Recent judicial developments on the qualifications to run for Congress

May 31, 2022, 1:59 pmelection law and constitutional lawDerek Muller

It’s been a busy year for the typically-sleepy Qualifications Clause of the Constitution, but a couple of judicial developments are noteworthy. First, Newsom v. Golden considered the Tennessee Republican Party’s move to boot a candidate who failed to meet the… Continue reading

Breaking: “Lawyer Sussmann, who worked for Clinton, acquitted of lying to FBI in 2016”

May 31, 2022, 9:03 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: A federal jury found Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Democrats including the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign,not guilty of lying to the FBI when he brought them allegations against Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential race.Tuesday’s verdict was a… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Spurns Texas GOP Lawmakers on Voting-Map Testimony”

May 31, 2022, 8:02 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bloomberg Law–The U.S. Supreme Court has rebuffed a request to protect “three Republican lawmakers from being questioned under oath in lawsuits by the Biden administration and civil rights groups that claim new voting maps in Texas are racially discriminatory.”… Continue reading

Watch Video of John Fund and Cleta Mitchell Dumping on True the Vote/Catherine Engelbrecht

May 31, 2022, 7:58 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

This video from Documented is something. More background here.

Pennsylvania Senate Recount Official

May 31, 2022, 5:41 amrecounts2022 Pennsylvania Republican PrimaryTabatha Abu El-Haj

Philadelphia Inquirer–The recount for the Senate race in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary is now underway. It must be completed by noon on June 7 and the official result will be released on June 8. Counties are, however, likely to release… Continue reading

States’ Concerted Efforts to Curb Election Misinformation

May 31, 2022, 5:17 amchicanery, election subversion risk2022 Election Cycle, StatesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Cecilia Kang, N.Y. Times, reports on efforts in several states to combat election misinformation in advance of November. The focus will be on unfounded rumors and lies about voting and election fraud. Connecticut “plans to spend nearly $2 million… Continue reading

NYT on “2000 Mules”/True the Vote Nonsense; Come for the Part Where Greg Phillip Says His Method to Track Supposed Voter Fraud is a “Trade Secret”; Stay for the Von Spakovsky Lie About Federal Law and Ballot Collection

May 30, 2022, 3:38 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: The film, directed by the conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, is based in part on an erroneous premise: that getting paid to deliver other people’s ballots is illegal not just in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia where True the Vote… Continue reading

Labor Party Wins Australian Elections Due to Instant Runoff Voting

May 30, 2022, 11:05 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From the East Asian Forum: “Almost a decade of centre-right rule came to an end on 21 May when former prime minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal Party–National Party coalition was defeated by the centre-left Labor Party, which now holds office… Continue reading

Yesterday’s Colombian Election and Two-Round Voting

May 30, 2022, 9:03 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on the prevalence of two-round voting systems in other countries for presidential elections, Colombia’s presidential election provides a terrific example. In Colombia’s first-round vote yesterday, three main candidates competed. A former left-wing guerilla, Gustavo… Continue reading

“Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote”

May 30, 2022, 7:17 amchicanery2020 Election ConspiraciesTabatha Abu El-Haj

In depth story by Alexandra Berzon in the NY Times on Cleta Mitchel’s mission to organizing a group of activists, recruited from right-wing organizations prone to conspiracy theories, “into an ‘army of citizens’ trained to aggressively monitor elections.”

Uvalde, an unlikely opportunity for responsiveness to public sentiment

May 30, 2022, 5:05 amcampaign finance, legislation and legislaturespolicy responsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

Public support for gun control, including regulating access to assault-style weapons, is currently extraordinarily high. But will Congress act? It would take ten Republican Senators to break. The odds are not good. And if they did, federal legislation… Continue reading

Run-off Elections in Comparative Perspective

May 29, 2022, 11:58 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

As Ned Foley and I have been writing about in various forums, our typical use of plurality voting rules in the US can lead to factional candidates winning nominations or elections, even though they lack majority support. That’s one of… Continue reading

“No evidence of exploitation of Dominion voting machine flaws, CISA finds”

May 28, 2022, 3:06 pmelection administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

Washington Post: The federal government has found no evidence that flaws in Dominion voting machines have ever been exploited, including in the 2020 election, according to the executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.CISA, an arm of… Continue reading