I Spoke to KCRW’s Press Play About Re-redistricting Litigation in Texas and California
I was on a panel with Johanna Maska. Listen here to the first segment.
NY Court of Appeals Ruling in NYVRA Case
In a decision this morning, the New York Court of Appeals unanimously ruled against the town of Newburgh, the defendant in an ongoing vote dilution case under the New York Voting Rights Act (NYVRA). Newburgh argued that the NYVRA’s vote… Continue reading
Voters Cannot Whitewash a Racial Gerrymander: A Response to Rick Hasen on CA’s Prop. 50
I also have no idea whether there’s any merit in DOJ’s racial gerrymandering challenge to California’s redistricting via Prop. 50. Assessing those claims would require development of a full factual record that does not yet exist.
But I wanted to… Continue reading
The Texas Gerrymandering Decision Rests on Shaw v. Reno
I have no view at this stage whether the majority is correct that six districts in Texas’s re-redistricting are unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. The dueling opinions are long; the issues are highly fact dependent. But I wanted to note that the… Continue reading
On Blexit’s efforts to urge Black voters to leave the Democratic Party
The Washington Post has a fascinating, relatively short podcast exploring larger questions about where Black voters fit within the two-party system through a story about Blexit’s arrival at Howard University’s homecoming weekend. Blexit, a conservative group currently tied to Charlie… Continue reading
Development in Alabama Racial Gerrymander Case
AP News has an update on Alabama’s racial gerrymander case:
“U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued the ruling Monday putting a new court-selected map in place for the 2026 and 2030… Continue reading
Judge Jerry Smith Issues His 104-Page Dissent to Yesterday’s 3-Judge District Court Holding that Texas’s Re-Redistricting is Likely an Unconstitutional Racial Gerrymander. Along the Way He Calls Out the “Pernicious” and “Outrageous” Behavior of Judge Brown in the Majority
You can find the dissent at this link.
It begins with a remarkable attack on Judge Brown (a Trump appointee) explaining that Smith was not responsible for any delay in issuing the decision:
In my 37 years on the federal… Continue reading
Mid-Decade Redistricting and the Purcell Principle
Yesterday, a three-judge district court preliminarily enjoined Texas’s mid-decade congressional redistricting map. This case will be promptly appealed to the Supreme Court, and it will be the first of many mid-decade redistricting cases on the shadow docket.
The district court’s… Continue reading
New Article: Increasing Turnout in Prisons
MIchael W. Sances (Temple University) has a new article, In-Person Voting Increases Turnout Among Incarcerated Persons: Evidence From the Cook County Jail in the Election Law Journal.
The vast majority of persons incarcerated in jails are eligible to vote, but… Continue reading
“Dark money groups pour cash into fight over gerrymandered Missouri congressional map”
Missouri Independent reports:
Voters across Missouri late last week received a text message urging them to take their names off petitions they may have “accidentally signed.”
The message, labeled as the work of the Republican National Committee, dropped the name… Continue reading
“Citing extraordinary circumstances, Chester County will count the vast majority of provisional ballots cast after Election Day chaos”
Philadelphia Inquirer. Last month, officials mistakenly sent poll books to precincts in Chester County (PA) that did not include the names of independent and third-party voters. As a consequence, over 12,000 voters (mostly independent and third-party voters) were forced… Continue reading
“Why is American democracy in such peril?”
Steve Huefner, my colleague at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and its Election Law program, and I had a conversation about the stresses and challenges facing democracy in the United States. A recording is available. I found… Continue reading
My New One at Slate with Matthew Cooke: “Republicans Are Suing to Kill California’s Pro-Democratic Gerrymander. They Have a Huge Problem.”
My student Matthew Cooke and I have written this piece for Slate. It begins:
California Republicans, now joined by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, have sued California in federal court to stop implementation of Proposition 50, a voter-passed… Continue reading
11th Circuit Affirms District Court’s Dismissal of Trump’s Defamation Case Against CNN
In an unpublished per curiam opinion, the 11th Circuit affirmed the District Court’s dismissal with prejudice of Donald Trump’s defamation suit against Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN) based on the use of the phrase “Big Lie” to describe his… Continue reading