“House Democrat joins donor discussion about replacing Biden on ballot”

July 9, 2024, 4:20 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Washington Post: Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) joined a Zoom call Sunday with more than 100 wealthy Democratic donors for a legal briefing about the process for replacing President Biden on the ballot, according to multiple people who joined the… Continue reading

“How a Last-Ditch Effort to Save Menendez From Prosecution Backfired”

July 9, 2024, 4:16 ambriberyDan Tokaji

NYT reports on the backstory behind the trial, in which closing arguments continue today: Last September, a prominent white-collar defense lawyer met with federal prosecutors in Manhattan in a last-ditch effort to stave off an indictment against his client.… Continue reading

Congratulations to Election Law Profs Justin Levitt, Carolyn Shapiro, and Kate Shaw, Elected to the American Law Institute

July 8, 2024, 1:35 pmelection law bizRick Hasen

They are among the great choices announced today who write (at least partially) in the area of election law.

Eric Segall Contrasts the Speed of the Trump Disqualification Case with the Slow Walk of the Trump Immunity Case at the Supreme Court

July 8, 2024, 1:33 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Eric writes: There is simply no doubt that the Court’s fast-tracking of the disqualification case way back in February combined with the slow-walking of the immunity case and its eventual holding (the last case of the term) had the… Continue reading

11th Circuit finds Younger abstention applies to Georgia campaign finance dispute

July 8, 2024, 11:38 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

From New Georgia Project, Inc. v. Attorney General, an opinion by Judge Newsom, joined by Judges Rosenbaum and Marcus (some light revisions): In this appeal from the grant of a preliminary injunction, we are asked to decide whether two… Continue reading

“A Florida Law Has Nearly Killed Campus Voter Registration Drives”

July 8, 2024, 8:31 amvoter registrationDan Tokaji

Inside Higher Ed: “A Florida law that went into effect last July has mostly ended paper-and-pen voter registration on the state’s college campuses, according to students and voter registration organizations. The number of groups registering voters on campuses across… Continue reading

“Here’s how the process to replace Biden would work if he withdraws”

July 8, 2024, 5:32 amballot access, political partiesDan Tokaji

From The Hill, with this on the impact of the pre-convention “virtual roll call,” originally planned in response to the Ohio ballot access problem: Typically, the Democratic presidential candidate is officially selected at the Democratic National Convention, but this… Continue reading

“A billionaire is boosting a major defamation lawsuit against Fox News”

July 8, 2024, 5:05 amelection subversion risk, voting technologyDan Tokaji

WaPo: Smartmatic, the voting technology company enmeshed in complex defamation lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax, has a powerful new financial ally: billionaire tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman. Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has made a multimillion-dollar investment intended in… Continue reading

“Top House Dem super PAC raised $51M in past three months”

July 8, 2024, 4:48 amcampaign finance, political partiesDan Tokaji

Politico: House Majority PAC, the super PAC affiliated with the chamber’s Democratic leadership, and House Majority Forward, an associated nonprofit group, raised a combined $51 million in the second quarter of 2024. That total is more than double what the… Continue reading

“Top Democratic lawyer backs mysterious news site”

July 7, 2024, 8:14 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Semafor: A secretive local media network with ties to high-profile national Democratic operatives wants to convince regulators in Arizona that despite the political tilt of its stories, it is not a political entity and should not be subject to campaign… Continue reading

Elon Musk Tweets that Those Who Oppose House Republican Bill That Would Require Documentary Proof of Citizenship to Register to Vote are “TRAITORS” and Asks “What is the penalty for traitors again?”

July 7, 2024, 3:38 pmfraudulent fraud squad, voter registrationRick Hasen

Despicable tweet, via Fox News (which notes that Democrats are whipping against the bill). This bill won’t go anywhere in the Senate, but this rhetoric is toxic, especially from the owner of a major social media platform. (Yes, he… Continue reading

Second Circuit Unanimously Upholds New York Law Giving Recognized Political Parties Advantages under State Campaign Finance Laws

July 7, 2024, 1:59 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Read Upstate Jobs Party v. Kosinski, relying in part on the larger potential for corruption of independent groups that are not recognized political parties (via Richard Winger, who finds this decision objectionable in discriminating against unqualified political parties).

“Rich Bernstein: Trump v. United States is the new Roe v. Wade”

July 7, 2024, 1:49 pmauthoritarian threats in US, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Rich Bernstein at the Society for the Rule of Law: On its face, the judicial method employed by Trump v. United States resembles Roe v. Wade in the ways that matter. Like Roe, the Trump majority explicitly relies on its views of wise policy. For example, the Trump majority… Continue reading

Considerations for a presidential age limit amendment to the Constitution

July 6, 2024, 12:39 pmelection law and constitutional lawDerek Muller

Back in 2019, I wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal entitled “No Country for Old Presidents,” in which I suggested it was time for serious consideration of an age limitation for presidential candidates and a constitutional… Continue reading