Divided Sixth Circuit enjoins some enforcement of Kentucky’s campaign speech rules in upcoming judicial election
From the per curiam opinion (Judges Thapar and Murphy) in Fischer v. Thomas (with light revisions):
“In 5 key battlegrounds, most GOP state legislative nominees are election deniers, report finds”
NBC News:
Nearly 6 in 10 Republican state legislature nominees in five key battleground states deny the results of the 2020 election, according to an analysis by a group tracking the races.Of those 450 Republican nominees — including incumbents running… Continue reading
“A QAnon Democrat? Fierce 2022 Warfare Erupts in Deep-Blue California”
NYT:
The mailers and online ads vividly paint David Kim as a right-wing extremist, accusing him of running for a House seat in California “with QAnon-MAGA support” from “QAnon Republicans.”But Mr. Kim is not a Republican. He’s a progressive Democrat… Continue reading
“Election denier Mark Finchem’s sleeper campaign closes in on MAGA prize; The Oath Keeper hoping to run Arizona’s elections is getting outspent 40 to 1 and makes few press or campaign appearances. He still might pull it off.”
WaPo reports:
The stakes are enormous, as it would elevate Finchem to second in line of succession for governor andhand himthe power to upend how elections are run in a key swing state that decided the 2020 election… Continue reading
Must-Listen David Folkenflik for NPR: “Right-wing ‘zombie’ papers attack Illinois Democrats ahead of elections”
Great report from NPR on something I wrote a lot about in Cheap Speech: the rise of political propaganda masquerding as local news, filling the gap left open by the decline in local newspapers brought on by economic and technological… Continue reading
“Despite Eastman appeal, Jan. 6 committee accesses 8 disputed emails”
Politico:
Congressional investigators have obtained eight disputed emails that attorney John Eastman — a key architect of Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election — had asked a federal appeals court to shield from lawmakers.Eastman revealed in a Sunday… Continue reading
“‘Stop the Steal’ conspiracies are coming for swing state ballot boxes”
Vox:
In the lead-up to the November midterm elections, groups that have allied themselves with former President Donald Trump and Republicans have encouraged people to stake out polling sites — with the explicit goal of building a case to… Continue reading
“‘Chaos and confusion’: The campaign to stamp out ballot drop boxes; Laws, court rulings and local decisions have targeted this method of voting in at least a dozen states as disinformation rages.”
CPI:
In 2020, ballot drop boxes were a sturdy, metallic symbol of increased voter access amid a pandemic. Absentee and mail voting surged across the country, and voters used drop boxes to return 41% of those ballots.Two years later, they’ve… Continue reading
“In Pennsylvania, the Big Lie Is Spreading Its Roots; As election-deniers become more involved in local politics, they are bringing with them the propaganda and conspiracies of national politics.”
Francis Wilkinson column for Bloomberg.
Two Days into Being New Owner of Twitter, Elon Must Tweets Disinformation About the Attack on the Husband of the Speaker of the House
Axios:
It’s been just two days since Elon Musk officially bought Twitter. Already, the billionaire businessman is using the platform to spread speculation to his 112 million followers — about the biggest U.S. news of the weekend.Driving the news: Early… Continue reading
“High stakes in N. Carolina court races with majority on line” (Would a Republican Win Reverse the Partisan Gerrymandering Holding and Moot Moore v. Harper?)
AP reports.
If Republicans take control, one could imagine a reversal of the holding that the state constitution contains controls on partisan gerrymandering. Depending on when that happens, it could moot the Moore v. Harper case pending before the US… Continue reading
“TV Prepares for a Chaotic Midterm Night; Broadcasters face challenges as they approach the climax of an election season marked by disinformation and distrust.”
The Problem of Pendulum Politics
Another must-listen podcast (in my judgment): this one from Ezra Klein, interviewing John Sides and Lynn Vavreck about their new book, Bitter End (also co-authored with Chris Tausanovitch). I’ve starting reading the book, and so far it’s a must-read, but… Continue reading
“In chaotic court hearing, True the Vote leaders found in contempt; Testimony from Gregg Phillips and Catherine Engelbrecht muddies explanation of how they acquired evidence used to target election vendor Konnech — and who helped.”
Wild story from VoteBeat.