“Inside the G.O.P.’s State Party Problem”

February 25, 2024, 6:39 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

I had missed this NYT piece from a few days ago: State Republican parties in roughly half of the most important battleground states are awash in various degrees of dysfunction, debt and disarray. In Arizona, the chairman of the state’s… Continue reading

“They Could Decide the 2024 Election. If They Vote”

February 25, 2024, 6:36 pmvotingRick Hasen

Marcela Valdes in NYT Magazine.

“Supreme Court to Decide How the First Amendment Applies to Social Media”

February 25, 2024, 7:50 amcheap speech, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The most important First Amendment cases of the internet era, to be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, may turn on a single question: Do platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X most closely… Continue reading

Texas: “Does federal law cited by Tarrant County judge really ban free transit rides to polls?”

February 24, 2024, 11:29 amvotingRick Hasen

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare this week cited federal law to support his opposition to reimbursing Trinity Metro for free fares on primary Election Day. But, does that law actually prohibit free rides to the polls?… Continue reading

I Spoke to Dahlia Lithwick’s “Amicus” Podcast at Slate About My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote” (And Other Stuff!)

February 24, 2024, 7:22 amReal Right to Vote, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can listen to this great conversation here: A Series of Lawsuits That We Call an Election How to fix the laws, and the gaps in the law, that are breaking American democracy. Dahlia Lithwick is drinking from the… Continue reading

Wisconsin: “Assembly leaders concede Michael Gableman violated records laws during fruitless 2020 election review”

February 24, 2024, 7:16 amchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:’ Assembly officials have admitted former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman violated public records laws while taxpayers paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars to probe the 2020 election — an investigation that did not turn … Continue reading

“The two-party doom loop”

February 23, 2024, 11:23 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Lee Drutman and Farbod Faraji Boston Globe oped: Our antiquated system of single-member, winner-take-all elections — if a candidate wins 51 percent of the vote, she wins 100 percent of the representation — is not up to the extraordinary… Continue reading

“How Democrats Could Disqualify Trump If the Supreme Court Doesn’t”

February 23, 2024, 9:33 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

The Atlantic: Murray and other legal scholars say that, absent clear guidance from the Supreme Court, a Trump win could lead to a constitutional crisis in Congress. Democrats would have to choose between confirming a winner many of them believe… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “The Biggest Supreme Court Case That Nobody Seems to Be Talking About”

February 23, 2024, 7:34 amcheap speech, election subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a pair of cases out of Texas and Florida that could force major social media platforms to carry posts from Donald Trump… Continue reading

“Court battle reveals effort to undermine No Labels presidential bid”

February 23, 2024, 7:30 amchicanery, third partiesRick Hasen

WaPo: Political operatives opposed to No Labels’ potential 2024 presidential ticket took over the NoLabels.com domain last year and purchased Google search ads aimed at spreading the misleading claim that the group supported former president Donald Trump and other right-wing… Continue reading

Iowa Supreme Court unanimously finds legislative privilege extends to election law dispute

February 23, 2024, 7:10 amSpeech or Debate ClauseDerek Muller

From the introduction of Justice Dana Oxley’s opinion for the Court in Smith v. Iowa District Court for Polk County: In an effort to support its constitutional challenges to recent legislative changes to voting procedures, the League of Latin… Continue reading

“GOP backs voting by mail, yet turns to courts to restrict it in battleground states”

February 23, 2024, 6:59 amabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Zach Roth: Fearing that Democrats hold a crucial edge in ballots cast before Election Day, national Republicans are working to convince their voters to take advantage of mail and early voting this year. “We can’t play catch up. We… Continue reading

Some Idle Speculation About What the Supreme Court Will Do About Trump’s Request to Put His Election Subversion Case on Hold on Immunity Grounds;It’s Potentially Good News for a Trial This Spring/Summer

February 22, 2024, 6:42 pmelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

As ELB readers know, Donald Trump’s federal district court trial in DC on election subversion charges, that was scheduled for March, has been put on hold as Trump has pursued an “interlocutory” appeal (that is, an appeal in the middle… Continue reading

Travis Crum: “Justice Alito Embraces a Retrogression Standard”

February 22, 2024, 6:19 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Travis Crum: Earlier this week, the Supreme Court denied cert in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, an important case about intentional discrimination and what facially neutral policies to… Continue reading