“Lawyers in Backsliding Democracy”

February 22, 2023, 7:38 amelection law biz, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Scott Cummings has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article examines the role of lawyers in democratic backsliding. To explain the relation of lawyers to backsliding, the Article presents a theory of professional fissuring, in which… Continue reading

Wisconsin: “Janet Protasiewicz, Daniel Kelly advance in high stakes, high-spending Supreme Court race”

February 22, 2023, 7:34 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly emerged Tuesday as the two winners of a record-setting primary fight to compete for a seat on the state’s highest court that will decide whether the… Continue reading

“Timothy J. Heaphy Led the House Jan. 6 Investigation. Here’s What He Learned.”

February 21, 2023, 4:54 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Timothy J. Heaphy, the former U.S. attorney who served as the top staff investigator for the special House committee that scrutinized the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, knew going in that the inquiry would be important. But it… Continue reading

“Jury in Georgia Trump Inquiry Recommended Multiple Indictments, Forewoman Says”

February 21, 2023, 12:29 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: A special grand jury that investigated election interference by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia recommended indictments of multiple people on a range of charges in its report, most of which remains sealed, the forewoman… Continue reading

“Trump Spent $10 Million From His PAC on His Legal Bills Last Year”

February 21, 2023, 12:18 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump, who throughout his business career had a reputation for not paying lawyers, spent roughly $10 million from his political action committee on his own legal fees last year, federal election filings show. The money… Continue reading

#ELB20th: Ellen Katz: Don’t Change A Thing?

February 21, 2023, 7:43 am#ELB20th, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Ellen Katz, part of the #ELB20th Anniversary retrospective: Don’t Change A Thing? I found myself humming this early 80s INXS song shortly after receiving Rick’s kind invitation to post something marking the… Continue reading

“The Election Denial Industrial Complex: Meet The Individuals Who Have Made A Cottage Industry Out Of Election Challenges”

February 21, 2023, 7:29 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Accountable.US report: A number of individuals have personally benefited from promoting election denial and efforts to challenge election results based on unsubstantiated claims, beginning with the 2020 presidential election and most recently the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. Those making a… Continue reading

“The bipartisan odd couple banding together to fight election deniers in Arizona”

February 21, 2023, 7:27 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Politico: Election officials don’t normally draw standing-room-only crowds in basement music halls. But the noise around elections in Arizona is anything but normal right now. Roughly 120 people crammed into Valley Bar — entering through the back alley, down a… Continue reading

ELB Podcast Episode 4:6: Jake Grumbach: Laboratories Against Democracy

February 20, 2023, 4:17 pmELB PodcastRick Hasen

New ELB Podcast: Does our decentralized system of government create conditions to strengthen or weaken democratic institutions? Why have red and blue states adopted different sets of election rules, with some Republican states adopting restrictive registration and voting laws? Would… Continue reading

Feb. 23 Georgetown Event: “The January 6th Investigation and the Ongoing Threat of Violent Extremism: A Conversation with Former Select Committee Investigators”

February 20, 2023, 3:56 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

This in-person/online event looks great.

“Far-right election denier beats Trump’s pick for Michigan GOP”

February 19, 2023, 12:18 pmelection administration, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: Republicans here, reeling from a midterm election rout that many blamed on the influence of former president Donald Trump, respondedSaturdayby spurning the former president’s choice for state party chair — and choosing someone even more extreme. Kristina Karamo,… Continue reading

“Antisemitic Influencers, Fake Journalists: Inside an Israeli Factory for Online Deception”

February 19, 2023, 12:12 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Haaretz: Percepto International, which is owned by media consultant Lior Chorev and Royi Burstien (a retired lieutenant colonel from the Israeli army’s intelligence corps), is in large measure a continuation of Psy Group – the business Burstien used to run.… Continue reading

“Republican losses fan election conspiracies in rural Arizona”

February 18, 2023, 3:59 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Nick Riccardi AP dispatch from Cochise County: Trump last year backed a slate of candidates for top state election positions in Arizona and elsewhere who parroted his lie about losing the 2020 presidential election due to voter fraud. Every… Continue reading

“Lawsuit is latest evidence of bogus ‘stolen election’ claims”

February 17, 2023, 4:33 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

AP: Two years after former President Donald Trump’s false claims about widespread election fraud sparked an attack on the U.S. Capitol, more evidence is piling up that those who spread the misinformation knew it was false. On Thursday, the voting… Continue reading