“Senate Opens Voting Rights Debate, With Legislative Defeat Looming”

January 19, 2022, 7:31 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Carl Hulse for the NYT: Democrats pushed forward on Tuesday with what appeared to be a futile bid to enact voting rights protections over Republican opposition, taking up legislation that they said was urgently needed to counter widespread balloting… Continue reading

“Plans to close all but one polling place in a rural Georgia county reverberate through a battleground state”

January 19, 2022, 7:26 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Fredreka Schouten for CNN: Election officials in a rural Georgia county are weighing plans to close all but one polling place ahead of this year’s elections, alarming local voting and civil rights groups.But Wednesday’s vote by the Lincoln County… Continue reading

“Texas rejects hundreds of mail ballot applications under new voting limits”

January 19, 2022, 7:24 amabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Reuters: Texas election officials have rejected hundreds of mail-in ballot applications, abiding by a new Republican-backed law just weeks before a March 1 primary kicks off this year’s U.S. election cycle.“My friends, this is what voter suppression looks like,” Democrat… Continue reading

“‘Crazy Like a Fox’: Voting Machine Maker Smartmatic Sues My Pillow, CEO for Defamation”

January 18, 2022, 5:36 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Law.com reports.

Oral argument in Alaska RCV case

January 18, 2022, 4:18 pmalternative voting systems, primariesNed Foley

As Rick blogged earlier today, the Alaska Supreme Court heard oral argument in an important case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new electoral system, which has a nonpartisan primary that sends the top four candidates to the general… Continue reading

“Colorado secretary of state files lawsuit to block Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from overseeing the 2022 election”

January 18, 2022, 3:41 pmelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Colorado Sun: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to block Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from having any oversight role in the 2022 election. The lawsuit comes after Peters, a Republican, refused last week… Continue reading

“Jan. 6 Inquiry Subpoenas Giuliani and Legal Team That Made Claims of Voting Fraud”

January 18, 2022, 2:45 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Tuesday subpoenaed Rudolph W. Giuliani and the legal team that pursued a set of conspiracy-filled lawsuits on behalf of former President Donald J. Trump that made claims… Continue reading

Federal District Court Strikes Down Montana Law Requiring Disclosure of Last-Minute Campaign Advertisements Mentioning (But Not Endorsing) Candidates

January 18, 2022, 2:32 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can find the opinion of the Court here. I think the Court was likely wrong to subject this to strict scrutiny and I was surprised there was no discussion of the AFPF v. Bonta decision of the Supreme… Continue reading

“Florida governor proposes special police agency to monitor elections”

January 18, 2022, 12:33 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: A plan by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would establish a special police force to oversee state elections — the first of its kind in the nation — and while his fellow Republicans have reacted tepidly, voting rights advocates… Continue reading

Major Political Reform Case Before Alaska Supreme Court Today

January 18, 2022, 10:34 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Voters in Alaska adopted a top-four primary election structure and ranked-choice voting in the general election as a way to reward candidates with the broadest electoral appeal. Those reforms have been challenged under the state constitution, with the state supreme… Continue reading

January 28 Wake Forest Virtual Symposium: “Preserving American Democracy: Exploring Modern Democracy through the History and Development of First Amendment Jurisprudence and Election Law”

January 18, 2022, 6:43 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

I’m looking forward to participating in this event (free registration required): The Wake Forest Law Review is excited to present “Preserving American Democracy,” a symposium evaluating the influence of First Amendment jurisprudence and election law on modern American Democracy.… Continue reading

“Senate Democrats Press Ahead With Debate on Voting Rights Bill”

January 17, 2022, 2:19 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Senate Democrats plan to press ahead this week with an effort to push new voting rights protections through Congress, in an all but doomed attempt to enact a key piece of President Biden’s agenda that has been undercut… Continue reading

“With Voting Bills Dead, Democrats Face Costly Fight to Overcome G.O.P. Curbs”

January 17, 2022, 1:32 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: With the door slammed shut this week on federal legislation to create new protections for access to voting, Democrats face an electoral landscape in which they will need to spend heavily to register and mobilize voters if they are… Continue reading

“Trump Rally Underscores G.O.P. Tension Over How to Win in 2022”

January 17, 2022, 1:28 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump returned on Saturday to Arizona, a cradle of his political movement, to headline a rally in the desert that was a striking testament to how he has elevated fringe beliefs and the… Continue reading