“Trump campaign paid researchers to prove 2020 fraud but kept findings secret”

February 12, 2023, 7:38 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: Former president Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign commissioned an outside research firm in a bid to prove electoral-fraud claims but never released the findings because the firm disputed many of his theories and could not offer any proof that… Continue reading

North Carolina Supreme Court Schedules March 14 Oral Argument in Rehearing in Harper, the Partisan Gerrymandering Case that Could Moot Moore v. Harper (the Independent State Legislature Case) at SCOTUS

February 10, 2023, 10:09 amlegislation and legislatures, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here is the order. That gives plenty of time for the North Carolina Supreme Court to do what I expect, which is to reverse the earlier holding that partisan gerrymandering violates the North Carolina constitution, before the Supreme Court… Continue reading

“The Congressional Fundraising Treadmill”

February 10, 2023, 9:36 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

New from Issue One:

“Pence Gets Subpoena From Special Counsel in Jan. 6 Investigation”

February 9, 2023, 4:34 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cling to his office after he lost his bid for re-election, a person familiar with the matter said… Continue reading

“Pennsylvania voting officials are still fighting election deniers”

February 9, 2023, 3:21 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

NPR: It’s been 27 months since President Biden won the 2020 election. But that election continues to haunt officials in the Philadelphia suburb of Delaware County, Pa., who are still dealing with lawsuits alleging election fraud, despite no substantial… Continue reading

My New Paper: “Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law: Reluctant Lessons from Ellen Aprill”

February 9, 2023, 11:52 amcampaign finance, Supreme Court, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

I have written this draft for a festschrift symposium issue of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review honoring my dear friend, Loyola Law School professor Ellen Aprill. Here is the abstract: This brief Essay was prepared for a… Continue reading

National Task Force on Election Crises Issues Report with Recommendations for 2023, 2024 Elections

February 9, 2023, 11:49 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

You can read the recommendations here and the larger report here.

“New Pa. Supreme Court opinion opens the door for a patchwork of county policies on wrongly dated ballots”

February 8, 2023, 8:23 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has once again waded into the protracted legal battle over whether mail ballots missing a date or with the wrong date should be thrown out. But while a series of opinions the justices issued… Continue reading

“‘Only in Mississippi’: White representatives vote to create white-appointed court system for Blackest city in America”

February 8, 2023, 12:41 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Mississippi Today: A white supermajority of the Mississippi House voted after an intense, four-plus hour debate to create a separate court system and an expanded police force within the city of Jackson — the Blackest city in America — that… Continue reading

Want to Feel Better About American Elections?

February 8, 2023, 10:35 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From the Financial Times, paywalled: It’s not every day that foreign observers are needed to monitor an election in Germany, one of the west’s richest and most stable democracies. But then again, Berlin is no ordinary city. Fourteen officials from… Continue reading

“Appeals court backs N.C. attorney general in battle to avoid criminal libel prosecution”

February 8, 2023, 10:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: A federal appeals court has sided with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein in his bid to avoid prosecution under a state law criminalizing false and “derogatory” statements related to political candidates. In a ruling Wednesday, the 4th… Continue reading

March 17 UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project Conference (Live and Livestream): Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?

February 8, 2023, 7:49 amelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections? The role of media, law, political norms, and technology in assuring free and fair elections and public acceptance of election results in the United States. Friday, March 17, 2023, 8:30 am to 5… Continue reading

“Sweep in 3 Special Elections Gives Democrats Control of Pennsylvania House”

February 8, 2023, 7:48 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

NYT: Democrats swept three special elections in solidly blue House districts in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, putting the party in the majority by a single seat and breaking a Republican legislative monopoly that has… Continue reading