“Testimony Suggests Trump Was at Meeting About Accessing Voting Software”

April 22, 2023, 11:27 amchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump took part in a discussion about plans to access voting system software in Michigan and Georgia as part of the effort to challenge his 2020 election loss, according to testimony from former Trump advisers.… Continue reading

“Ohio Republicans try to change rules to defeat abortion rights amendment”

April 22, 2023, 11:20 amdirect democracyRick Hasen

Dan Balz WaPo column: or 111 years, Ohio voters have lived with a set of rules for amending their state constitution through citizen initiative. The requirements have not changed and the threshold for enactment has always been 50 percent plus… Continue reading

“Alaska Supreme Court, in landmark ruling, says partisan gerrymandering violates state constitution”

April 22, 2023, 11:18 amredistrictingRick Hasen

ADN: In a landmark decision, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional under the Alaska Constitution’s equal protection doctrine. The decision follows a contentious recent reapportionment cycle: The Alaska Redistricting Board was twice found by the… Continue reading

“Exclusive: Text messages reveal Trump operatives considered using breached voting data to decertify Georgia’s Senate runoff in 2021”

April 21, 2023, 10:36 amchicanery, election subversion risk, voting technologyRick Hasen

CNN: In mid-January 2021, two men hired by former President Donald Trump’s legal team discussed over text message what to do with data obtained from a breached voting machine in a rural county in Georgia, including whether to use… Continue reading

(Anti-democratic) Quote of the Day

April 21, 2023, 7:29 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

“Let me tell you this. Whenever anybody starts telling you that they’re worried about our democracy or protect democracy, or they’ve got democracy in their name, those are not friends of ours.” —Cleta Mitchell, lawyer for Donald Trump… Continue reading

“I.R.S. Official Is Said to Assert Political Meddling in Hunter Biden Inquiry”

April 21, 2023, 7:24 amchicanery, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: As Justice Department officials weigh whether to indict Hunter Biden, the investigator overseeing the Internal Revenue Service’s portion of the case has come forward with allegations of political favoritism in the inquiry that stand to add to the already… Continue reading

“Trump touts authoritarian vision for second term: ‘I am your justice'”

April 21, 2023, 7:20 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: Mandatory stop-and-frisk. Deploying the military to fight street crime, break up gangs and deport immigrants. Purging the federal workforce and charging leakers. Former president Donald Trump has steadily begun outlining his vision for a second-term agenda, focusing on unfinished… Continue reading

“When GOP Attorneys General Embraced Jan. 6, Corporate Funders Fled. Now They’re Back.”

April 21, 2023, 7:15 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

ProPublica: RAGA’s embrace of Stop the Steal also caused an organizational exodus. RAGA’s executive director resigned days after news of the robocall became public. Georgia’s Republican attorney general, Chris Carr, who was chairman of RAGA at the time, decided by… Continue reading

“The pessimist’s case on the state of American democracy”

April 21, 2023, 7:10 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Zach Montellaro: The 2022 election was cast as a defining moment for the future of American democracy, as ballots were filled with election conspiracy-minded candidates running for the offices that actually oversee elections. Most of the focus — including from… Continue reading

Steve Vladeck’s “The Shadow Docket”

April 21, 2023, 7:07 amELB Book Corner, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I’ve just gotten an advanced copy of Steve Vladeck’s book, The Shadow Docket, out May 16, but you can preorder now. I’ve read the chapter on the Purcell Principle and it is terrific. The emergence of Supreme Court emergency… Continue reading

“Fox Can Deduct $787 Million Defamation Settlement Over Vote Fraud Claims”

April 21, 2023, 7:04 amtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Paul Caron at TaxProf Blog.

“Top GOP lawyer decries ease of campus voting in private pitch to RNC”

April 20, 2023, 8:59 amchicanery, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

WaPo: A top Republican legal strategist told a roomful of GOP donors over the weekend that conservatives must band together to limit voting on college campuses, same-day voter registration and automatic mailing of ballots to registered voters, according to a… Continue reading

“Mike Lindell’s firm told to pay $5 million in ‘Prove Mike Wrong’ election-fraud challenge”

April 20, 2023, 8:34 amelection subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: MyPillow founder and prominent election denier Mike Lindell made a bold offer ahead of a “cyber symposium” he held in August 2021 in South Dakota: He claimed he had data showing Chinese interference and said he would pay $5… Continue reading

“After Fox settlement, experts warn election falsehoods will persist”

April 20, 2023, 7:49 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

WaPo: Fox News’s $787.5 million settlement with a voting machine company sends a stark warning to others about the cost of making false statements, but that doesn’t mean election falsehoods will disappear. The constellation of conservative networks and right-wing websites… Continue reading