“I chaired the US Federal Election Commission. Now there’s no cop on the beat”

October 14, 2025, 6:16 pmUncategorizedCampaign finance, FECSpencer Overton

Ellen Weintraub commentary in The Guardian: ….American democracy may be under attack, but billionaire mega-donors are fully engaged in protecting their own interests. And as we head into what will undoubtedly be another multibillion-dollar election year, the agency… Continue reading

“U.S. Attorney Was Forced Out After Clashes Over How to Handle Russia Inquiry”

October 14, 2025, 6:14 pmUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NY Times: Career prosecutors at the Justice Department do not believe criminal charges are warranted from an investigation seeking to discredit an earlier F.B.I. inquiry into Russia’s attempt to tilt the 2016 election in President Trump’s favor, according to… Continue reading

Tuning into the Live Audio Stream of Callais Oral Arguments

October 14, 2025, 6:13 pmUncategorizedCallais, Redistricting; Louisiana, Voting Rights Act; Section 2Spencer Overton

You can do so here starting at 10 am ET on Wednesday, Oct. 15. If you’ve been busy, here’s Amy Howe’s SCOTUSblog summary of the issues and links to briefs.

Originalism and Expiration Dates

October 14, 2025, 11:30 amredistricting, Supreme Court, theory, Voting Rights ActTravis Crum

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hold a rare re-argument in Louisiana v. Callais on whether Section 2 of the VRA is unconstitutional as applied to redistricting. I’ve filed an amicus brief arguing that Shaw should be overturned—a point that my… Continue reading

Section 2’s Limits

October 14, 2025, 10:26 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActTravis Crum

Sparked by Nick Stephanopolous’s amicus brief, there’s been discussion on this blog about Section 2’s limits and how that might impact tomorrow’s re-argument in Callais. To help readers understand the import of this controversy with a real-world example, I… Continue reading

“North Carolina GOP announce plans to vote on new House map amid nationwide redistricting battle”

October 14, 2025, 7:54 amUncategorizedNorth Carolina, redistrictingSpencer Overton

Associated Press: RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders announced plans Monday to vote next week on redrawing the state’s U.S. House district map, taking up President Donald Trump’s call to secure more GOP seats nationwide and… Continue reading

“Will the Supreme Court Use a Louisiana Case to Gut the Voting Rights Act?”

October 14, 2025, 7:53 amUncategorizedVoting Rights Act; Section 2Spencer Overton

NYT: …Election law experts, civil rights groups and politicians are watching Wednesday’s case closely because of the immediate, enormous impact it could have on local, state and federal districts…. “You’re going to essentially cast doubt on dozens of congressional… Continue reading

“A dive into Justice Kennedy’s new memoir”

October 14, 2025, 7:51 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

SCOTUSblog: Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy’s memoir, Life, Law and Liberty, comes out today, Oct. 14…. Throughout his time on the court, Kennedy wrote some of its most important cases. In the book he discusses several of these.… Continue reading

“AI content proliferates in Hungary ahead of next year’s elections”

October 14, 2025, 7:50 amUncategorizedAISpencer Overton

Indiana Gazette Online: A video of Hungarian soldiers going off to fight in Ukraine and returning home in caskets is just one of many AI-generated posts that have appeared on Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s social media accounts ahead of… Continue reading

Kerrel Murray: False Conflict: Colorblindness and Section Two of the Voting Rights Act

October 14, 2025, 7:45 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Kerrel Murray: Just in time for this week’s reargument of Louisiana v. Callais, I’ve posted to SSRN a draft of my latest Article, False Conflict: Colorblindness and Section Two of the Voting … Continue reading

Callais, originalism, and stare decisis

October 14, 2025, 7:25 amUncategorizedNed Foley

I have a new Justice, Democracy, and Law column on SCOTUSblog. In advance of tomorrow’s argument in the huge Voting Rights Act case Louisiana v. Callais, I consider how principles of originalism and respect for precedent apply to the question… Continue reading

Fusion Voting Before the NJ Supreme Court

October 14, 2025, 4:51 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

In New Jersey, a new political party called the Moderate Party is challenging the state’s ban on fusion voting. The New Jersey Supreme Court is currently considering whether to hear this challenge. The bipartisan ABA Task Force on American Democracy,… Continue reading

Grateful to Manage ELB for 2 Weeks

October 13, 2025, 7:58 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Many thanks to Rick Hasen for inviting me to manage the Election Law Blog over the next two weeks. It’s an honor to help steward this indispensable forum for election law scholars, practitioners, and advocates—especially during such a pivotal moment… Continue reading

“Final arguments heard in Texas redistricting trial”

October 13, 2025, 7:52 amUncategorizedredistricting, Voting Rights ActSpencer Overton

ABC27 EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The fate of five congressional districts redrawn by Texas to ensure Republicans retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026 is now in the hands of three judges. Representatives of civil… Continue reading