“Trump’s perceived enemies brace for retribution with plans, dark humor” (As election officials pack “go bags,” what would you say if you saw it in another country?)

January 28, 2025, 7:57 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: Sitting in front of a fireplace on New Year’s Eve, a battleground state official asked a relative to consider a grave question before they kicked off their celebrations. Would she be willing, the official asked, to take care of… Continue reading

“Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations”

January 28, 2025, 7:37 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: The acting attorney general on Monday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the two criminal investigations into Donald J. Trump for the special counsel Jack Smith, saying they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the… Continue reading

“A federal appeals court considers who should decide whether NC votes are thrown out”

January 28, 2025, 7:31 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

NC Newsline: In a pivotal hearing in the North Carolina Supreme Court elections case, the lawyer representing the state Board of Elections faced a barrage of questions from a federal court of appeals judge about the appropriateness of calling back… Continue reading

“They Followed North Carolina Election Rules When They Cast Their Ballots. Now Their Votes Could Be Tossed Anyway.”

January 28, 2025, 7:28 amchicanery, judicial electionsRick Hasen

ProPublica: A Republican judge has spent more than two months trying to overturn his narrow defeat for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat by arguing that around 60,000 ballots should be tossed out. But many residents have only recently learned… Continue reading

“White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion”

January 28, 2025, 7:26 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: he White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday, creating significant confusion across Washington. In a two-page document, Matthew J.… Continue reading

“One of 2025’s Biggest Battles Over Abortion Rights Has Already Begun” (Wisconsin Supreme Court Election)

January 27, 2025, 7:37 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

NYT: Tens of millions of dollars flooding into a state election. A nakedly political candidate for a judgeship. Huge policy stakes for a key battleground state. Two years ago, a race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court vividly demonstrated how local… Continue reading

“Is Trump’s Plan to End Birthright Citizenship ‘Dred Scott II’?”

January 27, 2025, 7:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Adam Liptak in the NYT: The right should embrace that legacy, John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former official in the George W. Bush administration, wrote in 2018, after Mr. Trump… Continue reading

“Cruel and unusual? Supreme Court declines to review Mississippi voting ban for convicted felons”

January 27, 2025, 7:29 amfelon voting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

USA Today: The Supreme Court declined Monday to decide whether a permanent voting ban on people convicted of felonies in Mississippi is cruel and unusual punishment. The court, in 2023, had also rejected a different challenge to the state’s voting… Continue reading

“‘People Will Be Shocked’: Trump Tests the Boundaries of the Presidency”

January 27, 2025, 7:27 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Peter Baker for the NYT: On his first full day back in the White House, President Trump reveled in his return to power and vowed to do what no president had ever done before. “We’re going to do things that… Continue reading

“To Counter Trump’s Election Denial, We Need Nonpartisan Reform”

January 27, 2025, 7:20 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Kevin Johnson in The Fulcrum: The time is right for a whole new approach to the governance of elections in America. We have a system dominated by the two parties when most voters no longer affiliate with either. We have… Continue reading

“‘Stop this attack’: New ad features NC Republican challenging GOP-backed effort to toss ballots”

January 26, 2025, 8:44 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WRAL: A new political ad just started airing this week in North Carolina — focusing on an election that’s been over for nearly three months. It’s unusual for a political ad to air long after ballots have been counted. But… Continue reading

“Keep Condorcet in Consideration as an Electoral Reform Option”

January 26, 2025, 7:36 amUncategorizedNed Foley

On Thursday, Rick linked to a DemocracySoS essay by Greg Dennis arguing that Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) is categorically “superior to Condorcet Voting as a tool for political depolarization.” To support his position, Dennis offers two arguments, neither of which… Continue reading

NYT On the Decline of Competitive Congressional Districts

January 26, 2025, 3:36 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The NYT has a long story by @miwine and @NYTnickc about the decline of competitive districts in the 2024 elections. A key point from an experienced member of Congress comes at the end of the story: “As competitive districts dwindle,… Continue reading

“Trump ousts at least 14 independent inspectors general in late-night purge”

January 25, 2025, 9:00 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: The White House late Friday fired the independent inspectors general of at least 14 major federal agencies in a purge that could clear the way for President Donald Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud,… Continue reading