“Ginni Thomas pressed Wisconsin lawmakers to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory”

September 1, 2022, 8:24 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

WaPo: Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed lawmakers to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory not only in Arizona, as previously reported, but also in a second battleground state, Wisconsin, according to… Continue reading

Massachusetts’ Top Court Issues Opinion Explaining Its Earlier Order Rejecting Republican Party Challenge to State Expansion of Early Voting

September 1, 2022, 8:02 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

You may read the opinion at this link.

“Cipollone, Philbin expected to appear Friday before federal grand jury probing Jan. 6: Sources”

September 1, 2022, 8:01 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

ABC News: Two former top Trump White House lawyers are expected to appear Friday before a federal grand jury investigating the events surrounding Jan. 6, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and… Continue reading

“Ron DeSantis’ voter fraud hunt backfires”

September 1, 2022, 7:31 amfelon voting, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Axios: Elections officials across Florida are poking holes in the DeSantis administration’s claims that they’re to blame after 20 people were arrested for voting illegally.Driving the news: Supervisors of elections in Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties say it’s the… Continue reading

“After Sarah Palin’s election loss, Sen. Tom Cotton calls ranked choice voting ‘a scam'”

September 1, 2022, 7:28 amalternative voting systems, political partiesRick Hasen

NBC News: After Democrat Mary Peltola defeated Sarah Palin in Alaska’s special election Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., discredited the voting system used by Alaska voters that they chose to implement in their state.Cotton tweeted that Alaska’s new ranked… Continue reading

“California Judge Boots Majority of City’s Councilmembers For Illegally Holding Onto Power”

August 31, 2022, 4:34 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Law & Crime: A judge has ordered the majority of a Southern California city’s governing body to be removed from office, concluding that the trio illegally held power by refusing to hold an election as required.The order finalized Wednesday… Continue reading

“Michigan election board rejects abortion rights initiative”—Republican Canvassing Board Members Seem to Be Violating their Ministerial Duty to Put Measure on the Ballot

August 31, 2022, 2:12 pmdirect democracy, election subversion riskRick Hasen

AP: Michigan elections board on Wednesday rejected an abortion rights initiative after its two Republican board members voted against putting the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.The two Democrats on the Board of State Canvassers voted in favor, but… Continue reading

“All pain, whose gain? The surprising implications of a new legal theory for redistricting”

August 31, 2022, 1:17 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Sam Wang: Lots of pixels have been spilled on a legal theory once considered fringe, the Independent State Legislature doctrine. This theory threatens to wreak havoc with centuries of election law. Two upcoming Supreme Court redistricting cases cite this… Continue reading

“Conservative Lawyer a Likely Target in Atlanta Trump Investigation, His Lawyer Says; John Eastman, who developed strategies to block certification of the 2020 election, appeared before a grand jury in Atlanta on Wednesday.”

August 31, 2022, 12:06 pmchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: John Eastman, the lawyer who developed strategies to block certification of the 2020 election, is “probably a target” in the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn Donald J. Trump’s election loss in Georgia, one of Mr. Eastman’s lawyers said… Continue reading

Eighth Circuit finds Nebraska’s per-county signature requirement for ballot initiatives passes constitutional scrutiny

August 31, 2022, 8:39 amvoter initiativesDerek Muller

From Eggers v. Evnen, in an opinion by Judge Raymond Gruender, joined by Judge David Stras (some citations omitted): The Nebraska constitution gives voters the power directly to enact statutes and constitutional amendments placed on the general-election ballot. Neb.… Continue reading

“Corporate Political Spending and State Tax Policy: Evidence from Citizens United”

August 31, 2022, 7:56 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Cailin Slattery post.

“Arizona’s Supreme Court blocks an election reform ballot measure, voiding over 238,000 petition signatures.”

August 31, 2022, 7:48 amdirect democracyRick Hasen

NYT: Arizona’s ballot in November will exclude a sweeping election reform proposition after the state Supreme Court upheld a decision to throw out the majority of the nearly half-million petition signatures collected.The measure would have checked the power of… Continue reading

“Ron DeSantis is a Test Case”

August 31, 2022, 7:43 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Tom Edsall NYT column: What would it be like living in this country in 2025 if Trump, DeSantis or one of their emulators wins the White House backed by Republican majorities in the House and Senate?I posed this question to… Continue reading

NC’s Opening Brief in Moore: State Constitutions and the Independent State Legislature Theory

August 31, 2022, 7:36 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

North Carolina has now filed its opening brief. I want to single out one aspect of that brief here. As I’ve emphasized, there are at least two different versions of ISLT on the role of state constitutions. The more sweeping… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law