“Third Party Candidates Shouldn’t Get Their Hopes Up”

October 18, 2023, 4:10 amballot access, political parties, third partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Andy Craig offers a thorough explanation of why a random third party run is unlikely to be successful, even if the candidate has name recognition and some popularity. Think Joe Manchin or Larry Hogan. Craig could have gone further: It… Continue reading

““I Don’t Think They Care”: Virginia Is Slow-Walking the Fix to a Wrongful Voter Purge”

October 17, 2023, 6:09 pmfelon votingvoter purgeTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bolts Magazine: While Virginia officials have admitted to improperly removing some people from voter rolls, they are taking their sweet time in fixing their mistake. This despite the fact that the next election is just THREE WEEKS away. The… Continue reading

Poland’s Partisans Choose Country over Party

October 17, 2023, 5:49 pmcomparative election lawauthoritarianism, comparative politicsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Ian Bassin and Ben Raderstorf (Protect Democracy) offer an interesting analysis of Poland’s recent election in which the pro-democracy forces pulled off a surprise victory. How? They abided by the “important pro-democracy maxim: don’t let the coalition fracture.” The authors… Continue reading

“Black Voters Have New Power in Mississippi. Can They Elect a Democrat?”

October 17, 2023, 12:48 pmfelon votingcompetitive elections, multiracial democracy, southern politicsTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times explores potential implications of excising two relics of the state’s 1890 disenfranchising constitution. The 2023 election will proceed without a geographic support threshold for statewide offices and with the votes of felons, if they can be registered and… Continue reading

“Jordan falls short of speakership on first vote”

October 17, 2023, 12:20 pmpolitical parties, political polarizationgovernance, House RepublicansTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post and pretty much everyone else is reporting that Representative Jordan received 200 votes in the first round, well short of the 217 he needs. (Democrat Jeffries received 212). The drama will continue.

Text of Trump Gag Order in Election Interference Case

October 17, 2023, 8:48 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

This just in: All interested parties in this matter, including the parties and their counsel, are prohibited from making any public statements, or directing others to make any public statements, that target (1) the Special Counsel prosecuting this case… Continue reading

Voters “get talked to, but not talked with.”

October 17, 2023, 4:59 ampolitical parties, redistrictingelection timing, party politics, voter turnoutTabatha Abu El-Haj

The newest episode of Our Body Politic also has an excellent interview with Los Angeles City Council Member Nithya Raman about politics in Los Angeles. Raman describes, among other things, a kind of retail, door-to-door politics that involves both listening… Continue reading

“A Legal Fight Over Whether Governors Can Deny Thousands the Vote”

October 16, 2023, 2:28 pmUncategorizedfelon disenfranchisement, Kentucky, VirginiaTabatha Abu El-Haj

NY Times: Three states give their governors unfettered discretion when it comes to restoring the voting rights of felons. Two are being sued under the First Amendment. At the heart of these cases is whether a governor’s discretion to… Continue reading

“Judge imposes gag order on Donald Trump in D.C. trial”

October 16, 2023, 10:45 amUncategorizedTrumpTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico: Judge Tanya Chutkan has imposed a gag order preventing Donald J. Trump from attacking witnesses, special prosecutor Jack Smith, or the court on social media or in his rally speeches. As reported, the order appears to be centered… Continue reading

Louisiana Bans Private Elections Funding

October 16, 2023, 10:00 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Bolts: Voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 1, a measure that will block Louisiana’s election offices from receiving private grants from outside organizations. A non-profit with ties to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated hundreds of millions of dollars in 2020 to… Continue reading

Republicans Advantage in House Fading

October 16, 2023, 7:50 amUncategorizedredistrictingTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Morning analyzes how redistricting for Congress is shaping up after the rounds of litigation. Its conclusion: The Republican Party’s advantage is fading. “If everything goes Democrats’ way, roughly 10 House seats could become meaningfully easier to win. Next year,… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of My Conversation with Joan Biskupic on “The Roberts Court and American Democracy” for the Safeguarding Democracy Project

October 16, 2023, 7:35 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can watch here:

“Using big data to make elections fairer

October 16, 2023, 6:41 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

Kosuke Imai and Ruth Greenwood wrote this column for CommonWealth on some of their data visualization projects for redistricting. We run two projects that provide tools to help people, courts, and legislators understand how and why that is so. The … Continue reading

Redistricting Battles

October 16, 2023, 5:19 amUncategorizedracial gerrymanders, redistricting, VRATabatha Abu El-Haj

The newest episode of Our Body Politic has an excellent segment on Alabama’s redistricting fights. It is clear and accessible, and ends with a stark bottom line: “The State of Alabama has never expanded the franchise to black voters on… Continue reading