CREW’s case for Donald Trump’s disqualification

July 18, 2023, 2:43 pmelection subversion riskDan Tokaji

From CREW’s summary of its 88-page report: “The attack on the Capitol was not a spontaneous event. It was the culmination of a multi-part scheme by Trump and his allies to use lies, intimidation, coercion and ultimately violence to… Continue reading

League of Women Voters/Common Cause Report on California Citizens Redistricting Commission

July 18, 2023, 2:37 pmredistrictingDan Tokaji

The report, authored by Christian Grose, is available here. From the press release: “The CRC process, by design, is massively more participatory, inclusive, and transparent than redistricting conducted by state legislatures. The result is a process that empowers… Continue reading

“Did a New York Court Just Hand Democrats Control of Congress in 2024?”

July 18, 2023, 12:59 pmredistrictingDan Tokaji

Slate on last week’s decision from an intermediate state appellate court: “If Thursday’s ruling is upheld by the state’s highest court, both parties believe that Democrats could conceivably hammer out new district lines that conform to the state’s legal standards… Continue reading

Webinar on “Building Trust in Elections”

July 18, 2023, 12:53 pmelection administrationDan Tokaji

From the MIT Election Data + Science Lab and scheduled for July 28, 11-2 ET: “This webinar brings together researchers, election officials, and organizations dedicated to supporting the work of election officials for a series of panels reflecting on lessons… Continue reading

Daniel Richman on Percoco

July 18, 2023, 12:49 pmbriberyDan Tokaji

The abstract of “Percoco v. United States – Navigating Between ‘Politics As Usual’ and Sacks of Cash,” on SSRN and forthcoming in Yale L.J. Forum: In Percoco v. United States, as in other recent cases, the Court’s interest in avoiding… Continue reading

“Galveston County’s redistricting plans go to trial next month, in a major test of the Voting Rights Act”

July 18, 2023, 12:44 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

From Houston Public Media: “Next month, a federal trial will take place in Galveston that will mark the first serious test of the Voting Rights Act since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a key portion of the law in … Continue reading

“Another campaign complaint filed against opponents of Alaska ranked choice voting”

July 18, 2023, 12:43 pmalternative voting systems, direct democracyDan Tokaji

Alaska Public Media: On Monday, Alaskans for Better Elections filed a complaint against former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, a nonprofit that she operates and Alaskans for Honest Elections, which is campaigning to repeal ranked choice voting in… Continue reading

“Trump says he’s received a target letter from special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigators”

July 18, 2023, 8:41 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

Politico: Donald Trump said Tuesday he expects to be indicted by special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 grand jury, citing a “target letter” he received from investigators on Sunday…. Trump said the letter, which is prosecutors’ typical precursor to… Continue reading

Video Ad from Pro-DeSantis Super PAC Uses AI-Generated Trump Voice

July 18, 2023, 5:09 amcampaign finance, chicaneryDan Tokaji

The next frontier in attack ads? You can watch and listed to the ad on Politico, which reports: The ad, from Never Back Down, charges Trump with attacking Iowa governor Kim Reynolds as part of a larger pattern of… Continue reading

“The battle for the House is currently dominated by GOP fundraising”

July 18, 2023, 4:55 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Politico: “GOP leaders are continuing to reap the rewards of a successful, yearslong strategy to erase the massive small-dollar fundraising advantage that Democrats enjoyed since former President Donald Trump took office in 2017. With it, they hope to spook… Continue reading

“North Carolina elections at risk of chaos with Legislature’s proposed overhaul”

July 18, 2023, 4:43 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, voter registrationDan Tokaji

NBC News: North Carolina lawmakers are considering not only a spate of new election restrictions but also a major overhaul of state and county-level election boards, alarming advocates who say some of the proposals could grind the state’s democratic… Continue reading

“Donald Trump promises a post-democratic second term”

July 18, 2023, 4:40 ampolitical polarizationDan Tokaji

Philip Bump in WaPo, riffing off yesterday’s NYT story and the recent AP-NORC poll: “What Trump proposes … is a collapse of the idea of a democratic government with temporary stewards, an extension of his own misunderstanding of… Continue reading

Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Attempt to Scuttle Election Interference Investigation

July 18, 2023, 4:35 amelection subversion riskDan Tokaji

You can find the unanimous five-page order here. The former president petitioned Georgia’s high court for writs of mandamus and prohibition to quash the special grand jury report, prevent Fulton County D.A. Willis from introducing evidence from it,… Continue reading

“Alabama Republicans reject call for 2nd majority Black district, despite Supreme Court ruling”

July 17, 2023, 3:51 pmredistrictingDan Tokaji

AP: “Republicans, who have been resistant to creating a certain Democratic district, proposed a map that would increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd congressional district from about 30% to nearly 42.5%, wagering that will satisfy the… Continue reading