“G.O.P. Donors Back Manchin and Sinema as They Reshape Biden’s Agenda”

November 21, 2021, 6:27 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

Kenneth P. Vogel and Kate Kelly, N.Y. Times Business and conservative big donors turn their attention to the two Democratic Senators that hold the key to stopping a transformative version of Biden’s agenda. “Even as Ms. Sinema and Mr. Manchin,… Continue reading

The Consequences of Disinformation–An International Perspective

November 20, 2021, 12:06 pm19th Amendment, cheap speechTabatha Abu El-Haj

A new article by Karen Hao in the Technology Review explores “how Facebook and Google fund global misinformation.” It argues that “the tech giants are paying millions of dollars to the operators of clickbait pages,” thereby “bankrolling the deterioration of… Continue reading

The loss of competitive districts–and maybe democracy

November 20, 2021, 9:11 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Those who are closely following this cycle of redistricting are aware of the reduction in the number of competitive congressional seats. Politico, for example, has a story with the title “Kiss Your Swing Districts Goodbye“. The 538 website… Continue reading

“Kansas Voter Suppression Law Blocked by Court”

November 20, 2021, 4:49 amcourt decisions, votingTabatha Abu El-Haj

Democracy Alerts Federal court grants preliminary injunction in case challenging Kansas’s new voter suppression law. “The lawsuit, filed on behalf of VoteAmerica and Voter Participation Center in June, is challenging House Bill 2332, which restricts nonpartisan out-of-state organizations from providing… Continue reading

“Effort to breach Ohio county’s voting system draws FBI and state scrutiny”

November 20, 2021, 4:36 amchicanery, election administration, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post Exclusive by Amy Gardner, Emma Brown, and Devlin Barrett Investigators are examining possible connections between an attempted breach of Ohio county’s election network and “an incident in Colorado earlier this year, when government officials helped an outsider gain… Continue reading

“Former Kentucky Secretary of State Faces Ethics Charges”

November 20, 2021, 4:19 amelection administrationTabatha Abu El-Haj

Carson Kessler, ProPublica Former Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Democrat, has been accused “of misusing her office for personal and political purposes” in an order filed by the state’s Executive Branch Ethics Commission. “The news comes nearly… Continue reading

Breaking–Eleventh Circuit Denies Libertarian Party Free Access to Voter Lists

November 19, 2021, 2:11 pmballot access, third partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Richard Winger, at Ballot Access News has a full summary and critique of the decision. The case involved a challenge to Alabama’s decision to give a free list of registered voters to qualified parties, state legislators, and a variety… Continue reading

“RNC chair contradicts Trump: ‘Biden won the election'”

November 19, 2021, 2:00 pmchicanery, political polarizationTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Hill Imagine that this counts as news. Still, Trump’s lie continues to fuel illegal and misguided efforts to find (or fabricate) fraud. Incisive critique of polarization discourse by Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post today.

Breaking–Sean Trende and Bernard Grofman to draw Virginia Maps

November 19, 2021, 10:56 amredistrictingTabatha Abu El-Haj

Dave Wasserman on Twitter reports that the Virginia Supreme Court has unanimously appointed Sean Trende and Bernard Groffman as special masters for the court-supervised redistricting process.

A Good Day for Democracy

November 19, 2021, 7:13 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

The House passed the Build Back Better bill moments ago, attempting to make good on the promises that Democrats made to the electorate last November. To be sure, there may be consequences for the party next fall. If the electorate… Continue reading

“Wisconsin Republicans Push to Take Over the State’s Elections”

November 19, 2021, 5:22 amelection administration, election subversion riskTabatha Abu El-Haj

Reid J. Epstein, N.Y. Times The ongoing effort seeks to eliminate the state’s bipartisan elections agency. “Republicans in Wisconsin are engaged in an all-out assault on the state’s election system, building off their attempts to challenge the results of the… Continue reading

“Ohio Republicans’ redistricting map dilutes Black voters’ power in Congress, critics say”

November 19, 2021, 4:54 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActTabatha Abu El-Haj

Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post Legal challenge, including on state constitutional grounds, expected if Governor Mike DeWine signs the new map into law. Either way, “the map will only be in effect for four years, since fewer than one-third of legislative… Continue reading

“Wisconsin governor vetoes redistricting maps, calls them ‘gerrymandering 2.0′”

November 18, 2021, 3:53 pmredistrictingTabatha Abu El-Haj

Breaking News from The Hill Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor, Tony Evers, has vetoed the maps Wisconsin’s Republican Legislature sent him–as promised last week. “Republicans do not have enough support in the legislature to overturn the veto, sending the battle over the… Continue reading

“Pennsylvania House Republicans threaten to remove Lehigh County elections board unless it rescinds acceptance of undated ballots”

November 18, 2021, 3:41 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

Ford Turner, The Morning Call The actual ballot counting process will end up in the courts. Still, the threat to use impeachment is concerning. Some Republicans also threatened to impeach the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices who voted to hold partisan… Continue reading