“Inside Harvard’s misinformation meltdown”

February 6, 2023, 7:33 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Ben Smith and Louise Matsakis for Semafor: Joan Donovan, Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, is a defining and combative voice in the study of how false information travels on the internet. She became… Continue reading

“Election skeptics slow to get sweeping changes in GOP states”

February 6, 2023, 7:29 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AP: Republicans in some heavily conservative states won their campaigns for secretary of state last year after claiming they would make sweeping changes aimed at keeping fraud out of elections. So far, their efforts to make good on their promises… Continue reading

“As G.O.P. Rails Against Federal Spending, Its Appetite for Earmarks Grows”

February 6, 2023, 7:22 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

NYT: Even as Republicans, newly empowered after taking control of the House, call for deep government spending cuts and accuse Democrats of profligacy with taxpayer dollars, a growing number of them have joined Democrats in helping themselves to larger amounts… Continue reading

“Kari Lake, Still Refusing to Accept Defeat in One Race, Teases Arizona Senate Run”

February 5, 2023, 4:42 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: Kari Lake, the fiery former news anchor who narrowly lost a race for governor of Arizona last year, said in an interview that she is considering a Republican campaign for the U.S. Senate in Arizona next year. She has… Continue reading

“Democrats Overhaul Party’s Primary Calendar, Upending a Political Tradition”

February 4, 2023, 9:02 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

NYT: Upending decades of political tradition, the Democratic National Committee on Saturday approved a sweeping overhaul of the Democratic primary process, a critical step in President Biden’s effort to transform the way the party picks its presidential nominees. For years,… Continue reading

“Do We Need to Party Better to Fix U.S. Democracy?”

February 4, 2023, 7:58 ampolitical parties, political polarizationNew ScholarshipTabatha Abu El-Haj

Didi Kuo and I recently spoke with Daniel Stid, Executive Director of Lyceum Labs about our recent article, Associational Party Building: A Path to Rebuilding Democracy. Daniel pushed us on the questions such as whether we are calling… Continue reading

Henry Olsen WaPo Oped: “Republicans have a big Kari Lake problem”

February 4, 2023, 7:35 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Olsen column: Attend a Kari Lake rally, as I did Sunday night, and you will see why so many conservatives will follow her to the ends of the Earth. Lake has star power. She lights up a stage and can… Continue reading

Breaking: North Carolina Supreme Court Grants Rehearing in Case Striking Down Congressional Districts as a Partisan Gerrymander, Potentially Mooting U.S. Supreme Court’s Independent State Legislature Case, Moore v. Harper

February 3, 2023, 3:46 pmjudicial elections, legislation and legislatures, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

On a 5-2 vote along party lines, the North Carolina Supreme Court has granted rehearing to reconsider its decision striking the state’s congressional districts as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders under the state constitution. It is also considering the state districts as… Continue reading

“Trump campaign staff on 2020 election lies: ‘fan the flame'”

February 3, 2023, 7:19 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AP: A newly released audio recording offers a behind-the-scenes look at how former President Donald Trump’s campaign team in a pivotal battleground state knew they had been outflanked by Democrats in the 2020 presidential election. But even as they acknowledged… Continue reading

“Did Kansas criminalize voter registration drives? Supreme Court weighs election law case”

February 3, 2023, 7:09 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Topeka Capital-Journal: Voter advocacy organizations are asking the Kansas Supreme Court to block a new state law that they argue criminalizes voter registration drives, despite lower courts rejecting the argument. The justices of the state’s high court indicated in Wednesday’s… Continue reading

“North Carolina Supreme Court Signals It May Roll Back Voting Rights for Thousands”

February 3, 2023, 7:04 amfelon votingRick Hasen

Bolts: The state supreme court on Thursday held a hearing on whether North Carolinians should have the right to vote while on probation or parole. The case, CSI vs. Moore, is a challenge to North Carolina’s felony disenfranchisement law, which bars… Continue reading

“FEC announces 2023-2024 campaign cycle contribution limits”

February 2, 2023, 2:32 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Release: The Federal Election Commission announced updated contribution limits that have been indexed for inflation and are effective for federal elections in 2023 and 2024. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) included provisions that indexed some contribution limits… Continue reading

“Two years after Jan. 6, Trump is still promoting violent rhetoric”

February 2, 2023, 1:58 pmchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Aaron Blake for WaPo: It has been some 25 months since supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Trump was later impeached for allegedly inciting the mob, with a historic number of Republicans voting to convict, though… Continue reading

“‘I feel duped’: Inside the fast-food industry’s push to dismantle a new California labor law”

February 2, 2023, 12:59 pmdirect democracy, petition signature gatheringRick Hasen

LAT: Susan Bushnell was in a hurry when a man, clipboard in hand, approached her outside a Walmart Supercenter in Vista, Calif., one afternoon last September. The man asked Bushnell to sign a petition as she wrangled her fussing… Continue reading