“How Some States Are Making It Harder to Register Voters”

July 26, 2024, 7:28 amUncategorizedvoter registration, voter suppressionSpencer Overton

NYT: LaVon Bracy has been registering Florida voters ever since Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, because she wanted, she said, to give others the voice she was denied as a Black student in a largely white… Continue reading

“Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Private Parties’ Right to Bring Voting Rights Act Challenge to Robocalls”

July 26, 2024, 7:26 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Press release from the U.S. Department of Justice: The Justice Department today filed a statement of interest in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire supporting the right of private plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit challenging robocalls… Continue reading

“FCC pursues new rules for AI in political ads, but changes may not take effect before the election”

July 26, 2024, 7:25 amUncategorizedAI, deepfakes, disinformationSpencer Overton

ABC News: NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads, though it is unclear whether new regulations may be… Continue reading

“A Volatile Election Is Intensifying Conspiracy Theories Online”

July 26, 2024, 7:24 amUncategorizedcontent moderation, disinformationSpencer Overton

NYT: ….The emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic front-runner touched off new paroxysms of disinformation and explicitly hateful comments. More than one in 10 posts mentioning her on X on Sunday included racist or sexist… Continue reading

“Justice Kagan calls for a way to enforce Supreme Court ethics code”

July 26, 2024, 7:23 amUncategorizedjudicial ethics, SCOTUS ReformSpencer Overton

Washington Post: SACRAMENTO — Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday that she would support the creation of a committee of judges to examine potential violations of the Supreme Court’s new ethics code, speaking out on a contentious subject as President Biden… Continue reading

“FBI should clean up its interactions with online platforms, DOJ watchdog says”

July 25, 2024, 7:45 amUncategorizedcontent moderationSpencer Overton

Washington Post: Weeks after the Supreme Court rejected a conservative-led push to block contacts between the U.S. government and social media companies, a new report from the Justice Department’s inspector general found that intelligence agencies’ communications with the companies… Continue reading

“Vance once advocated that children get votes that parents could cast”

July 25, 2024, 7:43 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Washington Post: A year before J.D. Vance was elected to the Senate, he advocated for a novel way to enhance the political strength of families — by giving parents the ability to cast tens of millions of additional votes… Continue reading

“Election officials continue to face threats, harassment ahead of November”

July 25, 2024, 7:41 amUncategorizedelection administration, harassmentSpencer Overton

ABC News: “Election workers are still dealing with a lot of lies that are being told about the elections, and are in many ways bearing the kind of the consequences of those lies with harassment, abuse and sometimes threats,”… Continue reading

“Shouldn’t Officials Who Oversee Their Own Elections Be Able to Recuse Themselves?”

July 25, 2024, 7:40 amUncategorizedconflict of interest, recusalSpencer Overton

Kevin Johnson in Governing: ….State and federal laws, codes of conduct, and judicial training provide substantial guidance on recusal, and court systems are ready to provide needed replacements. But what about a secretary of state overseeing his own race… Continue reading

“Trump-friendly panel shapes Georgia’s election rules at long, often chaotic meetings”

July 25, 2024, 7:39 amUncategorizedelection administrationSpencer Overton

ABC News: ATLANTA — The Georgia State Election Board, which once toiled in relative obscurity, now hosts raucous meetings where public comment spans several hours and attendees regularly heckle its members. The shift highlights how election administration has become increasingly… Continue reading

“Newbern, Alabama Will Hold First Election Since 1965”

July 25, 2024, 7:38 amUncategorizedVoting Rights ActSpencer Overton

Democracy Docket: A federal judge signed off Tuesday on the settlement agreement reached in Newbern, Alabama in Mayor Patrick Braxton’s case, officially giving him all mayoral powers and privileges after being blocked from office by the previous white town… Continue reading

I Spoke with WNYC’s “On the Media” About Why the Biden-Harris Switch is Not “Antidemocratic” and Potential Legal Issues with the Switch

July 25, 2024, 7:12 amcampaignsRick Hasen

You can listen here. Moments after President Biden withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday, GOP leaders rushed to tug at any loose threads in his withdrawal. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson threatened legal challenges to his withdrawal,… Continue reading

“Trump campaign wants FEC to block Harris from accessing Biden’s campaign money”

July 24, 2024, 7:37 amUncategorizedFEC, Federal Election CommissionSpencer Overton

ABC News: The Trump campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign cannot take over President Joe Biden’s campaign’s money, calling it a violation of campaign finance contribution limit. “Kamala… Continue reading

“State election directors fear the Postal Service can’t handle expected crush of mail-in ballots”

July 24, 2024, 7:35 amUncategorizedabsentee ballots, VBM, vote by mailSpencer Overton

AP: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — State election directors from across the country voiced serious concerns to a top U.S. Postal Service official Tuesday that the system won’t be able to handle an expected crush of mail-in ballots in the November… Continue reading