“McCarthy-endorsed Vince Fong can’t legally run for Congress, California secretary of state says”

December 16, 2023, 10:04 amballot accessDerek Muller

Sacramento Bee: Assemblyman Vince Fong cannot run to succeed Rep. Kevin McCarthy in the 20th Congressional District, California’s secretary of state announced Friday in a ruling that will almost certainly prompt a legal challenge by the Republican candidate over… Continue reading

“Rudy Giuliani must pay two Georgia poll workers who sued him for defamation $148 million after he falsely accused them of helping to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump”

December 15, 2023, 1:29 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

Live updates from the Washington Post here.

“Kansas Supreme Court rules against Kris Kobach and Scott Schwab in election law case”

December 15, 2023, 8:31 amcampaignsDerek Muller

From the Topeka Capital-Journal: The Kansas Supreme Court has sided with voter advocacy groups in a lawsuit against Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach challenging the legality of an election law enacted by the Republican-controlled… Continue reading

Fifth Circuit rejects en banc request to reconsider whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act includes a private right of action

December 15, 2023, 7:58 amVoting Rights ActDerek Muller

After the Eighth Circuit’s decision, there was a question whether the Fifth Circuit en banc might reach a similar conclusion. But no judge asked for the question from Robinson v. Ardoin (which Travis Crum highlighted here) to be… Continue reading

“FEC makes it easier for candidates to use campaign dollars to pay themselves”

December 15, 2023, 6:32 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

CNN: Starting next year, federal candidates can more easily use campaign funds to pay themselves salaries, under a rule approved Thursday by federal election regulators. The change, which the Federal Election Commission approved 5-1, is aimed at helping ensure… Continue reading

“AI chatbot got election info wrong 30 percent of time, European study finds”

December 15, 2023, 6:31 amcampaigns, election administrationDerek Muller

Washington Post: Want accurate information about elections? Don’t ask an AI chatbot, experts warn — even if it seems confident of its answers and cites seemingly trustworthy sources. New research from a pair of European nonprofits finds that Microsoft’s… Continue reading

“Woman raises concerns as San Francisco cracks down on Chinese names on ballots”

December 15, 2023, 6:28 amballot accessDerek Muller

NBC Bay Area: The city of San Francisco recently began cracking down on the practice of candidates choosing their own Chinese names to appear on a ballot as a way to appeal to Asian American voters. Now, a woman… Continue reading

Michigan Court of Appeals keeps Trump on ballot, holds state law does not allow investigation into candidate qualifications

December 14, 2023, 1:33 pmballot accessDerek Muller

Despite hundreds of pages written on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment in recent months, the threshold jurisdictional issue bars yet another claim. The Michigan Court of Appeals (opinion here) follows Arizona and Minnesota in concluding there is… Continue reading

Kentucky Supreme Court finds partisan gerrymandering claims justiciable under state constitution, but maps are subject to substantial deference

December 14, 2023, 8:25 amredistrictingDerek Muller

Early coverage in the Lexington Herald Leader is here. The opinion in Graham v. Adams is here. (You can sift through the justices’ opinions about who joined which parts, as some dissented on grounds like standing and justiciability.)… Continue reading

“Deepfakes for $24 a month: how AI is disrupting Bangladesh’s election”

December 14, 2023, 6:27 amcampaignsDerek Muller

Financial Times: Policymakers around the world are worrying over how AI-generated disinformation can be harnessed to try to mislead voters and inflame divisions ahead of several big elections next year. In one country it is already happening: Bangladesh. The… Continue reading

“Judge Pauses Trump Election Case Amid Appeal of Immunity Issue”

December 14, 2023, 6:25 amcourt decisionsDerek Muller

Alan Feuer, New York Times: A federal judge on Wednesday put on hold all of the proceedings in former President Donald J. Trump’s trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as an appeals court in Washington… Continue reading

“Colorado Reconsiders Letting Trump on the Ballot”

December 13, 2023, 1:54 pmballot accessDerek Muller

Amy Davidson Sorkin in the New Yorker: There is only one real conclusion to draw from the oral arguments before the Colorado Supreme Court last Wednesday, about whether Donald Trump is constitutionally disqualified from running for President again because… Continue reading

“Michael Cohen’s lawyer in hot water after citing court cases that don’t exist”

December 13, 2023, 1:53 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, court decisionsDerek Muller

Politico: Michael Cohen’s troubles just keep coming. In the yearslong legal saga over his connection to the hush money payments from Donald Trump to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Cohen’s lawyer filed a motion to end his supervised release… Continue reading