“Future of Gerrymandering? Here’s How Weird Things Could Look”

November 2, 2025, 7:38 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT’s The Tilt: You’ve probably seen gerrymandered congressional maps with snaking, winding, twisting districts drawn to give one party an advantage. In the not too distant future, it might be possible to imagine even crazier maps. For decades, Section… Continue reading

Federal District Court Issues a Permanent Injunction Barring the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from Altering the Federal Form to Register to Vote to Require Documentary Proof of Citizenship, as Trump Purported to Order

October 31, 2025, 1:21 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can find the careful and well reasoned district court opinion at this link. From the introduction: The first question presented in these consolidated cases is whether the President, acting unilaterally, may direct changes to federal election procedures. Because… Continue reading

“Dems ‘Need the Votes’ of ‘Illegal Citizens,’ Top Federal Election Official Claims in Unhinged Rant” (Republican EAC Commissioner Christy McCormick)

October 31, 2025, 1:08 pmElection Assistance Commission, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Despicable: A top federal voting official is facing a call to step down after accusing Democrats of encouraging “open borders” and widespread voting by “illegal citizens,” because “they need the votes.” The outlandish conspiracy theory is common on the… Continue reading

“In Late, Obscure Notice, DHS Turbocharges Trump’s Voter Purge Database, Evading Privacy Protections”

October 31, 2025, 1:06 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

Democracy Docket: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly formalized sweeping changes to a federal immigration database Friday, turning it into a national “voter verification” tool that appears to sidestep federal privacy protections and will make it easier to remove … Continue reading

ProPublica Profile of NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby Draws Veiled Threat from Justice’s Daughter to Drop the Story or Deal with Trump Administration

October 31, 2025, 1:01 pmchicanery, judicial elections, redistrictingRick Hasen

ProPublica: In early 2023, Paul Newby, the Republican chief justice of North Carolina’s Supreme Court, gave the state and the nation a demonstration of the stunning and overlooked power of his office. The previous year, the court — then… Continue reading

“A Fundraiser Convicted of Defrauding ‘Vulnerable’ Victims Is Back — and Making Millions From Republican Campaigns”

October 31, 2025, 12:54 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Dave Levinthal for Notus: Jack Daly, who was convicted and sent to prison last year after pleading guilty to defrauding thousands of conservative political donors out of money, has emerged from federal custody to quietly re-establish… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of My Safeguarding Democracy Project Conversation with Danielle Citron, Brendan Nyhan, and Amy Wilentz on the Media and Social Media Information Environment in 2026

October 31, 2025, 7:30 amcheap speech, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

An elucidating conversation. Watch:

“Trump Urges Republicans to End the Filibuster to Reopen Government”

October 31, 2025, 7:28 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

WSJ: President Trump urged Senate Republicans to end the filibuster, the longstanding rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation, in order to reopen the government without the support of Democrats. “It is now time for the Republicans to… Continue reading

“The Debate Dividing the Supreme Court’s Liberal Justices; Outnumbered and facing vast stakes, Justices Kagan and Jackson are split over the best approach: investing in diplomacy inside the court or sounding the alarm outside.”

October 31, 2025, 7:27 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Jodi Kantor for the NYT.

NYU Democracy Project: A National Primary Day

October 31, 2025, 5:25 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Yesterday, Robert Boatright and Catherine Tolbert’s essay argued that we should hold primary elections on a single, national primary day: When America adopted primary elections, primaries were hailed as a way to give the public a say in choosing our… Continue reading

“AJC poll: Georgia Democrats express growing distrust in the election system”

October 30, 2025, 9:36 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

AJC: For much of the last decade, it was Republicans who questioned the integrity of Georgia’s elections. Now a growing share of Democrats are voicing doubts of their own. In the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, more than one-third of… Continue reading

As California SOS Questions Department of Justice Authority to Send Federal Election Monitors to 5 California Counties, Looks Like DOJ is Sending Only Two U.S. Attorneys to Observe Voting Processes in Orange County

October 30, 2025, 8:18 amchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

The California Secretary of State questions authority of DOJ to send monitors to 5 California Counties: The CA GOP released a letter citing supposed irregularities in the 5 California counties that formed its purported basis for “requesting” DOJ monitors. Despite… Continue reading

“Trump Suggests He Knows He Can’t Run Again: ‘It’s Too Bad’”

October 30, 2025, 7:46 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump seemed to concede on Wednesday that he was not eligible to serve a third term, lamenting that it was an unfortunate result of the constitutional prohibition that he has mused about violating for months. Speaking to… Continue reading

“Ohio Republicans cut redistricting deal with Dems”

October 30, 2025, 7:39 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Punchbowl: Republicans on Ohio’s redistricting commission struck a deal with Democrats on a compromise congressional map after hours of late-night deliberations…. This compromise is a shocking development. Ohio’s constitution mandates a complicated redistricting process that includes the commission and the state… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law