Defamation Verdict Against Mike Lindell

June 16, 2025, 7:39 pmelection subversion risk, voting technologyDefamation, Election LiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

AP News: Federal jury in Colorado finds MyPillow founder, Mike Lindell, liable for “statements made about Eric Coomer, the former security and product strategy director at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, including calling him a traitor.” Jury awards Commer… Continue reading

“Mike Lee Draws Outrage for Posts Blaming Assassination on the Far Left”

June 16, 2025, 2:56 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Scarcely 24 hours after a Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota was assassinated in her home, Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, posted a pair of politically charged messages mocking the attack. “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their… Continue reading

“Eastman disbarment recommended by State Bar Court’s Review Department; California Supreme Court is next”

June 16, 2025, 12:32 pmchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

At the Lectern: On Friday, the California State Bar Court’s three-judge Review Department came to the same conclusion as a hearing judge over a year ago and recommended the disbarment of President Trump’s former lawyer, John Eastman. (98-page decision and… Continue reading

“Two Top Union Leaders Quit D.N.C. Posts in Dispute With Chairman”

June 16, 2025, 8:30 ampolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times Conflict with DNC Chair Ken Martin leads Randi Weingarten, leader of the American Federation of Teachers, and Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, to resign their positions in the Democratic… Continue reading

“Redistricting trial begins in North Carolina over allegations that GOP-enacted maps erode Black voting power”

June 16, 2025, 8:21 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActTabatha Abu El-Haj

PBS News Plaintiffs allege “GOP legislative leaders violated federal law and the U.S. Constitution when they enacted new electoral maps.” Republicans claim the maps are a legal partisan gerrymander. “Favorable rulings for the plaintiffs could force Republicans to redraw maps… Continue reading

“Like School Shootings, Political Violence Is Becoming Almost Routine”

June 16, 2025, 7:48 amchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: In the past three months alone, a man set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s residence while Mr. Shapiro and his family were asleep inside; another man gunned down a pair of workers from the Israeli Embassy outside an event… Continue reading

“Trump’s Strategy in Law Firm Cases: Lose, Don’t Appeal, Yet Prevail”

June 16, 2025, 7:46 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The Trump administration is ordinarily quick to appeal its losses. When courts in recent weeks blocked President Trump’s tariff plans and his takeover of National Guard troops in California, government lawyers filed appeals within … Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy: “Not Corruption’s First Rodeo”

June 16, 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 first of four posts: Press coverage of the political events in 2025 often lament that the corruption unfolding… Continue reading

“Senate Republicans Eye Limits on Judicial Power in Tax Bill”

June 16, 2025, 5:56 amauthoritarian threats in USTabatha Abu El-Haj

Democracy is more than elections. Checks and balances are at further risk. From Bloomberg: “The provision would bar federal judges from issuing a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order against the federal government, unless the challengers had put up… Continue reading

“2024 Broke the Democrats. Can They Put Themselves Back Together?

June 16, 2025, 5:43 ampolitical parties, primaries, voting, Voting Rights ActTabatha Abu El-Haj

Fascinating episode from Reveal that speaks to a range of issues of interest to readers of this Blog, from the NYC mayoral race to the appeal of Donald Trump among Latino voters to the future of VRA and the political… Continue reading

Since the Shift to Primary Elections for Choosing the Parties’ Presidential Nominees, Experience in DC Has Changed from Being a Plus to a Minus

June 15, 2025, 12:05 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Bruce Mehlman, at Mehlman Consulting, has put together this data showing a dramatic shift that takes place in the late 1960s/1970s about whether lengthy prior experience in Washington, DC appears to be an advantage or a disadvantage in presidential elections.… Continue reading

My Statement: Thoughts on the Despicable Assassination (and Attempted Assassination) of Minnesota Legislators, the Rise in Political Violence in the United States, and the Threats to Free and Fair Elections

June 14, 2025, 12:18 pmauthoritarian threats in US, chicaneryRick Hasen

Violence directed at innocent people is abhorrent and political violence even more so because it is an attack not just on people but on the institution of democracy itself and an attempt to change government not through elections but through… Continue reading

Nate Cohn: “Is There an Opening for a Third Party?”

June 14, 2025, 11:21 amthird partiesRick Hasen

NYT’s “The Tilt” newsletter: Of all of Elon Musk’s explosive X posts last week during his public sparring with President Trump, perhaps the one that received the least attention was his call for a third party. Even if… Continue reading

“New Hampshire jury acquits consultant behind AI robocalls mimicking Biden on all charges”

June 14, 2025, 11:07 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

AP: A political consultant who sent artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden to New Hampshire Democrats last year was acquitted Friday of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. Steven Kramer, 56, of New Orleans, admitted orchestrating a message… Continue reading