“Corporate PACs contributed over a million dollars to lawmakers who opposed abortion rights bill”

July 15, 2022, 7:32 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

From Open Secrets: Corporate PACs of companies that committed to covering travel expenses related to abortion have contributed more than $1.62 million in the 2022 election cycle to 139 Republicans and two Democrats who voted against the Women’s Health … Continue reading

Pildes on Ranked Choice Voting

July 15, 2022, 7:08 amalternative voting systems, political polarizationDan Tokaji

Fredreka Schouten of CNN interviews Rick Pildes. Here’s a highlight: RCV … encourages the election of candidates with the broadest electoral appeal. It also makes it likely that candidates who win will have the support of a majority of… Continue reading

“Jan. 6 Committee Considers Seeking Testimony From Donald Trump, Mike Pence”

July 15, 2022, 5:49 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislaturesDan Tokaji

WSJ: “Members of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol are discussing the next steps in their investigation, including whether to seek an interview with former Vice President Mike Pence and potentially… Continue reading

The Impact of Missouri’s New Voting Law

July 15, 2022, 5:40 amabsentee ballots, Uncategorized, voter idDan Tokaji

From KQTV in St. Joseph, on the bill signed last month. HB 1878 was signed by Governor Parsons just over three weeks ago, but concerns for voter accessibility continue to grow. The bill introduced many procedure changes for Missouri… Continue reading

“We have reached the apex of election-fraud debunking”

July 15, 2022, 5:16 amelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Philip Bump in WaPo, on the report issued yesterday by eight prominent conservatives, including Ted Olson, Ben Ginsberg, Michael McConnell, and Judge Luttig: [M]illions of people believe that the election was stolen. So how might they be dissuaded? Perhaps… Continue reading

Cert. Petition Asserts Racial Gerrymandering of PA State Legislative Districts

July 15, 2022, 5:04 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Here’s the question presented by the cert petition in Benninghoff v. 2021 Legislative Reapportionment Commission, brought by Pennsylvania’s Republican House Majority Leader: Pennsylvania’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission admittedly made extensive use of race in constructing up to 14 state legislative… Continue reading

A Middle Ground on the Independent State Legislature Doctrine?

July 14, 2022, 6:57 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

Jason Willick has a Washington Post column with which I very much agree. The basic argument is that it’s a mistake, both substantively and strategically, to think of the “independent state legislature doctrine” as an all-or-nothing proposition, without any possibility… Continue reading

“Criminalizing the vote: GOP-led states enacted 102 new election penalties after 2020”

July 14, 2022, 12:34 pmUncategorizedDan Tokaji

News from the States: Since the 2020 election, 26 states have enacted, expanded, or increased the severity of 120 election-related criminal penalties, according to an analysis by States Newsroom of state legislation and data from the Voting Rights Lab. … Continue reading

FEC Commissioner Weintraub Argues that Republican FEC Commissioners Blew It In Seeking To Dismiss Complaint Against Pro-Trump Super-Pac Involving $781 Million in Potentially Illegal Spending

July 14, 2022, 11:40 amfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Very interesting statement from Commissioner Weintraub about how Republican FEC commissioners—who have been trying to get rid of most serious cases of campaign finance violations on grounds of “prosecutorial discretion”—may have blown it in how they tried to apply it… Continue reading

“LOST, NOT STOLEN: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Presidential Election”

July 14, 2022, 6:34 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

This extremely detailed report, just released, was put together by eight prominent conservatives, including three former federal judges. It carefully examines “every claim of fraud and miscount putforward by former President Trump and his advocates, and now put the results… Continue reading

“Trump uses Wisconsin Supreme Court decision on ballot drop boxes to re-stoke baseless arguments about the 2020 election”

July 14, 2022, 4:36 amelection subversion risk, UncategorizedDan Tokaji

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on the former President’s reaction to the decision in Teigen v. Wisconsin Election Commission: “To Trump, whose election loss was cemented when he lost Wisconsin, Friday’s ruling by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court means… Continue reading

Is the Senate Close to an Electoral Count Act Deal?

July 14, 2022, 4:31 amelectoral collegeDan Tokaji

Politico reports that it may be: “Senators involved in the monthslong effort say they’re getting close to a deal. Their goal is passing legislation on the Electoral Count Act by the end of the year, well in advance of the… Continue reading

“Trump’s 2020 outrage drives fear of ‘insider’ election threats”

July 14, 2022, 4:23 amelection subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadDan Tokaji

The Hill: Former President Trump’s campaign to undermine the 2020 election is fueling concerns over midterm election security, with experts warning of “insider” threats from the very officials charged with guarding the vote. Hundreds of GOP candidates in federal and… Continue reading

NYT/Siena Poll Finds Widespread Distrust in Political System

July 14, 2022, 4:17 amUncategorizedDan Tokaji

NYT: A majority of American voters across nearly all demographics and ideologies believe their system of government does not work, with 58 percent of those interviewed for a New York Times/Siena College poll saying that the world’s oldest independent… Continue reading