“Election Subversion and the Writ of Mandamus”
I’m pleased to share this draft now up on SSRN. Comments welcome! The piece is called “Election Subversion and the Writ of Mandamus.” Here’s the abstract:
Election subversion threatens democratic self-governance. Recently, we have seen election officials try to… Continue reading
“Right-Wing Task Force Will Police Elections in the Texas GOP’s Last Urban Stronghold”
Bolts:
As Tarrant County’s Republican Sheriff Bill Waybourn explained his plan to increase the policing of local elections, he tried to reassure anyone worried about his fealty to former President Donald Trump or alarmed by the election-denying wing of his… Continue reading
“Conspiracy theory whirlwind threatens to blow Texas out of national program that keeps voter rolls updated”
Votebeat:
In virtual meetings taking place over a year, right-wing activists and Republican legislators have stoked concern over a multistate coalition that Texas and more than 30 other states use to help clean voter rolls. The majority of their grievances… Continue reading
“Prosecutors Signal Criminal Charges for Trump Are Likely”
NYT:
The Manhattan district attorney’s office recently signaled to Donald J. Trump’s lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing… Continue reading
Final Conference Program Available for March 17 UCLA Law Event, “Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?” (Registration to Attend Live Closes March 10; Online Registration to Remain Open)
“Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, former Ohio GOP leader Matt Borges found guilty”
Columbus Dispatch:
A federal jury found both former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and ex-Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges guilty of racketeering conspiracy Thursday – a dramatic outcome in the biggest public corruption case in state history.
The guilty… Continue reading
“Saving Democracy, State by State?”
Miriam Seifter has posted this draft on SSRN (California Law Review). Here is the abstract:
In his Jorde lecture, Professor Steven Levitsky offers an important account of the nation at a crossroads. Down one path is a thriving multiracial democracy;… Continue reading
Arizona Governor (and Former Secretary of State) Hobbs Creates Bipartisan Election Task Force That Includes Notable Republicans
For this to happen in Arizona is pretty amazing. Includings Ken Bennett (former Republican SOS) and former Maricopa administrator Hellen Purcell.
“Platform Transparency and the First Amendment”
Daphne Keller has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
In its coming term, the Supreme Court will likely consider whether “platform transparency laws” – laws compelling Internet companies like Facebook and YouTube to disclose more about how… Continue reading
“Is anyone investigating Trump allies’ multi-state effort to access election systems?”
LAT:
As news trickled out that former President Trump’s supporters had organized to access federally protected election machines and copied sensitive information and software, election expert Susan Greenhalgh waited for FBI or Justice Department leaders to announce an investigation.
“It… Continue reading
Meta Admits It Erred in Leaving Up Content on Facebook that Encouraged Violent Protests Following Brazil’s Election; Oversight Board Calls for Public Comment
This seems to be an important development:
On January 3, 2023, two days after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had been sworn in as Brazil’s president, a Facebook user posted a video with a caption in Portuguese. The caption includes… Continue reading
Two federal courts have recently found that states have no sovereign immunity under the Elections Clause
To continue my sovereign immunity discussion from yesterday, a federal court last year found that Congress did not abrogate state sovereign immunity under the Voting Rights Act. Congress must do so with “unmistakable clarity” when enforcing the Reconstruction Amendments,… Continue reading
“Some Election Officials Refused to Certify Results. Few Were Held Accountable.”
Doug Bock Clark for ProPublica:
Before 2020, local election officials seldom voted against certifying results. But in 2022, conservative officials in North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico refused to do so. Some admitted to refusing to certify for… Continue reading