One year later – “What the litigation path of eligibility challenges to Donald Trump may look like”

October 30, 2023, 6:45 amballot accessDerek Muller

Just about one year ago, in November 2022, I wrote the following: If I had a crystal ball into the future of litigation surrounding Donald Trump’s candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, I would project something like this: In… Continue reading

“Federal Judge Reinstates Gag Order on Trump in Election Case”

October 29, 2023, 7:43 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: federal judge reinstated a gag order on former President Donald J. Trump on Sunday that had been temporarily placed on hold nine days earlier, reimposing restrictions on what Mr. Trump can say about witnesses and prosecutors in the case… Continue reading

Colorado trial court botches interpretation of Electoral Count Reform Act in rush to get Trump ballot access case to hearing

October 29, 2023, 3:07 pmelectoral collegeDerek Muller

Back in 2015, I suggested that courts should proceed with “caution” when exercising review over qualifications disputes involving presidential candidates. Other entities are involved in the process, and the state legislature may not have empowered a court or… Continue reading

“Pence Bows Out of 2024 Presidential Race That Trump Is Dominating”

October 28, 2023, 5:12 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Former Vice President Mike Pence, who spent four years dutifully serving President Donald J. Trump but refused to carry out Mr. Trump’s demand that he block the 2020 election results, ended his presidential bid on Saturday, with a final… Continue reading

“After ‘Glimmer of a Moment,’ Mississippi Once Again Shuts Out Aspiring Voters”

October 27, 2023, 4:37 pmfelon votingRick Hasen

Bolts: Paloma Wu allowed herself a moment of celebration in August, when a panel of three federal judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a shock decision to strike down Mississippi’s longstanding practice of permanently stripping voting rights… Continue reading

“Wisconsin judge rules that GOP-controlled Senate’s vote to fire top elections official had no effect”

October 27, 2023, 3:30 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

AP: A vote by the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate last month to fire the state’s nonpartisan top elections official had no legal effect, and lawmakers are barred from ousting her while a lawsuit plays out, a Dane County judge ruled on… Continue reading

“Opinion: Who in their right mind wants the House to pick our next president?”

October 27, 2023, 3:18 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Doug Jones CNN oped on the potential for a contingent election in 2024.

Did the Threat of Political Violence Against Members of Congress Prevent the Conviction of Trump After His Second Impeachment?

October 27, 2023, 7:03 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Explosive claim (if true) via Mediaite: Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) revealed to biographer McKay Coppins that the threat of physical violence effectively kept many elected Republicans from voting to impeach or convict President Donald Trump, even though they wanted to.… Continue reading

“Prosecutors Withdraw Second Subpoena in Trump Fund-Raising Inquiry”

October 27, 2023, 6:51 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Federal prosecutors have quietly withdrawn a subpoena seeking records from former President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 campaign as part of their investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s political and fund-raising operations committed any crimes as he sought to stay in… Continue reading

“Arizona prosecutors ask about 2020 pressure campaign by Trump allies”

October 27, 2023, 6:49 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

WaPo: The Arizona attorney general’s investigation into the coordinated attempt to overturn the 2020 election results by creating and sending documents to the federal government falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner is also zeroing in on the pressure placed on… Continue reading

“Hearings begin as Trump critics attempt to kick him off ballots”

October 27, 2023, 6:46 amballot accessRick Hasen

WaPo: In two courtrooms 900 miles apart, judges next week will begin to weigh an unprecedented and historic question: Is former president Donald Trump eligible to run for office again given his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021,… Continue reading

Mike Johnson Podcast on June 7, 2022 Defended Extreme Version of the Independent State Legislature Theory to Justify Objecting to 2020 Vote Count favoring Joe Biden; Supreme Court Definitively Rejected This Theory Last June

October 26, 2023, 1:48 pmelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can listen here. This is the version of the theory that the U.S. Supreme Court definitively rejected in last term’s Moore v. Harper case.

“After Antifraud Crusade, a Trial Asks: Were Illegal Voters or Legal Ones the Target?”

October 26, 2023, 1:40 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Michael Wines for the NYT: As Republican candidates and their supporters increasingly focus on specious claims of rampant voter fraud, a federal trial starting in Georgia on Thursday will examine whether a key campaign to unmask illegal voters in 2020… Continue reading