I am pleased to report that my book Election Meltdown will be published on February 4 (preorders; book website at electionmeltdown.com). Here is a brief description from the publisher:
“A hard-hitting critique of the American election process as timely as it is frightening. In a slim, cogently argued analysis, legal scholar points to four dangers threatening the voting process in 2020 and beyond . . . Required reading for legislators and voters.”
—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
From the nation’s leading expert, an indispensable analysis of key threats to the integrity of the 2020 American presidential election
As the 2020 presidential campaign begins to take shape, there is widespread distrust of the fairness and accuracy of American elections. In this timely and accessible book, Richard L. Hasen uses riveting stories illustrating four factors increasing the mistrust. Voter suppression has escalated as a Republican tool aimed to depress turnout of likely Democratic voters, fueling suspicion. Pockets of incompetence in election administration, often in large cities controlled by Democrats, have created an opening to claims of unfairness. Old-fashioned and new-fangled dirty tricks, including foreign and domestic misinformation campaigns via social media, threaten electoral integrity. Inflammatory rhetoric about “stolen” elections supercharges distrust among hardcore partisans.
Taking into account how each of these threats has manifested in recent years—most notably in the 2016 and 2018 elections—Hasen offers concrete steps that need to be taken to restore trust in American elections before the democratic process is completely undermined.
I will also be embarking on this book tour:
Times/dates are subject to change.
Feb. 2, 3 pm. Washington, DC, Politics and Prose bookstore, in conversation with Pam Fessler
Feb. 3, 4 pm. Washington DC, Campaign Legal Center, in conversation with Trevor Potter
Feb. 4, 6 pm. New York City, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Feb. 12, 5:30 pm. Irvine CA, UCI School of Law
Feb. 18, 7 pm, Atlanta, GA, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, in conversation with Richard Fausset
Feb. 20, Chapel Hill, NC (details TBA)
Feb. 26, 7:30 pm, Los Angeles, CA, Hammer Museum, in conversation with Kristen Clarke
Feb. 28, all day symposium, UCI Law, “Can American Democracy Survive the 2020 Elections?”
Mar. 5, 12 pm, Stanford CA, Stanford University Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law
Mar. 25, 7 pm, Boston/Cambridge, MA, Harvard Coop Bookstore
Mar. 26, 12 pm, Philadelphia, PA, National Constitution Center, in conversation with Ned Foley
I wanted to highlight the Feb. 28 event at UCI Law. After the public event, there will be a private meeting of an ad hoc task force to come up with concrete things to be done in the months leading up to the election which can minimize the chances of #ElectionMeltdown. We hope to produce a white paper with suggestions by early May.
I’ll be going off the grid before all this starts for the first half of January, with Justin Levitt and Dan Tokaji guest blogging then.
Hope to see you all in one of these conversations!