“Donors to Trump’s Ballroom Are Asked Why They Chose to Remain Incognito”

November 4, 2025, 7:24 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is asking a handful of business interests about their donations to President Trump’s ballroom project, and why they were not disclosed by the White House. “Many questions remain about the fund-raising for this project,… Continue reading

I Spoke with the Radio News Hour in Australia About Prop 50 and the Redistricting Wars

November 4, 2025, 7:17 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Listen.

Huntington Beach Loses Appeal, Cannot Enact Its City Voter ID Law in Contravention of California State Law

November 3, 2025, 1:39 pmvoter idRick Hasen

See here. From a press release: The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Third Division, issued decisions in two companion cases striking down the Huntington Beach Voter ID Charter Amendment. In Mark Bixby v. The City of Huntington Beach, et al.,… Continue reading

‘NAACP and Advancement Project Sue Virginia Over Illegal Rejection of College Student Voter Registrations”

November 3, 2025, 11:39 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Press release: National civil rights organization Advancement Project and the NAACP Virginia State Conference filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Elections on October 31 for unlawfully disenfranchising college and university students, including those attending Historically Black Colleges and… Continue reading

“Ford Foundation’s New Leader Vows to Protect Elections and the Rule of Law”

November 3, 2025, 7:47 amauthoritarian threats in US, election law biz, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Adam Liptak profile for the NYT: The Ford Foundation, the nearly 90-year-old international philanthropy, is now in the cross hairs of the Trump administration, which has called for scrutiny of the organization as part of a broad crackdown on the… Continue reading

“Indiana Republican Tries Different Approach in Debate on Voting Maps: Listening”

November 3, 2025, 7:36 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: For two hours on Saturday, Greg Goode, a Republican member of the Indiana Senate, sat on a tall wooden chair, listening as constituents told him they oppose a plan to redraw the state’s political map to send more Republicans… Continue reading

“Trump escalates demands for 2020 election investigations and prosecution”

November 3, 2025, 7:31 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: President Donald Trump is dialing up pressure on the Justice Department to freshly scrutinize ballots from the 2020 election, raising tensions with administration officials who think their time is better spent examiningvoter lists for future elections. In recent… Continue reading

“Are We Losing Our Democracy?”

November 2, 2025, 7:43 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Important and powerful look from NYT Opinion on the slippage into autocracy.

“Future of Gerrymandering? Here’s How Weird Things Could Look”

November 2, 2025, 7:38 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT’s The Tilt: You’ve probably seen gerrymandered congressional maps with snaking, winding, twisting districts drawn to give one party an advantage. In the not too distant future, it might be possible to imagine even crazier maps. For decades, Section… Continue reading

Federal District Court Issues a Permanent Injunction Barring the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from Altering the Federal Form to Register to Vote to Require Documentary Proof of Citizenship, as Trump Purported to Order

October 31, 2025, 1:21 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can find the careful and well reasoned district court opinion at this link. From the introduction: The first question presented in these consolidated cases is whether the President, acting unilaterally, may direct changes to federal election procedures. Because… Continue reading

“Dems ‘Need the Votes’ of ‘Illegal Citizens,’ Top Federal Election Official Claims in Unhinged Rant” (Republican EAC Commissioner Christy McCormick)

October 31, 2025, 1:08 pmElection Assistance Commission, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Despicable: A top federal voting official is facing a call to step down after accusing Democrats of encouraging “open borders” and widespread voting by “illegal citizens,” because “they need the votes.” The outlandish conspiracy theory is common on the… Continue reading

“In Late, Obscure Notice, DHS Turbocharges Trump’s Voter Purge Database, Evading Privacy Protections”

October 31, 2025, 1:06 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

Democracy Docket: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly formalized sweeping changes to a federal immigration database Friday, turning it into a national “voter verification” tool that appears to sidestep federal privacy protections and will make it easier to remove … Continue reading

ProPublica Profile of NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby Draws Veiled Threat from Justice’s Daughter to Drop the Story or Deal with Trump Administration

October 31, 2025, 1:01 pmchicanery, judicial elections, redistrictingRick Hasen

ProPublica: In early 2023, Paul Newby, the Republican chief justice of North Carolina’s Supreme Court, gave the state and the nation a demonstration of the stunning and overlooked power of his office. The previous year, the court — then… Continue reading

“A Fundraiser Convicted of Defrauding ‘Vulnerable’ Victims Is Back — and Making Millions From Republican Campaigns”

October 31, 2025, 12:54 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Dave Levinthal for Notus: Jack Daly, who was convicted and sent to prison last year after pleading guilty to defrauding thousands of conservative political donors out of money, has emerged from federal custody to quietly re-establish… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law