Now Available: Jacob Eisler’s “The Law of Freedom: The Supreme Court and Democracy”

July 24, 2023, 5:06 amelection law biz, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jacob Eisler’s new book is out today. Here’s the description: The Supreme Court has been at the center of great upheavals in American democracy across the last seventy years. From the end of Jim Crow to the rise of wealth-dominated… Continue reading

Opting Out of California’s New Ballot Transparency Law

July 24, 2023, 4:54 amdirect democracyDan Tokaji

Marin Independent Journal reports: AB 1416, which became effective in January, requires that the supporters and opponents of statewide and local measures be listed on ballots. However, the law allows counties to opt out of participating. On Tuesday, Marin County… Continue reading

“Unpacking the ‘Surprise’ Crime in DOJ’s Target Letter to Trump”

July 24, 2023, 4:50 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

Norman Eisen, Ryan Goodman, and Joshua Kolb in Just Security: On Tuesday the world learned that the Department of Justice had served Donald Trump with a target letter for crimes related to January 6th. On Wednesday, reporting by The … Continue reading

“Tennessee tightens voting rights restoration for felons: a step forward or suppression tactic?”

July 23, 2023, 6:07 amfelon votingDan Tokaji

AP: Tennessee has begun requiring felons who want their voting rights back to first get their full citizenship rights restored by a judge or show they were pardoned. Election officials say the step is required after a June court… Continue reading

“National Democrats file absentee ballot lawsuit in Wisconsin ahead of state Supreme Court flip”

July 23, 2023, 5:56 amabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

AP: A new lawsuit filed in Wisconsin by a national Democratic law firm seeks to once again allow voters to return absentee ballots in drop boxes, a practice that was barred by the state Supreme Court last year following… Continue reading

Strong Early Voting on Ohio’s Issue 1

July 23, 2023, 5:53 amabsentee ballots, direct democracyDan Tokaji

WKYC: As the August 8 special election for Issue 1 in Ohio approaches, many voters are taking advantage of early voting. According to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, as of Wednesday, 155,000 absentee ballots have been cast so… Continue reading

Thomas Keck, “Free Speech in an Age of Democratic Backsliding”

July 23, 2023, 5:45 amcheap speechDan Tokaji

Here’s the abstract of the paper available on SSRN: “This review essay draws on recent books by Richard L. Hasen and Jacob Mchangama to reflect on the difficult tradeoffs faced by civil liberties advocates in the context of democratic… Continue reading

“Before Jan. 6, Mark Meadows joked about Trump’s election claims”

July 22, 2023, 6:03 amelection subversion riskDan Tokaji

WaPo: “Mark Meadows joked about the baseless claim that large numbers of votes were fraudulently cast in the names of dead people in the days before the then-White House chief of staff participated in a phone call in which… Continue reading

“The numbers behind Trump’s confidence the Jan. 6 indictment won’t matter”

July 22, 2023, 5:56 amelection subversion risk, political polarizationDan Tokaji

Politico dives into GOP opinion on January 6: The most common sentiment from Republican voters about Jan. 6, 2021, isn’t that it was an assault on democracy or that Donald Trump is the true winner of the 2020 election. It’s… Continue reading

Trump’s 2024 Campaign/Trial Calendar

July 22, 2023, 3:33 amcampaigns, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

WaPo has this story with a nifty graphic on how next year is shaping up for the former and aspiring president — and all of us — with four criminal or civil cases already scheduled and more in the works.… Continue reading

New ELJ Article: “Voter Perceptions of Secrecy in the 2020 Election”

July 22, 2023, 3:26 amelection administration, political polarizationDan Tokaji

Here’s the abstract of the article by Lonna Rae Atkeson, Eli McKown-Dawson, M.V. Hood, and Robert Stein, finding that Republicans are more concerned about the secrecy of their ballots since 2020: Modern democracies pride themselves on enacting and implementing laws… Continue reading

“‘Suppression’ or No, Most Voting‐Law Changes Don’t Alter Partisan Outcomes”

July 21, 2023, 5:18 pmThe Voting WarsDan Tokaji

Walter Olson at Cato on the Grimmer/Hersh paper. Here’s a key point made by Olson, which I tend to agree with: “[M]any old ideas about who votes for which party are no longer useful. ‘Voter suppression’ narratives often rest… Continue reading

“Alabama legislature adopts new congressional map that could defy court order”

July 21, 2023, 5:11 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

WaPo: The Republican-led legislature in Alabama approved a new congressional map on Friday that increases the percentage of Black voters in two of the state’s congressional districts. But a legal challenge to the map is already in the works,… Continue reading

“Election Denial in California”

July 21, 2023, 5:08 pmelection subversion risk, voting technologyDan Tokaji

From Politico’s California Playbook: Beneath the thick top layer of the state’s Democratic control is a passionate base of conservative voters that even the Republican Party sometimes has to rein in. Pandemic rage, Donald Trump’s loss in his reelection… Continue reading