“Nonprofits, campaign finance and more blows to democracy”

March 31, 2023, 7:45 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Lucy Bernholz blogs, responding to my draft paper, Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law: Reluctant Lessons from Ellen Aprill: In a nutshell, Professor Hasen uses Professor Aprill’s work to show the… Continue reading

“Many Democracies Have Prosecuted Ex-Leaders. The Politics Can Be Tough.”

March 31, 2023, 7:40 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: “It’s always a big deal when a former president or prime minister is indicted, but in most democracies, it is normal when they’re credibly accused of serious crimes,” said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard who has… Continue reading

“Why This Indictment Can’t Stop Donald Trump From Being Elected President”

March 31, 2023, 7:37 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Time: Former President Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on Thursday for his role in paying alleged hush money to a porn star. The move raised a number of legal questions as Trump vies for the 2024… Continue reading

Justin Levitt is Primary ELB Blogger Next Week

March 31, 2023, 7:34 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

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”

March 31, 2023, 7:33 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

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)

March 30, 2023, 2:36 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

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”

March 30, 2023, 11:25 amelection subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squad, voting technologyRick Hasen

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”

March 30, 2023, 9:55 amFirst Amendment theoryRick Hasen

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

March 30, 2023, 8:50 amabsentee ballots, court decisionsDerek Muller

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.”

March 30, 2023, 6:50 amfelon votingRick Hasen

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”

March 30, 2023, 6:41 amballot accessRick Hasen

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”

March 29, 2023, 1:36 pmalternative voting systems, legislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

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”

March 29, 2023, 8:43 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

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”

March 29, 2023, 7:32 amchicanery, election administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

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