“Elon Musk Might Have Broken the Law Against Bribing Voters. Whoops!”
I have written this piece for Slate. A snippet:
Federal law has long prohibited providing payments or making expenditures to induce voting, whether or not those inducements are limited to those who might vote for a particular candidate. The… Continue reading
“Right-Wing Activists Pushed False Claims About Election Fraud. Now They’re Recruiting Poll Workers in Swing States.”
ProPublica:
Right-wing strategists still talk about what happened in Detroit in 2020, when poll watchers stood outside the absentee ballot counting center, banging on windows and shouting “Stop the count!” Conspiracy theories swirled that those volunteers had been kept out… Continue reading
Democratic, Republican fundraising for election litigation tops $113 million in 18 months for 2024 election cycle
I’ve been chronicling the increase in spending on election litigation. Since 2015, election donors may contribute to “election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings,” above and beyond individual candidate campaign contribution limits.
Perhaps surprisingly, the pace of fundraising actually… Continue reading
“Online Political Spending in 2024”
New:
Political advertisers in the United States spent more than $619 million on the two largest digital ad platforms between the beginning of 2023 and the end of August of this year, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis jointly conducted… Continue reading
Votebeat Investigation of Arizona County Rejection of Mail-In Ballots for Signature Mismatches Finds Fault in Use of Signatures Captured on Electronic Pads at DMV, Hurts Younger, Older Voters
Great Votebeat investigation:
That’s especially true in Maricopa County, the largest county in Arizona and a focal point of false claims about election fraud. Under a more stringent review process, the number of ballots rejected in the county for… Continue reading
“Law and Democracy” podcast on mail-in ballots
“Trump Escalates Threats to Political Opponents He Deems the ‘Enemy'”
NYT:
With three weeks left before Election Day, former President Donald J. Trump is pushing to the forefront of his campaign a menacing political threat: that he would use the power of the presidency to crush those who disagree… Continue reading
“Nebraska Supreme Court Orders Elections Officials to Let Thousands of Nebraskans with Felony Convictions Vote”
Release via email:
The Nebraska Supreme Court issued a ruling today that orders elections officials to let Nebraskans with past felony convictions vote.
The decision stems from a lawsuit challenging Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen’s directive ordering county elections officials… Continue reading
Elon Musk’s Latest Offer of Free Admission to Hear His Speech in Exchange for Having Voted in Pennsylvania Likely Violates Federal Prohibition on Vote Buying
Here is what Elon Musk tweeted last night:
This is likely illegal, because in a federal election one cannot give anything of value in exchange for someone agreeing to turn out to vote. It is not necessary to offer that… Continue reading
“Georgia won’t count ballots by hand on election night, judge rules”
AJC:
A judge stopped a planned hand count of ballots on election night in Georgia, ruling Tuesday that it would create “administrative chaos” if poll workers were required to conduct the manual review without being trained.
Fulton County Superior Court… Continue reading
“Big Money Flowed to Pro-Trump Groups in the Past Three Months; Three people — Elon Musk, Miriam Adelson and Dick Uihlein — put a combined $220 million into groups supporting Donald J. Trump in July, August and September.”
“Dark Money: Can Billionaires Buy Elections in America?”
Podcast with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy and Brody Mullins, interviewed by Adam Smith.
The Electoral Count Reform Act Prohibits Congress From Rejecting a State’s Electoral Votes Based on Congress’ “View” about a State’s Voting Process
As we get closer to the election, a lot of misinformation about the all-important Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) is beginning to rear its head. This is the statute that defines Congress’ role when it receives and counts the electoral… Continue reading