“Measuring a decade of improvements in election administration”

March 21, 2024, 9:14 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Electionline: Today, the MIT Election Data + Science Lab released the latest iteration of the Elections Performance Index (EPI). The index, which provides an objective measure of election performance in each state for federal elections, has now been updated… Continue reading

Ohio Should Embrace Common Ground Democracy

March 21, 2024, 8:18 amUncategorizedNed Foley

New Common Ground Democracy column with this subtitle: “Ohio’s U.S. Senate race this year, as in 2022, illustrates how the current electoral system causes the defeat of the candidate whom a majority of voters prefer to each other candidate in… Continue reading

“The impact of voter confusion in ranked choice voting”

March 21, 2024, 7:50 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Lonna Rae Atkeson, Eli McKown-Dawson, Jack Santucci, and Kyle L. Saunders in Social Science Quarterly. Abstract: Objectives Election observers have expressed concerns about voter “confusion” under ranked choice voting (RCV) since the 1890s. What is the… Continue reading

“Republicans Are Counting on Millionaires to Flip the Senate”

March 21, 2024, 7:46 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Since his rise to the presidency, Donald J. Trump has claimed enormous wealth as proof that he is an anti-establishment ally of the working class, not beholden to corporate donors or special interests. The Republican Party, eyeing control of… Continue reading

“Cross-Border Influencers: Democracy and Externalities”

March 21, 2024, 7:38 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Saul Levmore has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The United States does not allow foreigners to influence U.S. elections by giving money to political parties or candidates, but many other countries do allow cross-border influencing. Indeed,… Continue reading

“Will we ever amend the Constitution again?”

March 21, 2024, 7:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Rick LaRue at The Fulcrum.

“Three reasons why NJ should cut the ‘county line’ from ballots”

March 21, 2024, 6:47 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

Tyler Simko and I wrote this column for New Jersey Spotlight News about the distortive “county line” system of ballot design. HLS’s Election Law Clinic also filed this amicus brief in the ongoing litigation over the county line. The brief… Continue reading

“Democrats Prepare Aggressive Counter to Third-Party Threats”

March 20, 2024, 5:20 pmballot access, third partiesRick Hasen

NYT: The Democratic Party, increasingly alarmed by the potential for third-party candidates to swing the election to former President Donald J. Trump, has put together a new team of lawyers aimed at tracking the threat, especially in key battleground states.… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of My Conversation with Wilfred Codrington for the Brennan Center on My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote”

March 20, 2024, 5:17 pmReal Right to VoteRick Hasen

This conversation was a real treat. Watch:

“Secure, Credible, and Accessible 2024 Elections”

March 20, 2024, 5:14 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

New report from the Conference Board: Conducting an election that is secure, credible, and accessible is essential not only to ensuring public trust in elections but also to the position of the US as a global beacon of democracy. A… Continue reading

“How a new way of electing the House can change our politics”

March 20, 2024, 5:11 pmalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Drew Penrose and David Daley oped: The most meaningful change would put an end to winner-take-all, single-member districts and create a proportional House with larger, multimember districts and proportional voting. This might sound like a big lift, but it’s… Continue reading

“Group Takes on Charitable Political Speech Prohibition”

March 20, 2024, 7:35 amtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Tax Notes: A nonprofit is seeking declaratory judgment from the Tax Court that charitable organizations shouldn’t be restricted from political speech. The group filed a March 18 petition with the Tax Court, which was served March 19, seeking a declaratory… Continue reading

“Why Everyone in New Jersey Politics Is Talking About ‘the Line'”

March 20, 2024, 7:25 amballot accessRick Hasen

NYT: New Jersey election ballots have long been designed to benefit the favored candidates of local political leaders. But now, in the middle of a high-stakes Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, a move to declare the ballot design unconstitutional could… Continue reading

California: “A Central Valley politician was charged with voter fraud. Right-wing conspiracies took over”

March 19, 2024, 5:46 pmabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

LA Times: Hicks, a real estate agent from Lodi, believes California’s universal vote-by-mail process is fraught with fraud risks, echoing unfounded messaging from the far right that election officials nationwide have worked to combat since Donald Trump and his allies… Continue reading