“As Texas refuses online voter registration, paper applications get lost”

October 29, 2024, 12:40 pmvoter registrationRick Hasen

Votebeat and the Texas Tribune: There is no simple way to know how many people are disenfranchised because of this, but more than a dozen local election officials and volunteer deputy registrars shared examples, and multiple people told similar… Continue reading

“U.S. citizens are among the voters removed in Virginia’s controversial purge”

October 29, 2024, 12:10 pmvoter registrationRick Hasen

NPR: Nadra Wilson of Lynchburg, Va., was concerned and confused when she received a letter in the mail from local election officials notifying her that her U.S. citizenship was in question. The notice said she needed to affirm she was… Continue reading

“Inside Trump’s Truth Social Conspiracy Theory Machine”

October 29, 2024, 11:59 amcheap speech, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump’s penchant for amplifying easily debunked conspiracy theories is well known. But an extensive analysis of his posts and reposts on Truth Social reveals a candidate who promotes these sinister theories at a scale and… Continue reading

My New One at MSNBC: “Ballot boxes were set on fire in Oregon and Washington. What happens to the votes? Federal and state authorities need to extinguish this kind of violence before things get more out of hand.”

October 29, 2024, 9:13 amchicaneryRick Hasen

I have written this piece for MSNBC Opinion. A snippet: Voters in Oregon and Washington are lucky enough to live in states with excellent election administration, including elaborate systems to track the path of one’s ballot from the time it… Continue reading

Federal Court Denies Relief in Republican Attack on Overseas Voting in Pennsylvania, Finding It Comes Too Late (Among Other Problems)

October 29, 2024, 9:08 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

No surprises here. In a sentence: “Plaintiffs delayed too long to file their action, they lack standing, they have failed to join indispensable parties, and they have failed to articulate a viable cause of action.” One more snippet on… Continue reading

“‘A Year of Frustration’: How New Mexico Kept Denying People Voting Rights Despite Reform”

October 29, 2024, 9:03 amfelon votingRick Hasen

New at Bolts.

“X Algorithm Feeds Users Political Content—Whether They Want It or Not”

October 29, 2024, 7:34 amcheap speechRick Hasen

WSJ: New X users with interests in topics such as crafts, sports and cooking are being blanketed with political content and fed a steady diet of posts that lean toward Donald Trump and that sow doubt about the integrity of… Continue reading

“Arizona’s ballot is so long it could create Election Day problems”

October 29, 2024, 6:56 amelection administrationRick Hasen

WaPo: In Maricopa County, home to a majority of voters, there are two pages — each measuring 17 inches long by 8½ inches wide when fully unfurled — that are covered front and backin fine print with races, full lists… Continue reading

“Why it would be difficult for Trump to reverse the 2024 election results”

October 29, 2024, 6:52 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

NBC News: Donald Trump has ramped up his baseless accusations that Democrats are plotting to “cheat” or “steal” the election, raising fears that the former president is setting the stage for an attempt to overturn the result if Vice President… Continue reading

“How Russia, China and Iran Are Interfering in the Presidential Election”

October 29, 2024, 6:47 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: When Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, spreading divisive and inflammatory posts online to stoke outrage, its posts were brash and riddled with spelling errors and strange syntax. They were designed to get attention by any means… Continue reading

“This year’s vote count will be faster, but it still might take time to know who won”

October 29, 2024, 6:43 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Zach Montellaro for Politico: Ballots will be counted faster this year than in 2020 — but everyone should still be prepared for a long night, if not a couple days of waiting. Fewer votes will be cast by mail compared… Continue reading

Some perspective on this week’s recent election law disputes

October 29, 2024, 6:42 amabsentee ballots, election administration, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

Virginia has around 5,800,000 active registered voters. In Beals v. Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, about 1600 voter registrations are in dispute–about 0.02% of the total registered voters. (And of course, while not all registered voters vote, many of… Continue reading

“Unsealed court documents show judges have long worried about Trump ‘delay tactics'”

October 29, 2024, 6:41 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: More than 18 months ago, as Donald Trump sought to delay several high-profile witness’ testimony to a grand jury investigating his effort to subvert the 2020 election, Washington’s top federal district judge sensed a potential calamity. “The special counsel’s… Continue reading

“Nevada Supreme Court rules non-postmarked ballots can be counted within 3 days of election”

October 28, 2024, 3:52 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Nevada Independent: The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that election officials can count mail ballots with no postmark received as many as three days after Election Day. In a decision Monday, five of the high court’s seven justices disagreed with… Continue reading