Justin Levitt is Primary ELB Blogger Next Week
Please direct any tips and comments to Justin beginning Monday. Glad to have him back!
CNN: “Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury on more than 30 counts related to business fraud”
CNN:
Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, according to two sources familiar with the case – the first time in American history that a current or former… Continue reading
Breaking: NYT Reports Grand Jury Votes to Indict Donald Trump for a Felony Related to “Hush Money” Payments; No Information Yet on Whether There is an Attempt to Bootstrap a Federal Campaign Finance Charge (Which May Not Work)
Breaking NYT:
A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will… Continue reading
“Here’s how protected election system blueprints are making their way into far-right circles”
LA Times:
On the third day of the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this month, two men delivered on experts’ biggest concerns about attempts to access election machines after the 2020 election.
Using copies of election software — improperly… Continue reading
“Defamation and Democracy: The Democracy Case for Preserving the ‘Actual Malice’ Standard”
John Langford, Rachel Goodman, and Rebecca Lullo have written this policy brief for Protect Democracy and Law for Truth.
Federal courts note circuit split on whether the “materiality” provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a right privately enforceable under Section 1983
The “materiality” provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is as follows:
No person acting under color of law shall . . . deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or… Continue reading
Florida: “2 DeSantis election fraud cases end with guilty pleas in Hillsborough; Both men received six months of probation. Their attorneys called the prosecutions political.”
Tampa Bay Times:
Two Hillsborough County residents who were part of a statewide sweep billed as an effort to combat voter fraud pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges and received six months of probation.
Hubert Jack and Michael Anderson each… Continue reading
“Arizona Democrats to sue No Labels to block third-party challenge”
WaPo:
The Arizona Democratic Party will file a lawsuit Thursday against the state’s top election administrator and No Labels, seeking to reverse the moderate group’s recognition as a political party for the 2024 elections, according to Democratic officials.
The lawsuit,… Continue reading
“Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House”
New report:
In Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House, Protect Democracy and Unite America examine a 1967 statute enacted by Congress—the Uniform Congressional District Act (UCDA)—that mandates the use of single-member districts for House elections; how the… Continue reading
“Why Sore Loser Laws Can’t Be Applied to Presidential Candidates”
Richard Winger at Smerconish:
The spring 2023 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy has an article, “How State ‘Sore-Loser’ Laws Make it Impossible for Trump to Run a Successful Third-Party Campaign If He Loses the Republican Primary.” The authors are four attorneys… Continue reading
California: “Shasta supervisors pursue hand count election plan, details remain unclear”
Jefferson Public Radio:
After ditching Dominion Voting Systems in January, Shasta County still doesn’t have a clear way to conduct elections. The county’s Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to try hand counting every ballot.
Shasta County supervisors moved… Continue reading
“How to Protect American Democracy; U.S. Elections Are Still Vulnerable to Enemies Foreign and Domestic”
Larry Norden and Derek Tisler in Foreign Affairs:
Despite this outcome, it would be foolish to believe the danger has passed. Election deniers continue to work in some election offices around the country, and in 2022, they won more… Continue reading
“Republicans Face Setbacks in Push to Tighten Voting Laws on College Campuses”
NYT:
Alarmed over young people increasingly proving to be a force for Democrats at the ballot box, Republican lawmakers in a number of states have been trying to enact new obstacles to voting for college students.
In Idaho, Republicans used… Continue reading
“Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race could be the beginning of the end for GOP dominance”
Politico:
Next week’s Supreme Court election in Wisconsin could be the beginning of the end of the GOP’s near-dominance in Wisconsin.
With the exception of the governorship, Republicans have long had a lock on most levers of power in the… Continue reading