“Michigan judge strikes down Benson voter signature match guidance — again”

June 14, 2024, 7:28 amelection administration, statutory interpretation, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

That’s the headline from Bridge Michigan, though the subhead is quick to note that the “judge upheld separate rules that give clerks broad discretion to consider why a voter signature might not match the version on file,” and everyone… Continue reading

House Judiciary on Manhattan DA and Trump prosecution

June 13, 2024, 1:54 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryTrump prosecutionJustin Levitt

The House Judiciary committee held a hearing this morning on the NY case against Donald Trump, with a witness list including FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor, as well as Missouri AG Andrew Bailey, Ambassador Norm Eisen, and Elizabeth Price Foley. Testimony … Continue reading

“House committee subpoenas 15 Biden Cabinet secretaries to hand over documents on voter mobilization ‘scheme'”

June 13, 2024, 12:34 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter registrationJustin Levitt

That’s the Fox headline for the continuing swirl of nonsense around Executive Order 14019 – but as I’ve mentioned before, the reality of the alleged “scheme” is an instruction to federal agencies to help facilitate customer service in a… Continue reading

Could the Court’s unanimous decision in FDA v. AHM upend some federal election litigation?

June 13, 2024, 8:06 amcourt decisions, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

In order to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must have “standing,” an actual or imminent concrete and particularized injury in fact caused by the defendant and redressable by a federal court. Many lawsuits are thrown out for lack of… Continue reading

“U.S. spy agencies are ready to warn voters about foreign election interference — if it’s severe enough”

June 13, 2024, 7:41 amcheap speech, chicanery, election subversion riskJustin Levitt

An excerpt from the NBC report: U.S. intelligence agencies are closely tracking attempts by foreign adversaries to influence the 2024 election through “deepfakes” or other false information and are ready to alert the public if necessary, officials said Wednesday.… Continue reading

California tussles over pockets of election administration

June 13, 2024, 7:39 amelection administration, election subversion risk, voter idhome ruleJustin Levitt

This Politico piece describes a fight that’s probably as much about statewide uniformity v. local control as it is about voter ID and securing data.

“States were incredibly successful at reallocating incarcerated people to their home addresses in 2020”

June 13, 2024, 7:39 ampolitical equality, redistrictingcensusJustin Levitt

The Prison Gerrymandering Project crunches the numbers, and finds that even with the delayed census data this cycle, most of the states that sought to count incarcerated individuals at their home address rather than the prison address managed to… Continue reading

“Alabama GOP chair used homemade ID to vote. AG doesn’t seem to care.”

June 13, 2024, 7:38 amvoter idJustin Levitt

A very weird story about the chair of the Alabama Republican party using a very weird homemade photo ID to vote, in a way that sure seems like it doesn’t meet Ala. Code 17-9-30. (And allowing a one-person exception… Continue reading

It’s SCOTUS decision season

June 13, 2024, 7:37 amelection law and constitutional law, First Amendment theory, Supreme CourtJustin Levitt

We’re waiting for several big SCOTUS cases with a tie to this blog’s content. One of the perhaps-less-watched (?) was released this morning: Vidal v. Elster, about an attempt to trademark “Trump too small” to use on campaign gear,… Continue reading

“After 2022 errors, primary election will be Pinal County’s big test”

June 13, 2024, 7:35 amelection administration, election law bizJustin Levitt

Jen Fifield with a great ground-level view on the logistics of an office under intense scrutiny.

Young voters and the EU elections

June 13, 2024, 7:34 amUncategorizedinternational elections, youth votingJustin Levitt

Paul Hockenos has a piece on the EU parliament elections in Germany, where the vote included 16- and 17-year-olds for the first time. And as in Portugal, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, and France, it looks like younger voters this year… Continue reading

“Mexico’s Historic Elections—and Political Violence”

June 13, 2024, 7:33 amUncategorizedJustin Levitt

Ambassador Mark Green, CEO of the Wilson Center, notes the wave of tragic violence against politicians south of the border — particularly highlighting violence against women. And CNN discusses the US immigration consequences.

“Indian election was awash in deepfakes – but AI was a net positive for democracy”

June 13, 2024, 7:32 amcheap speechArtificial IntelligenceJustin Levitt

Not sure I agree that the conclusion follows from the examples, but it’s an intriguing argument in The Conversation.

Social-pressure mailers back in the news

June 13, 2024, 7:32 amcampaigns, UncategorizedJustin Levitt

Since Gerber, Green & Larimer’s 2008 study – among the most widely cited articles in political science since that time – there’s been both academic and practical interest in the sizable turnout impact of mailings using the shaming impact of… Continue reading