“‘I’m just so scared’: Lawmakers reckon with safety after Minnesota slayings”

June 19, 2025, 5:50 amauthoritarian threats in USpolitical violenceTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Washington Post offers a lengthy treatment of issues and includes text from group chats among concerned lawmakers. “State lawmakers — who tend to be far more accessible than their federal counterparts — are weighing new safety precautions and considering… Continue reading

“NJ Justices Nix Redistricting Challenge, Draw Rare Dissent”

June 18, 2025, 3:25 pmredistrictingNJ, StatesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bloomberg “The New Jersey Supreme Court rejected a challenge to municipal political district drawing, short-circuiting litigation that could have led to a wave of redistricting lawsuits across the state. The divided court ruled that judges need not consider mathematical formulas… Continue reading

“Trump’s First Judicial Nominees Dodge 2020 Election Question”

June 18, 2025, 9:53 amelection subversion riskTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bloomberg “All five of the nominees to appellate and district courts wrote in response to the question submitted by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, that Congress had certified Biden as the winner and that he… Continue reading

“FBI Director Kash Patel feeds 2020 election conspiracy theories with documents about unverified tip”

June 18, 2025, 9:49 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Ryan Reilly for NBC News: FBI Director Kash Patel said this week the bureau had shared “alarming” — but unsubstantiated — allegations about manipulation of the 2020 election with a Republican member of Congress. “The FBI has located documents which… Continue reading

“Eric Adams vows to sue election board over independent run”

June 18, 2025, 9:17 amballot access, third partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico In yet another cynical move, Eric Adams, who is running as an independent in NYC’s November mayoral race (rather than as a Democrat), is now seeking to run on two additional ballot lines: EndAntiSemitism and Safe&Affordable. He vows to… Continue reading

New Montana Initiative Seeks to Use Corporate Law to Restrain Corporate Political Spending

June 18, 2025, 6:14 amcampaign finance, direct democracystate constitutionsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Veteran election leaders today unveiled “The Montana Plan,” a ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate corporate and dark money from Montana politics without running afoul of Citizens United. The initiative would amend Montana’s constitution to prohibit the state from granting… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy: “The Naked 2020 Elections”

June 18, 2025, 6:00 amELB Book CornerRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Ciara Torres-Spelliscy to the ELB Book Corner, writing about her new book Corporatocracy. This is the third of four posts: Because of the “Big Lie,” most Republicans to this day think the… Continue reading

“Obama, Back in Public Eye, Offers a Careful Warning of a Democratic Slide”

June 18, 2025, 5:57 amauthoritarian threats in USTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times In an appearance with writer Heather Cox Richardson in Connecticut, Obama “pointed to an erosion of traditional values like the rule of law, an independent judiciary, the freedom of the press and the right to protest.” He then went… Continue reading

New Report on Election Security from Brennan Center

June 18, 2025, 5:28 amelection administrationTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Brennan Center has published Election Certification: How to Strengthen State Frameworks by Lauren Miller Karalunas. The report explains the shift since 2020 in the ways some officials have turned a mandatory formality at the end of vote-counting into… Continue reading

“‘Insensitive, to say the least’: Mike Lee deletes Minnesota posts amid GOP criticism”

June 17, 2025, 2:16 pmpolitical polarizationpolitical violenceTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico “Utah Sen. Mike Lee, amid widespread outrage, has deleted a pair of social media posts associating the deadly Minnesota shootings last weekend with ‘Marxists’ and the state’s Democratic governor.”

“Republicans Add New Barriers to Oklahoma’s Dizzyingly Fast Process for Citizen Initiatives”

June 17, 2025, 12:20 pmdirect democracyTabatha Abu El-Haj

Daniel Nichanian (Bolts Magazine) Yet another profile of Republican efforts to make direct democracy more difficult in states where it has been used for initiatives–such as raising the minimum wage–that reflect public opinion more closely than the party’s… Continue reading

“GOP budget bill faces nearly 2-to-1 opposition with many unaware: Poll”

June 17, 2025, 9:39 ampolitical polarizationgovernance, Policy ReponsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

Democracy is about more than elections. It is also about policy responsiveness and addressing the wants and needs of regular people. Washington Post/Washington Post-Ipso Poll: The partisan breakdown: * * * LOTS MORE OF INTEREST . . .

“Bernie Sanders, seven other senators urge Democrats to break with billionaire donors”

June 17, 2025, 9:21 amcampaign financeCitizens United, money in politics, Super PacsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post Leveraging public concerns about Elon Musk’s role in the 2024 election and in shaping Trump administration policies, Sanders and seven other Democratic Senators are calling on the Democratic Party to break with their own billionaire donors and eschew… Continue reading