“Voting Is Bewildering This Primary Season. That Worries Experts.”

January 29, 2024, 12:13 pmvotingRick Hasen

NYT: Democracy is messy, but usually not this messy. Take, for example, New Hampshire, where President Biden boycotted the primary election last Tuesday, after the state jumped the line in the Democratic Party’s new schedule to keep its first-in-the-nation primary… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “Trump’s Lawyers Made Some Very Odd Strategic Choices in the Supreme Court Ballot Case”

January 29, 2024, 7:29 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. it begins: When the Supreme Court hears oral argument on Feb. 8 over Colorado’s decision to disqualify Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot on grounds that he engaged in insurrection and… Continue reading

American Law Institute: “Bipartisan Working Group Issues Ethical Standards for Election Administration”

January 29, 2024, 7:27 amelection administrationRick Hasen

I was very happy to see this work under the auspices of the American Law Institute with a stellar connection of participants, not only because I think these standards will produce useful rubrics by which election administrators can judge the… Continue reading

“Republican legislatures in some states are trying to keep abortion off the ballot”

January 29, 2024, 7:20 amdirect democracyRick Hasen

AP: Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the… Continue reading

“Illinois Hearing Officer, Ex-G.O.P. Judge, Says Trump Engaged in Insurrection”

January 28, 2024, 9:30 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: A former Republican judge appointed to hear arguments on whether to disqualify former President Donald J. Trump from the Illinois primary ballot said on Sunday that he believed Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection by attempting to remain in office… Continue reading

“Pa. lawmakers file lawsuit against Shapiro, Biden over election-related orders”

January 28, 2024, 9:26 pmlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Penn Live: A group of conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers have filed suit against President Joe Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro over their use of executive authority in election matters. In the 33-page complaint filed on Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court,… Continue reading

“Amend the Constitution to guarantee Americans the right to vote”

January 28, 2024, 9:20 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Glenn Altschuler reviews my upcoming book, A Real Right to Vote, in The Hill: In the new book “A Real Right to Vote,” Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UCLA specializing in election law, makes… Continue reading

“The Supreme Court Shouldn’t Punt on This One; The Court needs to give the country a clear, final answer on Donald Trump’s eligibility for office.”

January 28, 2024, 9:15 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Deborah Pearlstein in The Atlantic: The difficult questions in this case are likely to leave the justices divided. But there is no legal reason these claims need to leave them politically polarized, with the six Republican-appointed justices on one side and the three… Continue reading

Are the Courts Likely to Sustain the $65 Million in Punitive Damages Awarded Against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case?

January 26, 2024, 2:08 pmRemediesRick Hasen

A jury just found Donald Trump liable for over $83 million in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. Of that, about $65 million are punitive damages. Are the punitive damages likely to be sustained if challenged (as they will be)… Continue reading

“Conn. mayor wins do-over race after GOP seized on Democratic ballot-stuffing”

January 26, 2024, 11:29 amabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: A Connecticut mayor whose September primary election win was invalidated after ballot-fraud allegations won a do-over primary Tuesday, months after his case became a flash point in conservative arguments about debunked theories of voter fraud. s Donald Trump … Continue reading

Challengers File Brief on the Merits at Supreme Court in Trump Disqualification Case

January 26, 2024, 11:02 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find the brief here, which is very well done. I’ll have more to say about the briefing in a piece posting Monday.

“The California Supreme Court Replaces Gingles Prong One”

January 26, 2024, 10:55 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Jason D’Andrea and Bruce Wessel have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum). Here is the abstract: This Essay analyzes Pico Neighborhood Association v. City of Santa Monica, the California Supreme Court’s first decision… Continue reading

“Your Guide to Four Emerging Threats to the Voting Rights Act”

January 26, 2024, 10:52 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Bolts: After years of being whittled away by federal judges, the Voting Rights Act unexpectedly survived an existential threat in 2023 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld what’s left of the landmark civil rights law while striking down Alabama’s congressional… Continue reading

“‘Preposterous’: Federal judge decries efforts to downplay Jan. 6 violence, label perpetrators ‘hostages'”

January 25, 2024, 2:30 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: The longest-serving district judge on the federal bench in Washington, D.C., warned Thursday that false rhetoric about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — including the sorts of lies hurled by former President Donald Trump and some of… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law