“Jan. 6 panel wonders: Is Trump criminal referral necessary?”

April 4, 2022, 7:03 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: Should the Jan. 6 committee ask the Justice Department to pursue a criminal case against Donald Trump? It’s a question with political heft but no practical effect — and some panel members are increasingly skeptical.After all, as multiple lawmakers… Continue reading

Eggers and Grimmer on John Lott’s Spurious Voter Fraud Claims in the 2020 Election

April 4, 2022, 6:57 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Andrew Eggers and Justin Grimmer have posted Comment on ‘Simple tests for the extent of vote fraud with absentee and provisional ballots in the 2020 US presidential election’. Here is the abstract: Lott (2022) introduces ‘simple tests’ of voter… Continue reading

I Spoke to the “Speak Good” Podcast About My Cheap Speech Book

April 4, 2022, 6:53 amcheap speechRick Hasen

You can listen here.

“Trump hammers at false claims of voter fraud in return to Michigan”

April 4, 2022, 6:50 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Detroit Free Press: Former President Donald Trump returned to Michigan on Saturday night to boost support for two Republican candidates he wants to see elected as the state’s chief law enforcement officer and election official, inserting himself into the… Continue reading

“Opinion: The fool’s gold of Trump’s decertification plan”

April 2, 2022, 11:13 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Ginsberg/Bauer/Becker WaPo oped: As Donald Trump flails about trying to “rescind” the 2020 presidential election and castigating Republicans who point out the Constitution doesn’t allow that, here is a heads-up for state legislators considering doing his bidding:… Continue reading

“Private funding saved the 2020 election. Now, some GOP-led states are banning it”

April 1, 2022, 3:50 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Miles Parks for NPR: For voting officials, money from the private sector leading up to the 2020 election was a lifeline.In Philadelphia, the city was able to buy new high-speed machines to help sort mail ballots by ward and… Continue reading

“Michigan congressional districts upheld by three-judge panel in face of GOP challenge”

April 1, 2022, 3:29 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Detroit Free Press: Michigan’s congressional districts – drawn for the first time by an independent redistricting commission – survived a legal challenge from Republicans with a Friday ruling from a three-judge panel upholding the new lines. In a… Continue reading

Link to 2020 “Fair Elections During a Crisis” Report

April 1, 2022, 2:26 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Reposting here, so that it will be available after my departure from UCI.

Ohio: “LaRose would ‘be fine with’ chief justice’s impeachment over redistricting rulings”

April 1, 2022, 1:50 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

What the heck happened to this guy?

“As Earmarks Return to Congress, Lawmakers Rush to Steer Money Home; Democrats and Republicans alike stuffed nearly 5,000 earmarks totaling $9 billion into the $1.5 trillion government spending bill signed by President Biden.”

April 1, 2022, 7:50 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

NYT: Often derided as pork and regarded as an unseemly and even corrupt practice on Capitol Hill, earmarks are also a tool of consensus-building in Congress, giving lawmakers across the political spectrum a personal interest in cutting deals to… Continue reading

Is Yesterday’s Florida Ruling Vindication of Marc Elias’s Litigation Strategy?

April 1, 2022, 7:37 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Putting aside that Marc sometimes claims credits in cases he didn’t lead, I’m quite skeptical of Marc’s claim that “The journalists, pundits and professors who falsely claimed that Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich v DNC meant the end of Section… Continue reading

“Falsehoods Aired on Spanish Radio Delude Voters Before Midterms”

April 1, 2022, 7:06 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Bloomberg Government: Misinformation on Spanish-language media about voter fraud, the pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to harm Latino communities during this fall’s midterm elections.The Federal Communications Commission is charged with regulating broadcasters but has done little to… Continue reading

Travis Crum: “Bailing in the Sunshine State”

March 31, 2022, 6:17 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Travis Crum: Bail-in is back in the news. In a behemoth 288-page decision in League of Women Voters of Florida v. Lee, a federal district court found that Florida intentionally discriminated against… Continue reading

Breaking: NY State Court Finds That New York’s Congressional Maps Violate the State Constitution By Being a Democratic Party Gerrymander and Need to Be Redrawn

March 31, 2022, 1:50 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

You can find the 18-page ruling here, a ruling which is sure to be appealed. If the ruling stands and New York does not draw batter maps, the court will appoint a neutral expert to do so. I’m guessing that… Continue reading