideration of Campaign Finance Complaints Against NRA

December 29, 2021, 8:52 amfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Opinion here. After Republican commissioners delayed consideration of the matter, FEC Commissioner Petersen recused himself once he accepted a post-FEC job at Holtzman Vogel, depriving the FEC of a quorum.

Virtual Event: “Safeguarding Democracy: Lessons Learned from 1/6”

December 29, 2021, 8:30 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

ACS: In the year since the Capitol building was stormed by an angry mob intent on overturning the results of the 2020 election, congressional leaders and Department of Justice prosecutors have been working to hold those who orchestrated the… Continue reading

“Ethics Investigators in Congress Increasingly Run Into Walls”

December 29, 2021, 8:27 amethics investigationsRick Hasen

NYT: In 2009 and 2010 — the first Congress scrutinized by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which was created in 2008 — three lawmakers refused to cooperate with the office’s 68 investigations, a noncooperation rate of just 4 percent.This… Continue reading