“Trump reinvents ‘rigged’ election myth around Twitter allegations”

December 16, 2022, 7:38 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: Former president Donald Trump is back to leading Republicans in cries of election “fraud,” but what he is referring to has almost entirely changed. When Trump suggested in an online post earlier this month that the Constitution could be … Continue reading

“Jan. 6 Panel to Consider Criminal Referrals Against Trump and Allies in Final Session”

December 16, 2022, 7:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans on Monday to consider issuing criminal referrals against former President Donald J. Trump and his top allies during a final meeting as it prepares to release a… Continue reading

“New York moves to ban ‘independence’ from party ballot lines to reduce confusion”

December 16, 2022, 7:34 amballot accessRick Hasen

State of Politics: At the height of its power, the Independence Party in New York had registered more than 400,000 voters in the state. For years, political observers, elected officials and candidates suspected many of those voters were duped… Continue reading

“After The 2022 Midterms, Do Americans Trust Elections?”

December 15, 2022, 6:17 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

New from the Yankelovich Center at UCSD: Jennifer Gaudette, Seth Hill, Thad Kousser, and Mackenzie Lockhart, UC San DiegoMindy Romero, USC Center for Inclusive Democracy The closely contested 2020 presidential race was followed by unsubstantiated allegations of vote fraud and… Continue reading

“Political Violence and the 2022 Elections”

December 15, 2022, 3:22 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Important analysis from Rachel Kleinfield: The midterm election period proved mercifully free from violence and drama, following months of concern from democracy organizations and even the Department of Homeland Security. While most experts did not expect Election Day violence (which… Continue reading

Cert Petition Filed Against Texas Social Media Law That Would Require Private Websites to Carry Politicians’ Political Speech

December 15, 2022, 3:02 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Read it here.

“Judge Luttig Hopeful on Updates to Electoral Count Act”

December 15, 2022, 11:53 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NLJ: A former federal appeals judge has been working behind the scenes for months to help the country avoid another Jan. 6 attack, and he expects that effort to pass Congress next week. “You had [former President Donald] Trump leading… Continue reading

“Recount requests delay Pennsylvania election certification”

December 15, 2022, 11:51 amrecountsRick Hasen

AP: Five weeks after Election Day, winning candidates in Pennsylvania from governor to Congress are waiting for their victories to become official. An effort that appears to be at least partially coordinated among conservatives has inundated counties with ballot… Continue reading

“Tech Firms Are Giving Money to Election Deniers Again”

December 15, 2022, 7:29 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Some of the biggest technology and telecom companies jettisoned pledges made in the wake of the US Capitol assault and gave money to reelect lawmakers who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory, according to filings reviewed by Bloomberg… Continue reading

Georgia: “The Jolt: Election law changes could roil next legislative session”

December 15, 2022, 7:24 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

AJC: Nearly two years ago, Georgia lawmakers rewrote state election laws after former President Donald Trump contested his 2020 loss. That led to one of the most contentious legislative clashes in recent state history. Now, another fraught debate over voting… Continue reading

“The Lawfare Podcast: Rick Hasen and Nate Persily on Replatforming Trump on Social Media”

December 15, 2022, 7:19 amcheap speech, election subversion riskRick Hasen

The Lawfare Podcast: On November 19, Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk announced that he would be reinstating former President Donald Trump’s account on the platform—though so far, Trump hasn’t taken Musk up on the offer, preferring instead to stay on… Continue reading

“January 6, Ambiguously Inciting Speech, and the Overt-Acts Solution”

December 15, 2022, 7:17 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Alan Rozenshtein and Jed Shugerman have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Constitutional Commentary). Here is the abstract: A prosecution of Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol would have to address whether the… Continue reading

“Prosecuting the Fake Electors: Wisconsin Case Study and Template for Other States”

December 14, 2022, 3:19 pmelection law bizRick Hasen

Gretchen Knaut and Shan Wu in Just Security: Following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump and some of his close associates seized upon an array of fringe legal theories in their efforts to overturn… Continue reading

“Trump special counsel Jack Smith lost the John Edwards case — what might that mean?”

December 14, 2022, 12:48 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Fascinating oped from Stephen Weissman: Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee two federal criminal investigations involving former President Donald Trump was praised by some of Smith’s former Justice Department colleagues, who highlighted his… Continue reading