“Nikki Haley’s fuzzy fundraising math”

April 17, 2023, 7:52 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: When Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign announced its first quarterly fundraising haul earlier this month, the figure sounded impressive. The former U.N. ambassador’s campaign said it had raised $11 million between her mid-February launch and the end of the quarter… Continue reading

“How megadonors circumvent laws to give huge checks to politicians”

April 17, 2023, 7:50 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

David Byler WaPo column on JFCs.

“Fox News, Dominion Defamation Trial Delayed Amid Network’s Push to Settle”

April 17, 2023, 7:32 amchicaneryRick Hasen

WSJ: A Delaware judge delayed the start of the widely anticipated trial on a voting-machine company’s defamation claims against Fox News, an announcement that came as the network is looking for a possible way to settle the case. Superior Court… Continue reading

Better Parties? Are they possible and how will SCOTUS shape that project?

April 16, 2023, 6:36 ampolitical parties, primariespolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

I recently had the pleasure of talking about both of these questions with Lee Drutman on Politics in Question. As I have been spending more time talking to others about prospects for party reform–including this past week at More … Continue reading

“Quid Pro Crow”

April 15, 2023, 3:49 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern in Slate (with maybe the best pun in an article title I’ve ever seen): When news broke last week, by way of dogged reporting in ProPublica, that Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted decades’ worth… Continue reading

“”The controversial article Matthew Kacsmaryk did not disclose to the Senate; The judge who delivered a high-stakes abortion pills ruling last week removed his name from a law review article during his judicial nomination process, emails show”

April 15, 2023, 3:43 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: As a lawyer for a conservative legal group, Matthew Kacsmaryk in early 2017 submitted an article to a Texas law review criticizing Obama-era protections for transgender people and those seeking abortions. The Obama administration, the draft article argued, had… Continue reading

“Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp urges Republicans to move on from election fraud claims: ‘2020 is ancient history'”

April 15, 2023, 3:40 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

CNN: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday urged his fellow Republicans to move on from the 2020 presidential election, offering a thinly veiled dig at former President Donald Trump and his continued election grievances. Without naming Trump, Kemp’ said… Continue reading

“Indictment turbocharges Trump’s fundraising”

April 15, 2023, 3:35 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 fundraising has been turbocharged by his indictment, according to new figures provided by his campaign. Trump raised a combined $18.8 million in the first quarter through his joint fundraising committee and his campaign, the… Continue reading

“The Threats to Our Democracy Have Gone Local”

April 15, 2023, 3:32 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Camille Squires NYT oped: American democracy didn’t crumble in one fell swoop under the administration of a president with disregard for rule of law or under the weight of a mob storming the Capitol or under a wave of candidates… Continue reading

“If Tennessee’s Legislature Looks Broken, It’s Not Alone; State legislatures around the country — plagued by partisan division, uncompetitive races and gerrymandering — reflect the current pressures on democracy.”

April 14, 2023, 8:41 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

Michael Wines for the NYT: There are 99 legislators in the Tennessee House of Representatives, the body that voted on Thursday to expel two of its Democratic members for leading an anti-gun protest in the chamber. Sixty of them had… Continue reading

“U.S. elections official takes part in secretive GOP conference, sparking backlash”

April 14, 2023, 8:32 amElection Assistance Commission, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Zachary Roth: A commissioner of a federal elections agency recently spoke at a secretive conference of conservative voting activists and Republican secretaries of state and congressional staff — a step that election experts call highly improper for an official charged… Continue reading

“Facing Tough Senate Race, Montana G.O.P. Looks to Change the Rules”

April 14, 2023, 7:31 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Republicans typically cry foul when accused of rewriting election laws to benefit their candidates. But as the Montana Legislature debates a new voting bill, even some G.O.P. lawmakers concede that this one appears designed to help them win elections… Continue reading

“Witness Testimony Helps Prosecutors Advance Trump Election Case”

April 14, 2023, 7:27 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Without fanfare, the Justice Department’s investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election is approaching an important milestone. After nearly nine months of behind-the-scenes clashes, Mr. Trump’s lawyers have largely lost their battle to… Continue reading

” Gov. Hochul’s top court picks could help tip the balance of Congress”

April 14, 2023, 7:21 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Gothamist: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest picks for New York’s highest court could play a key role in deciding whether the state will rip up its congressional district maps and start over — a move that could help determine which party… Continue reading