“Money, Politics, and the First Amendment”
This looks to be a great hybrid event at the University of Wisconsin’s State Democracy Research Initiative on October 3.
“Richard Bernstein: The Trump Administration’s Arguments About the National Guard Threaten the 2026 Elections”
Must-read:
Yesterday, federal District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the Trump Administration’s federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles to assist in immigration law enforcement violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which is 18 U.S.C. section 1385. The Posse Comitatus… Continue reading
“Utah’s congressional maps must be redrawn right away, judge rule”
AP:
A judge has ruled that Utah lawmakers must proceed with redrawing the state’s congressional district map right away, pointing to Texas and California in rejecting their argument that the job can’t be done in time for the 2026… Continue reading
Quote of the Day
I was reading Nick Stephanopoulos’ amicus brief in the LA v. Callais case and was struck by this statement in his summary of argument:
“Based on these [the 2020 and 2024] elections’ results, Black vote-dilution plaintiffs would be unable to… Continue reading
Plaintiffs File Cert Petition in Turtle Mountain Band Case on Whether Private Plaintiffs Have the Right to Sue to Enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (More than 90% of Suits Have Been Brought This Way Since 1982)
This cert petition follows from the Supreme Court’s order putting the Eighth Circuit ruling on hold pending resolution of this cert petition. See also my earlier Slate coverage of the stakes.
Callais Amicus Brief on the Inherent Limits to Section 2
I filed this amicus brief today in Callais in conjunction with lawyers from Mehri & Skalet. The brief makes three main arguments: (1) Section 2 is unlike the policies on which the Court has previously imposed temporal limits (Section 4’s… Continue reading
Georgia: “Republican lawmakers push for hand-marked ballots in November election”
AJC:
Key Georgia lawmakers Tuesday called for a rapid test-run of hand-marked paper ballots in this year’s elections, switching from touchscreens in some polling places.
The rush to try paper ballots filled out by hand follows mounting pressure from President … Continue reading
“Why Lawmakers Don’t Want to Ban Their Own Stock Trading”
WSJ:
While running for Congress last year, Republican Rob Bresnahan—like most Americans—hated the idea of lawmakers making money by trading individual stocks in elected office and said he wanted to ban the practice.
Then he won his race.
Now a congressman… Continue reading
“The Hidden Cause (and Higher Stakes) of the Gerrymandering Crisis”
Michael Parsons and Kevin Johnson in The Fulcrum:
The gerrymandering wars have laid bare the unique Achilles’ heel at the heart of our structural dysfunction: We give partisan institutions immense power over the rules of elections. No other peer … Continue reading
“The Future of Voting Rights Is on the Line at the Supreme Court”
Here’s a transcript of a bit of my Slate Amicus podcast conversation with Dahlia Lithwick:
Can you just explain to us what happens if Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is no longer the mechanism by which voters can… Continue reading
Walter Olson: “CIS kicks voter registration groups out of naturalization ceremonies”
Walter at his Substack:
An Aug. 29 policy statement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency, says the agency will from now on bar nonpartisan groups such as the League of Women Voters from offering voter registration services… Continue reading
“The gerrymandering battle has a historical precedent. It’s a warning we should heed.”
Alex Keyssar oped in The Boston Globe:
The framers of the Constitution — assembling in 1787, a time when political parties did not exist — chose to leave it to the state Legislatures to decide how to select presidential electors.… Continue reading
“How Elon Musk Is Remaking Grok in His Image”
NYT:
Elon Musk has said Grok, the A.I.-powered chatbot that his company developed, should be “politically neutral” and “maximally truth-seeking.”
But in practice, Mr. Musk and his artificial intelligence company, xAI, have tweaked the chatbot… Continue reading
Announcing the Safeguarding Democracy Project’s Fall Lineup of Events and Webinars, Focused on the Fairness and Integrity of the 2026 Midterms
The Risk of Federal Interference in the 2026 Midterm Elections
Tuesday, September 16, 12:15pm-1:15pm PT, Webinar
Register here.
Ben Haiman, UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice, Liz Howard, NYU Law Brennan Center for Justice, and Stephen Richer, Ash Center for Democratic Governance… Continue reading