Based on popular demand, Trump to return to Twitter

November 20, 2022, 4:34 amcheap speech, chicaneryTwitterTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times and everyone is reporting on Elon Musk’s decision to reinstate Trump after polling Twitter. It is so nice to finally have an answer, after all these years, to who “the people” are: 15 million Twitter users.… Continue reading

Petitioners’ Bizarre Answer in Moore v. Harper Reply Brief About How States Can Rein in Partisan Gerrymandering

November 19, 2022, 4:01 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Petitioners in Moore v. Harper argue that state supreme courts cannot apply state constitutional provisions limiting partisan gerrymandering to stop state legislatures from gerrymandering congressional districts. Doing so, they argue, would usurp the power of the legislature which “alone” has… Continue reading

“Leaked call shows clash between Kari Lake campaign and Maricopa County”

November 19, 2022, 3:42 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: On Friday night, a Twitter account associated with Lake’s campaign posted a video of a portion of the call that captures Liddy cursing and raising his voice. The Lake campaign did not respond to a request for the full… Continue reading

Bill Marshall’s Review of My Cheap Speech Book in the First Amendment Law Review

November 19, 2022, 3:40 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Grateful for this review from William P. Marshall, Cheap Speech, Freedom of Speech, and the War Against Disinformation, 20 First Amendment L. Rev 418 (2022): CHEAP SPEECH is an effort to grapple with the challenges posed by this flood… Continue reading

NC Chooses Most Extreme Position on Independent State Legislature Theory

November 19, 2022, 9:15 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

When NC filed its opening brief in the independent state legislature case, Moore v. Harper, I commented on this blog that NC’s brief wavered between taking (1) the extreme position that state courts cannot impose any substantive limits on state… Continue reading

“Ohio Republicans launch effort to make citizen-led amendments harder to pass for voters”

November 19, 2022, 4:45 amdirect democracyEntrenchmentTabatha Abu El-Haj

Ohio Capitol Journal reports on a new push to limit direct democracy in Ohio. Following in South Dakota’s footsteps, and just a little over a week after Election Day, Ohio Republicans are talking about pushing an initiative that would… Continue reading

Pennsylvania Update

November 19, 2022, 4:39 amUncategorized2022 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

Philadelphia 3.0 ended the week with an election round-up. First, it notes, that youth voters seem to have tipped the election toward Fetterman: “According to data from CIRCLE at Tufts University, voters under 29 netted John Fetterman 120,000 votes of… Continue reading

Breaking News–GA Trial Court Rules Voting May Proceed on Saturday, Nov. 26, in the GA Senate runoff election

November 18, 2022, 4:46 pmUncategorized2022 Election Cycle, early voting, Georgia RunoffTabatha Abu El-Haj

Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that a Georgia Trial court has granted the Democratic Party and Warnock Campaign’s request for a declaratory judgment and injunction to allow for early voting on Saturday, November 26. Order is embedded in the article. “Fulton… Continue reading

Reply Brief Filed in Moore v. Harper Case Before Supreme Court Oral Argument Dec. 7; Petitioners Make Clear that ISL Theory Should Not Be Used to Steal Elections

November 18, 2022, 1:40 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Here’s the brief. And here’s the relevant fn: 14 Some of Respondents’ amici make the scurrilous suggestion that Petitioners’ interpretation would enable state legislatures to change the result of a Presidential election by replacingpopularly chosen electors with their own slate.… Continue reading

Updated–It’s Now Official: Kari Lake Will Not Concede

November 18, 2022, 1:21 pmchicanery2022 Election Cycle, Election DeniersTabatha Abu El-Haj

Earlier in the week, I wrote that true to her brand, Kari Lake is refusing to concede in the Arizona Governor’s race. In a video released today, she has raised questions about the election process and emphasized to supporters… Continue reading

“Election Day Problems Inflame Voter Fraud Conspiracies in Houston”

November 18, 2022, 4:32 amelection administrationnew vote denialTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bolts Magazine has this nice analysis of the way administrative incompetence on Election Day in Harris County is fueling Republican conspiracy theories. Harris County experienced notable (if not necessarily widespread) problems on Election Day: Polls opened late; they were… Continue reading

Updated–Boebert’s tight race was headed to recount, Democrat conceeds

November 18, 2022, 4:21 amrecounts2022 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

Earlier this morning the AP declared that Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District was too close to call and headed to a recount. This evening The Hill reports, Democrat Adam Frisch has conceded to Lauren Boebert, noting that the recount was unlikely… Continue reading

“Arizona voters reject effort to enact stricter voter ID law”

November 17, 2022, 1:49 pmdirect democracy, voter id2022 Election Cycle, new vote denialTabatha Abu El-Haj

AP News says it is now clear that Proposition 309, which would have imposed additional hurdles for absentee ballots and stricter voter ID requirements, has failed. The measure has fallen short by about 20,000 votes–over the recount margin. “Arizona voters… Continue reading

“Biden Made a Play for Young Voters. It Worked — and Helped Democrats Keep the Senate”

November 17, 2022, 1:34 pmUncategorized2022 Election Cycle, Youth Voter TurnoutTabatha Abu El-Haj

Behind its firewall, Bloomberg has an analysis of the decisive role young voters appear to have played in key Senate races, most prominently Nevada’s. The article summarizes this publicly available analysis from Circle at Tufts University. As summarized by Bloomberg:… Continue reading