“This Election’s Surprising Bright Spot for Progressives Is a Very Big Deal”

November 21, 2024, 9:18 amjudicial elections2024 Election Cycle, state supreme courtsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Mark Joseph Stern (Slate) offers a round-up on state supreme court races and analysis. “Across the country, voters also elected liberal justices to their state Supreme Courts, which function as a key backstop for civil rights and democracy as federal… Continue reading

Attacks on Press Begin …

November 21, 2024, 8:07 amauthoritarian threats in USTabatha Abu El-Haj

NY Times reports, “Trump Tells Republicans to ‘Kill’ Reporter Shield Bill Passed Unanimously by House.” Democracy is not possible without a free press. Authoritarian attacks on the “enemies of the people” begin with seemingly innocuous changes that fall… Continue reading

“Trump ignores transition rules. It’s a ‘hostile takeover,’ ally says.”

November 21, 2024, 8:01 amauthoritarian threats in USTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post: Trump is breaking norms in Washington with glee. Not only is the transition team refusing to subject various appointees to FBI background checks, but the team is fencing executive departments out of the transition process. “In calls… Continue reading

“Trump’s Nominees Confirm the Need for Electoral Reform”

November 21, 2024, 5:47 amUncategorizedNed Foley

A new Common Ground Democracy essay on how the fear of being primaried is preventing the Senate from serving its constitutionally essential role of checking excessive presidential power.

“Three undecided House races will determine size of GOP’s narrow majority”

November 21, 2024, 5:46 amvotingTabatha Abu El-Haj

CNN: Iowa’s 1st District: “Miller-Meeks — the winner of 2020’s closest race, notching a six-vote victory before redistricting shifted Iowa’s congressional boundaries — leads Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan by about 800 votes in southeast Iowa’s 1st District, which stretches… Continue reading

Derek Muller joins “Law & Democracy” podcast

November 21, 2024, 5:43 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Derek reflects on this year’s election and its implications for election law. Available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

“Losing GOP candidate for NC Supreme Court challenges 60,000 ballots as recount starts”

November 21, 2024, 5:34 amabsentee ballots, ballot access, judicial elections, provisional ballots, recounts2024 Election Cycle, North CarolinaTabatha Abu El-Haj

News&Observer: Jefferson Griffin, the Republican candidate for North Carolina Supreme Court, requests a recount where he trails by 625 votes while also filing “a series of election protests on Tuesday challenging the validity of over 60,000 ballots cast across… Continue reading

“Ranked choice voting and open primaries retained in Alaska after final ballot count”

November 20, 2024, 8:15 pmprimariesAlaska, rank-choice voting, RCVTabatha Abu El-Haj

An update on the Alaska ballot initiative from the Anchorage Daily News. The total ballot count in the end was 340,510. The repeal effort appears to have failed by 664 votes. “A coalition of left-leaning and moderate legislators in the… Continue reading

“Mandate? Fuller election results increasingly show GOP gains were small.”

November 20, 2024, 3:20 pmvoting2024 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

Aaron Blake (Washington Post) argues that more information about the 2024 Election adds nuance to the overall picture. “[A] more holistic look — at races not just for president and the Senate but also for the House and… Continue reading

“Republicans in North Carolina pass sweeping changes to consolidate power”

November 20, 2024, 3:09 pmelection administration, legislation and legislatures, provisional ballotsNorth CarolinaTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post. North Carolina Republicans are back at it! The North Carolina legislature (controlled by Republicans) is seeking “last-minute inclusions” in a hurricane relief bill that “will strip the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of significant authority before… Continue reading

“Reckoning with Our Rights: The Evolution of Voter Access in California, Part II”

November 20, 2024, 1:55 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

New in the California Supreme Court Historical Society Review. (Here‘s Part I.)

“Californians turn down minimum-wage increase”

November 20, 2024, 6:57 amUncategorized2024 Election Cycle, Ballot InitiativesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico “The defeat of an initiative to raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour makes California the first state to reject a statewide minimum-wage increase at the ballot in almost 30 years, an outcome likely to reverberate across organized… Continue reading