Calling the Court’s Actions in the Louisiana Racial Redistricting Case a “Punt” Underestimates the Stakes

June 28, 2025, 7:23 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Court’s decision to set the case involving the interaction between the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, Louisiana v. Callais, for re-argument came as a surprise. The supplemental order we will soon get identifying the new issues the… Continue reading

“This Year’s Election Bills Focus On Citizenship, Ranked Choice Voting”

June 27, 2025, 6:37 pmelection administration, legislation and legislatures, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

NCSL’s election bill roundup notes the shift of this year’s crop: With most legislatures having adjourned, the number of election bills introduced was 3,160, with 331 of them enacted into law across 43 states, according to NCSL tracking. Although this… Continue reading

“Cyberattacks shake voters’ trust in elections, regardless of party”

June 27, 2025, 6:36 pmvoting technologyvoter trustJustin Levitt

Ryan Shandler, Anthony DeMattee, and Bruce Schneier in The Conversation, report results of a recent study showing the impact of information about cyberattacks — even cyberattacks unrelated to the election process — on trust in elections. And they’re clear-eyed… Continue reading

Roundup of stories on the Louisiana congressional redistricting case

June 27, 2025, 6:35 pmpolitical parties, redistricting, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

You can read about the punt from (so far): Me, AP, Times-Picayune, Louisiana Illuminator, NPR, CBS, NYT, WaPo, SCOTUSblog, The Hill, Politico, CNN, Cook Political Report, Washington … Continue reading

“Oregon Legislature abandons attempt to postpone campaign finance limits”

June 27, 2025, 6:34 pmcampaign financeJustin Levitt

Oregon adopted campaign contribution limits in March 2024, and gave themselves a cushion until 2027 for implementation. Earlier this week, after the Secretary of State said he needed more time, there was a last-minute amendment to a bill that… Continue reading

The OC Case Gets Weirder

June 27, 2025, 6:33 pmDepartment of Justice, NVRA (motor voter), voter registrationJustin Levitt

I blogged on Wednesday about the DOJ’s lawsuit against the Orange County registrar for access to voting records, and noted that the suit seemed like a weird one from DOJ. DOJ wanted information, but the stakes for DOJ seemed fairly… Continue reading

A few thoughts on election litigation after Trump v. CASA

June 27, 2025, 2:05 pmcourt decisions, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

Justin helpfully summarized the lay of the land after Trump v. CASA with respect to universal injunctions and graciously linked to my previous takes on the topic. Of note is that statewide relief in federal courts, just like nationwide relief… Continue reading

Election as a Distinct Sphere Under the First Amendment

June 27, 2025, 12:48 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Balkinization blog is running a symposium, based on an earlier in-person conference, on “Free Speech in Crisis and the Limits of the First Amendment“. My contribution is an excerpt from an essay I published in a book… Continue reading

Supreme Court sets Louisiana congressional case for reargument

June 27, 2025, 8:57 amelection law and constitutional law, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Well, that was unexpected. As mentioned a moment ago, the Court today punted on the Louisiana congressional case, Louisiana v. Callais, setting it for reargument next Term. The order says that the Court will “issue an order scheduling argument… Continue reading

Supreme Court punts on Louisiana congressional map

June 27, 2025, 8:20 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

The Court won’t be issuing an opinion today on Louisiana’s congressional map after all. Instead, they’ll re-hear argument next term. More analysis coming momentarily.

SCOTUS opinion on Louisiana redistricting coming

June 27, 2025, 7:59 amredistrictingJustin Levitt

But given the time they spent on the birthright citizenship case, it’s not going to be out by the time the digest version of the blog hits your inbox. I’ll have it here as soon as it’s available.

The Court Recognizes that Universal Relief is Required in At Least Some Election-Law Contexts

June 27, 2025, 7:57 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

In response to this recent post from Justin, I would just briefly flag note 12 in the majority opinion: “There may be other injuries for which it is all but impossible for courts to craft relief that is complete and… Continue reading

Supreme Court pushes back on universal injunctions

June 27, 2025, 7:39 amSupreme CourtJustin Levitt

In the birthright citizenship cases, the Supreme Court today issued a 32-page 6-3 opinion that didn’t touch the merits (and produced 21 pages of concurrences and 65 pages of dissents). But the procedural issue it did decide may end up… Continue reading

More evidence of the Trump mobilization of lower-frequency voters

June 26, 2025, 10:30 pmelection administration, political parties, The Voting Warsvoter turnoutJustin Levitt

The NYT headline is “If Everyone Had Voted, Harris Still Would Have Lost.” Which, of course, is impossible to know, unless you assume that demographics is inevitably destiny. But the broader point of the outcome of this new Pew study… Continue reading