“Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC awards more $1 million prizes despite DOJ warning”

October 25, 2024, 7:48 amDepartment of Justice, vote buyingRick Hasen

WaPo: Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s pro-Trump political group awarded two additional $1 million prizes to swing-state voters Thursday night, despite warnings from the Justice Department that the daily giveaways could violate election laws. The day before, the Justice Department had … Continue reading

“In High-Stakes Pennsylvania, Local Officials Have a Big Hand in Voting Rules”

October 25, 2024, 7:45 amelection administration, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: Compared with most other states, Pennsylvania gives county commissioners more discretion when it comes to the details of the voting process — how to deal with different methods of writing the date on mail-in ballot envelopes, whether to let… Continue reading

“‘Big lie’ 2.0: How Trump’s false claims about noncitizens voting lay the groundwork to undermine the election”

October 25, 2024, 7:43 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Brandy Zadrozny for NBC News: The “big lie” of the 2024 election is being workshopped on Webex. In tiny boxes, hundreds of people, most of them white, meet weekly in online video conferences to share specious evidence of a problem… Continue reading

“Trump alumni warn he could deploy troops against Americans”

October 25, 2024, 7:39 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: Now, with less than two weeks until Election Day, some of Trump’s most senior former advisers are warning Americans to take his militaristic impulses seriously. His longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, told the New York Times that he… Continue reading

“The Army of Election Officials Ready to Reject the Vote”

October 25, 2024, 7:38 amelection administration, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Deep dive by Jim Rutenberg for NYT Magazine: Much of that work would be done by Cleta Mitchell, a Republican lawyer who assisted Trump’s efforts in Georgia after the 2020 election and was on the phone call on Jan.… Continue reading

“RNC is leading the legal charge for Trump amid echoes of 2020 election chaos”

October 25, 2024, 7:35 amelection law biz, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Lawrence Hurley for NBC News: When a local Republican official in Georgia filed a lawsuit this year declaring that election boards did not have a duty to certify results, the lawyer she turned to was part of the legal team… Continue reading

“JPMorgan, FirstEnergy to Offer More Political Spending Details”

October 25, 2024, 7:27 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg: JPMorganChase & Co., FirstEnergy Corp., and Sempra are the first to be designated “model code companies” by organizations that urge corporations to voluntarily disclose more information about their political footprint. The companies have publicly committed to following the code,… Continue reading

“Trump’s Election Reversal Dreams Are Dead”

October 24, 2024, 5:26 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

David French NYT column: As we approach Election Day, I’m cautiously optimistic — not so much about the outcome of the election (it’s way too close for either side to feel confident), but rather about the durability and integrity… Continue reading

Podcast Delves into the Increased Uses of Ranked Choice Voting in the U.S. with Rob Richie

October 24, 2024, 5:25 pmalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

You can listen here.

Tom Cotton Wrongly Claims DOJ Selectively Going after Musk, Wrongly Claiming that RuPaul Contest and Michele Obama Sweepstakes Violate the Same Federal Law Against Vote Buying (They Don’t)

October 24, 2024, 2:23 pmfraudulent fraud squad, vote buyingRick Hasen

Senator Tom Cotton claims DOJ is engaged in targeting those on the right by going after Elon Musk’s PAC for vote buying with his contest that requires voter registation. He argues that RuPaul and Michele Obama both are running contests… Continue reading

“There Are Four Anti-Trump Pathways We Failed to Take. There Is a Fifth.”

October 24, 2024, 11:53 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Must-read NYT oped from Levitsky & Ziblatt: The U.S. establishment is sleepwalking toward a crisis. An openly antidemocratic figure stands at least a 50-50 chance of winning the presidency. The Supreme Court and the Republican Party have abdicated their gatekeeping… Continue reading

When Will We Know Election Results in the Swing States? Great New Slide Deck from Protect Democracy Explores

October 24, 2024, 11:34 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Great stuff here.

My New One at Slate: “Why the ‘Blue Shift’ Everyone Seems To Have Forgotten Might Be More Dangerous This Time”

October 24, 2024, 9:04 amchicanery, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: Everyone seems to expect that Donald Trump will prematurely declare victory on election night, whether or not news organizations project him the winner. NBC’s Hallie Jackson even asked Kamala Harris about… Continue reading