“GOP sues over special elections in Pa. House majority battle”

December 10, 2022, 6:55 pmlegislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

Associated Press: The top-ranking Republican in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives asked a court late Friday to prevent voters from filling three vacant seats in February that will determine majority control of the chamber. Rep. Bryan Cutler of Lancaster,… Continue reading

Manheim on Election Law and Election Subversion

December 10, 2022, 5:26 amelection administration, political polarizationDerek Muller

Lisa Marshall Manehim, Election Law and Election Subversion (Yale Law Journal): Scholars of American election law used to take the rule of law as a given. The legal system, while highly imperfect, appeared sturdy, steady, and functional. Recent election cycles—culminating… Continue reading

Sellers on Electoral Adequacy

December 10, 2022, 5:25 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Joshua S. Sellers, Electoral Adequacy (Yale Law Journal): This Essay considers the function of election law, as an academic field, in strengthening democratic institutions and improving democratic accountability. In undertaking this inquiry, this Essay advocates an interdisciplinary research program oriented… Continue reading

Arizona election contests filed

December 10, 2022, 5:23 amelection administration, provisional ballots, recountsDerek Muller

Let’s start with Attorney General candidate Abe Hamedah. He lost by 511 votes, and a recount is underway. The Arizona Republic story is here: The lawsuit specifically states that the candidate is not making claims of fraud or nefarious… Continue reading

“Michigan Supreme Court rejects DePerno effort to revive Antrim County election case”

December 9, 2022, 10:54 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Detroit Free Press: The Michigan Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch effort to revive the Antrim County election lawsuit, a case that drew the attention of former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters for its unfounded allegations of… Continue reading

“Mail-In Voting Fight Pits Donald Trump Against Ron DeSantis, Other GOP Leaders”

December 9, 2022, 10:52 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Alex Leary and Lindsay Wise in the Wall Street Journal: The issue of mail-in voting has divided Republicans in the wake of disappointing midterm elections, with most key GOP leaders urging the party to embrace the practice and former… Continue reading

“Too big of a job: Why Maricopa County’s ballot printers failed on Election Day”

December 9, 2022, 5:53 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Jen Fifield at Votebeat.

“Ethics Chair Struggles Over Whether Giuliani Crossed A Line”

December 9, 2022, 5:52 amelectoral college, fraudulent fraud squadDerek Muller

Kate Buehler at Law360: The chairman of a D.C. ethics committee deciding whether Rudy Giuliani violated legal ethics rules by filing a lawsuit aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election results in Pennsylvania said Thursday he was struggling to… Continue reading

“Ruing Senate Loss, Georgia G.O.P. Asks if Runoff Rule Changes Backfired”

December 8, 2022, 2:39 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

Reid Epstein in the New York Times, with this potential statutory tidbit: Mr. Raffensperger said he would present three proposals to lawmakers. They include forcing large counties to open more early-voting locations to reduce hours-long lines like the ones… Continue reading

“Trump ally Sidney Powell asks court to overturn sanctions over election lawsuit”

December 8, 2022, 2:38 pmfraudulent fraud squadDerek Muller

Reuters: Sidney Powell and other conservative lawyers who sued to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Michigan asked a U.S. appeals court on Thursday to overturn an order sanctioning them for pressing “frivolous” election claims. During oral arguments… Continue reading

Kate Shaw on oral argument in Moore v. Harper

December 8, 2022, 10:30 amElections Clause, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

Over at Just Security, Kate Shaw has a piece entitled, “Oral Argument in Moore v. Harper and the Perils of Finding ‘Compromise’ on the Independent State Legislature Theory.” From it: [A] majority may be willing to sign onto some version of… Continue reading

The Fifteenth Amendment and the Independent State Legislature Theory

December 8, 2022, 10:29 amElections ClauseDerek Muller

The following is a guest post from Travis Crum: The Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in Moore v. Harper, which concerns the definition of “legislature” in Article I’s Elections Clause and the so-called independent state legislature theory (ISLT).… Continue reading

“In Rejecting Voter ID Measure, Arizonans Bucked History and Surprised Advocates”

December 8, 2022, 10:29 amvoter id, voter initiativesDerek Muller

BoltsMag

How Would the Supreme Court’s Major Precedents Concerning Democracy Fare under the Potential Test Discussed in Moore v. Harper?

December 8, 2022, 9:32 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Both before and during the argument in Moore v. Harper, I wrote about the possibility that the Court might think about extending the approach in the CJ Rehnquist’s Bush v. Gore concurrence – which was about state court statutory interpretation… Continue reading