“As N.Y.C. Mayoral Primary Nears, Money Talks as Mamdani Walks”

June 21, 2025, 8:15 amcampaign financeTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times Zohran Mamdani tried to get the Campaign Finance Board to raise his spending cap, given the amount of independent spending buoying Cuomo’s bid. The Board, however, has told him it is not possible within the rules. Meanwhile, Mamdani… Continue reading

Montana Plan is not Without Its Skeptics

June 20, 2025, 11:52 amcampaign finance, direct democracyMontana, state constitutionsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Earlier this week, I blogged about a new initiative in Montana that seeks to rein in corporate political spending by amending the state’s constitution to limit the powers conferred on corporations. In a new article for the local Independent Record… Continue reading

Citizen-voters have standing to challenge DC law permitting non-citizens to vote, DC Circuit holds

June 20, 2025, 9:56 amcourt decisionsDerek Muller

Decision in Hall v. D.C. Board of Elections by Judge Randolph, joined by Judges Pillard and Childs. Excerpts on the theory of vote dilution (lightly revised): Seven District of Columbia citizen-voters filed a complaint challenging the constitutionality of the Local… Continue reading

When will Supreme Court Further Erode Our Democracy . . . probably not until next week

June 20, 2025, 7:40 amredistricting, Voting Rights Actracial gerrymanderTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Court did not decide Louisiana v. Callais today. The case involves a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional maps. In 2023, after a federal court found Louisiana had violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by failing to provide a… Continue reading

“Bloomberg pours more cash into Cuomo super PAC, bringing his total contribution to $8.3M”

June 20, 2025, 5:34 amcampaign financeNYC Mayoral Primary 2025, Super PacsTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico “With the latest gift, Bloomberg is now single-handedly responsible for one-third of the PAC’s total haul of $24 million since it launched in March, according to a POLITICO analysis. Other real estate and finance executives who make up New… Continue reading

“Republicans are flagged more often than Democrats for sharing misinformation on X’s Community Notes”

June 19, 2025, 2:10 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Thomas Renault , Mohsen Mosleh, and David G. Rand in PNAS: We use crowd-sourced assessments from X’s Community Notes program to examine whether there are partisan differences in the sharing of misleading information. Unlike previous studies, misleadingness here… Continue reading

New Article on Native American Voting Rights

June 19, 2025, 10:14 amvoting, Voting Rights ActNative AmericansTabatha Abu El-Haj

Pascal Sabino (Bolts) has published an extensive and in-depth profile of challenges facing Native groups in North Dakota and elsewhere as they seek fair representation and equal access to the vote. Among the issues highlighted are the impact… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Ciara Torres-Spelliscy: “Follow the Money to the Big Lie”

June 19, 2025, 6:00 amELB Book CornerRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Ciara Torres-Spelliscy to the ELB Book Corner, writing about her new book Corporatocracy. This is the final of four posts: What makes the money in politics hard to trace is the tendency of corporations… Continue reading

“Members of Congress worry about lack of plan as political violence rises”

June 19, 2025, 5:57 amauthoritarian threats in US, political polarizationpolitical violenceTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post reports talk in Congress of putting in place procedures to fill vacancies if its members are assassinated in ways that upend the functioning of Congress. Similar discussions occurred after 9/11, according to the article. A plan would likely… Continue reading

“‘I’m just so scared’: Lawmakers reckon with safety after Minnesota slayings”

June 19, 2025, 5:50 amauthoritarian threats in USpolitical violenceTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Washington Post offers a lengthy treatment of issues and includes text from group chats among concerned lawmakers. “State lawmakers — who tend to be far more accessible than their federal counterparts — are weighing new safety precautions and considering… Continue reading

“NJ Justices Nix Redistricting Challenge, Draw Rare Dissent”

June 18, 2025, 3:25 pmredistrictingNJ, StatesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bloomberg “The New Jersey Supreme Court rejected a challenge to municipal political district drawing, short-circuiting litigation that could have led to a wave of redistricting lawsuits across the state. The divided court ruled that judges need not consider mathematical formulas… Continue reading

“Trump’s First Judicial Nominees Dodge 2020 Election Question”

June 18, 2025, 9:53 amelection subversion riskTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bloomberg “All five of the nominees to appellate and district courts wrote in response to the question submitted by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, that Congress had certified Biden as the winner and that he… Continue reading

“FBI Director Kash Patel feeds 2020 election conspiracy theories with documents about unverified tip”

June 18, 2025, 9:49 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Ryan Reilly for NBC News: FBI Director Kash Patel said this week the bureau had shared “alarming” — but unsubstantiated — allegations about manipulation of the 2020 election with a Republican member of Congress. “The FBI has located documents which… Continue reading

“Eric Adams vows to sue election board over independent run”

June 18, 2025, 9:17 amballot access, third partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico In yet another cynical move, Eric Adams, who is running as an independent in NYC’s November mayoral race (rather than as a Democrat), is now seeking to run on two additional ballot lines: EndAntiSemitism and Safe&Affordable. He vows to… Continue reading