“Election officials brace for confrontational poll watchers”
Important reporting from the AP about the surge of election deniers signing up to be poll watchers ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Sad News Out of Pennsylvania
Bolts Magazine reports that the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Max Baer, passed away on Friday. He had long been a strong supporter of voting rights, ruling against efforts to undermine the right to vote through partisan gerrymandering… Continue reading
“Not all results will be known on election night 2022. That’s normal”
Politifact with this important reminder ahead of the 2022 elections: be patient!
“How a Tiny Elections Company Became a Conspiracy Theory Target”
Interesting New York Times story on how a small election software company, Konnech, became the focus of a right wing conspiracy theory surrounding the 2020 election. According to the Times, Konnech’s employees have faced increasing threats of violence despite the… Continue reading
“They Legitimized the Myth of a Stolen Election – and Reaped the Rewards”
Fascinating New York Times deep dive on the strategy underlying the decision by some Republican lawmakers to reject the 2020 election results, and how this approach has impacted the party orthodoxy in the 20 months since January 6th. In the… Continue reading
Gans on the Race-Conscious Constitution
Ahead of what promises to be a blockbuster Supreme Court term, David Gans has written this post, Race-Consciousness Is Baked Into the Constitution’s Text and History, at the CAC Blog. Gans argues that the notion of a colorblind constitution—the… Continue reading
“Lawmakers Confront a Rise in Threats and Intimidation, and Fear Worse”
New York Times:
Lawmakers face increasing threats as our politics have become more polarized and more dangerous, especially in the wake of January 6th. A number of representatives, who span the ideological spectrum, have fallen victim to in-person intimidation and… Continue reading
Handing the ELB off to Franita Tolson
Thanks to everyone for all their tips. Handing the ELB off to Franita Tolson for the first week of the new SCOTUS term . . . and now I might have time to read her new article on the independent… Continue reading
“Laboratories of Democratic Backsliding”
Looking forward to reading Jake M. Grumbach‘s (Department of Political Science, University of Washington) new book, Laboratories Against Democracy: How National Parties Transformed State Politics, which was profiled a few weeks ago on NPR. In the meanwhile,… Continue reading
Lower courts ruled this week in favor of easier access for voters and parties
BallotAccessNew reports two new cases in the lower courts:
A Montana state court has ruled that the Montana Constitution bars the legislature from having repealed election-day registration.U.S. District Court has struck down Arkansas ballot access procedures for new or previously… Continue reading
Rank Choice Voting: A Scaleable Reform?
As more jurisdictions are considering introducing rank choice voting (the issue will be on the ballot in Nevada this fall), Politico offers this long-form essay on Alaska’s experience. Can Alaska “point the way to a more moderate, more nuanced way… Continue reading
“Ticket-splitting voters were going extinct. Now they may decide 2022’s biggest races.”
Fascinating new NBC report on polling: “In battleground states from Georgia to New Hampshire to Ohio, a potentially decisive slice of voters tell pollsters they’re supporting a Democrat for one high-profile office and a Republican for another. Nowhere is the… Continue reading
“GOP congressional candidate Joe Kent’s ties to white nationalists include interview with Nazi sympathizer”
This headline from CNN says it all. Actually to be fair, Joe Kent has offered various explanations of this interview. But the bottom line appears to be: “The lady doth protest too much.”
“While Kent has tried to shift his… Continue reading
“Judge upholds Georgia election laws on all counts in voting rights case”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Fair Fights Action has lost its 2018 challenge to Georgia’s election laws after four years. Georgia’s voter registration and absentee ballot practices, while not perfect, the Judge concluded, did not violate either the Constitution or… Continue reading