“Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court”

October 7, 2025, 3:54 pmjudicial electionsRick Hasen

Bolts: In a sense, the GOP’s mission is straightforward: If voters remove Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht, the current 5-2 Democratic majority would fall to a 2-2 tie. Republicans would then have a shot at winning an outright majority in… Continue reading

Constitution Day Program

October 7, 2025, 11:24 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

I’m pleased that this evening I’ll be participating with Akhil Amar, David Rabban, and my colleague Burt Neuborne on an event put on by the NY County Lawyers Association. We’ll be discussing issues of presidential powers, birthright citizenship, the First… Continue reading

Must-Watch Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar Today: Nate Persily on Lessons from 2024 on the Risks to the 2026 Elections

October 7, 2025, 7:47 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

You can register to watch here. Nate will be in person at UCLA and I’ll be moderating the event with a live audience.

“Amid ongoing investigation into found ballots, Sec. Bellows underscores Maine election security”

October 7, 2025, 7:40 amchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Maine Morning Star: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is confident law enforcement will ultimately uncover why 250 official ballots were allegedly delivered to a Newburgh home in an Amazon package. She also said the incident underscored that Maine’s processes… Continue reading

“State supreme court battles move to Pennsylvania, where 3 Democratic justices hope to keep seats”

October 7, 2025, 7:34 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

AP: There are no $1 million giveaways to voters, cheesehead hats or even candidate debates. Elon Musk is nowhere to be found. Yet the stakes in the Pennsylvania election this fall are very much the same as they were in… Continue reading

Common Cause Files 54 Complaints Against the Trump Administration for Ethics Violations

October 7, 2025, 7:33 amethics investigationsRick Hasen

Release via email: Common Cause, a national, nonpartisan government watchdog, filed 54 separate complaints against the Trump Administration for violating the Hatch Act, the Anti-Deficiency Act, and the Anti-Lobbying Act—a volume of filings that underscores the breakdown of federal ethics… Continue reading

“Legislature passes new map in Utah, creating 2 more competitive seats”

October 7, 2025, 7:32 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: Utah lawmakers passed a new congressional map on Monday that presents Democrats with two new pickup opportunities in the red state, a potential win for the party as it tries to respond to Republican-backed redistricting efforts nationwide. The map… Continue reading

The Supreme Court: Standing in Election Cases

October 7, 2025, 5:54 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear argument in Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, an important case on who has standing, and in what circumstances, to bring prospective challenges to election laws in advance of the election. I’ve published… Continue reading

New York: “Printing error led to filled-in absentee ballots being sent to Rush voters”

October 6, 2025, 10:19 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WROC: A printing error led to absentee voters in Rush receiving ballots that were already filled out. Over the last couple of weeks, 33 residents in Rush received their absentee voting ballots in the mail, but every bubble was already… Continue reading

Party Discipline in the UK: Tories Enforce Their Commitment to Leave the European Convention on Human Rights

October 6, 2025, 9:58 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

To give you a sense of how party discipline works in some other democratic systems, at the party conference for the Conservatives currently taking place in the UK, the party’s leader, the Kemi Badenoch, announced that the Conservatives would commit… Continue reading

“House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Burns Down”

October 6, 2025, 7:33 ampolitical violenceRick Hasen

Time: Police are investigating the cause of a fire that burned down the home of South Carolina Circuit Court judge Diane Goodstein, who had reportedly received death threats for weeks related to her work. State law enforcement is investigating the… Continue reading

“Bow to the Emperor’: We Asked 50 Legal Experts About the Trump Presidency”

October 6, 2025, 7:21 amauthoritarian threats in US, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Emily Bazelon for the NYT: Last year, in the months before the 2024 presidential election, the magazine surveyed 50 members of what might be called the Washington legal establishment about their expectations for the Justice Department and the rule of… Continue reading

This Week’s Essays in the NYU Democracy Project Series Features Several Essays on the Supreme Court

October 6, 2025, 6:33 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

With the start of the Supreme Court Term, the NYU Democracy Project is publishing several essays this week on the Court. The first of these, Enshrine Nine, comes from Ed Whelan, who argues for a constitutional amendment fixing the… Continue reading

“Abcarian: Does Donald Trump really think he can run for president again in 2028?”

October 5, 2025, 10:09 amauthoritarian threats in US, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Robin Abcarian in the LA Times: At this point, the Constitution seems less a constraint than a mere sticking point for Trump as he smashmouths his way past anything that impedes his heart’s desires. “I think the scenario in… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law