Feb. 6 Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar: “What Can We Do to Have a Fair and Safe Election in 2024?”

January 30, 2024, 7:18 amelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

I’m very much looking forward to this event (free registration required): February 6, 12pm – 1pm What Can We Do to Have a Fair and Safe Election in 2024? Webinar Register here Renee DiResta (Stanford Internet Observatory),… Continue reading

“Biden Super PAC Plans a Historic $250 Million Ad Blitz”

January 30, 2024, 7:09 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: The main Democratic super PAC supporting President Biden’s re-election bid, Future Forward, is beginning this week to reserve $250 million in advertising across the most important battleground states, a blitz that it says is the largest single purchase of… Continue reading

“5th Circuit will rehear case that created Louisiana’s only Black supreme court seat”

January 30, 2024, 6:59 amjudicial elections, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Louisiana Illuminator: The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to rehear a decades old voting rights case that established the only majority-Black state supreme court district in Louisiana, according to the court’s docket Monday afternoon. On Monday, the… Continue reading

SCOTUS, Social Media Removal of Hate is Not “Discrimination”

January 29, 2024, 2:35 pmUncategorizedcontent moderation, Netchoice, The Big LieSpencer Overton

This is Orwellian. Texas and Florida passed state laws that effectively hinder social media platforms in removing hate, white supremacy, election denialism, and similar content. The states are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in the NetChoice cases attempting to… Continue reading

“Voting Is Bewildering This Primary Season. That Worries Experts.”

January 29, 2024, 12:13 pmvotingRick Hasen

NYT: Democracy is messy, but usually not this messy. Take, for example, New Hampshire, where President Biden boycotted the primary election last Tuesday, after the state jumped the line in the Democratic Party’s new schedule to keep its first-in-the-nation primary… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “Trump’s Lawyers Made Some Very Odd Strategic Choices in the Supreme Court Ballot Case”

January 29, 2024, 7:29 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. it begins: When the Supreme Court hears oral argument on Feb. 8 over Colorado’s decision to disqualify Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot on grounds that he engaged in insurrection and… Continue reading

American Law Institute: “Bipartisan Working Group Issues Ethical Standards for Election Administration”

January 29, 2024, 7:27 amelection administrationRick Hasen

I was very happy to see this work under the auspices of the American Law Institute with a stellar connection of participants, not only because I think these standards will produce useful rubrics by which election administrators can judge the… Continue reading

“Republican legislatures in some states are trying to keep abortion off the ballot”

January 29, 2024, 7:20 amdirect democracyRick Hasen

AP: Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the… Continue reading

“Illinois Hearing Officer, Ex-G.O.P. Judge, Says Trump Engaged in Insurrection”

January 28, 2024, 9:30 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: A former Republican judge appointed to hear arguments on whether to disqualify former President Donald J. Trump from the Illinois primary ballot said on Sunday that he believed Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection by attempting to remain in office… Continue reading

“Pa. lawmakers file lawsuit against Shapiro, Biden over election-related orders”

January 28, 2024, 9:26 pmlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Penn Live: A group of conservative Pennsylvania lawmakers have filed suit against President Joe Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro over their use of executive authority in election matters. In the 33-page complaint filed on Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court,… Continue reading

“Amend the Constitution to guarantee Americans the right to vote”

January 28, 2024, 9:20 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Glenn Altschuler reviews my upcoming book, A Real Right to Vote, in The Hill: In the new book “A Real Right to Vote,” Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UCLA specializing in election law, makes… Continue reading

“The Supreme Court Shouldn’t Punt on This One; The Court needs to give the country a clear, final answer on Donald Trump’s eligibility for office.”

January 28, 2024, 9:15 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Deborah Pearlstein in The Atlantic: The difficult questions in this case are likely to leave the justices divided. But there is no legal reason these claims need to leave them politically polarized, with the six Republican-appointed justices on one side and the three… Continue reading

Are the Courts Likely to Sustain the $65 Million in Punitive Damages Awarded Against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case?

January 26, 2024, 2:08 pmRemediesRick Hasen

A jury just found Donald Trump liable for over $83 million in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. Of that, about $65 million are punitive damages. Are the punitive damages likely to be sustained if challenged (as they will be)… Continue reading

“Conn. mayor wins do-over race after GOP seized on Democratic ballot-stuffing”

January 26, 2024, 11:29 amabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: A Connecticut mayor whose September primary election win was invalidated after ballot-fraud allegations won a do-over primary Tuesday, months after his case became a flash point in conservative arguments about debunked theories of voter fraud. s Donald Trump … Continue reading