“After Bankman-Fried’s arrest, Washington seeks answers — and distance”

December 14, 2022, 6:58 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: For others in Washington, the FTX founder’s arrest carried immediate political implications, since federal officials coupled their fraud charges against Bankman-Fried with allegations he conspired to commit multiple violations of campaign finance laws involving donations in the “tens of… Continue reading

Watch Video of ABA’s “Seventh Annual State of Voting Rights Event”

December 14, 2022, 6:53 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can watch archived video. Here’s information about the speakers.

“Deal to prevent another Jan. 6 included in spending package, Schumer says”

December 13, 2022, 9:13 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: The upcoming massive year-end spending package will include a revamp of an obscure law that Donald Trump tried to exploit to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday. The Senate majority leader also said anticipated additional Ukraine… Continue reading

“Advocates seek federal investigation of multistate effort to copy voting software”

December 13, 2022, 9:09 amelection subversion risk, voting technologyRick Hasen

WaPo: An effort by supporters of former president Donald Trump to copy sensitive voting software in multiple states after the 2020 election deserves attention from the federal government, including a criminal investigation and assessment of the risk posed to election… Continue reading

“2022 Review: How Republicans Lost Despite Winning the Popular Vote”

December 13, 2022, 7:31 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for the NYT: Here’s a figure about the 2022 midterm elections that might surprise you: Republicans won the national House popular vote by three percentage points — 51 percent to 48 percent. They still won by two points… Continue reading

“Elon Musk uses QAnon tactic in criticizing former Twitter safety chief”

December 13, 2022, 7:29 amcheap speechRick Hasen

WaPo: Elon Musk escalated his battle of words with previous managers of Twitter into risky new territory over the weekend, allying himself with far-right crusaders against a purported epidemic of child sex abuse and implying that the company’s former head… Continue reading

“A Plot To Overturn An American Election”

December 13, 2022, 7:25 amchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

TPM: The messages you are about to read are the definitive, real-time record of a plot to overturn an American election. TPM has obtained the 2,319 text messages that Mark Meadows, who was President Trump’s last White House chief of… Continue reading

“Lawsuit alleges lifetime jury ban harms Black New Yorkers and undermines democracy”

December 13, 2022, 6:35 amfelon votingfelon bars on jury service, felon disenfranchisementTabatha Abu El-Haj

Brigid Bergin (Gothamist) reports on a recently filed federal class-action suit challenging the constitutionality of a New York state law that bars felons from jury service. The suit argues that jury service is a critical democratic practice, and… Continue reading

“Obstruction Charge Takes Center Stage at Jan. 6 Court Hearing”

December 12, 2022, 4:46 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Prosecutors and defense lawyers squared off on Monday at a federal appeals court hearing in Washington over the use of a criminal charge whose viability could affect the cases of hundreds of people indicted in connection with the Jan.… Continue reading

With Two Judges Not Participating and Two Dissenting, D.C. Circuit Will Not Review En Banc Decision That Allows a Minority of FEC Commissioners to Block Judicial Review By Bare Assertion of “Prosecutorial Discretion”

December 12, 2022, 2:40 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

This is a travesty and renders the judicial review procedures of FEC actions mostly meaningless. Judge Millett’s dissent from the denial of en banc review begins: Essential to the rule of law is the principle that a governmental agency cannot… Continue reading

“Special counsel sends Trump subpoena to Ga. secretary of state Raffensperger”

December 12, 2022, 2:37 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: Special counsel Jack Smith has sent a grand jury subpoena to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, bringing to five the number of 2020 battleground states where state or local election officials are known to have received such requests… Continue reading

Sholk’s Latest “A Guide to Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations”is Now Available

December 12, 2022, 11:13 amtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Here.

“How Kari Lake’s campaign to be the Trump of 2022 unraveled”

December 12, 2022, 6:48 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: After Kari Lake rode former president Donald Trump’s endorsement to the Republican nomination for governor of Arizona, some of her aides and allies urged her to moderate her campaign to compete in the November election. Advisers wanted her… Continue reading