“Election do-over: Judge rules Cobb County electoral map unconstitutional”

July 27, 2024, 4:49 amUncategorizedredistrictingSpencer Overton

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Cobb County’s electoral map is unconstitutional, the primary elections conducted in May for County Commission Districts 2 and 4 will have to be redone, and the November general election for those seats must be postponed, a judge… Continue reading

“False rumors about Vance, Musk’s X show misinfo cuts both ways”

July 26, 2024, 7:58 amUncategorizedcontent moderation, disinformationSpencer Overton

Washington Post: Billionaire Elon Musk pitches X as both a haven for free speech and a superior alternative to the mainstream media for keeping up with news and politics. Under his ownership, the social media platform formerly known as… Continue reading

“Kamala Harris knows exactly what she will do on Jan. 6, 2025”

July 26, 2024, 7:35 amUncategorizedElectoral CollegeSpencer Overton

CNN: On Jan. 6, 2025, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to preside over Congress and count the electoral votes that will make either her — or Donald Trump — the 47th president of the United States. And like… Continue reading

“CNN survey finds 48 states say Harris can get on ballot instead of Biden, rejecting claim switch breaks state laws”

July 26, 2024, 7:29 amUncategorizedballot accessSpencer Overton

CNN: The election authorities of at least 48 states, both Republicans and Democrats, say there are no obstacles that would prevent Vice President Kamala Harris from getting on election ballots if she becomes the official Democratic presidential nominee, as… Continue reading

“Bill Barr complicit in misleading voter fraud statement’s release – watchdog”

July 26, 2024, 7:28 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

The Guardian: The former attorney general Bill Barr was personally involved in a decision to release an unusual and misleading justice department statement on the eve of the 2020 election suggesting there may have been voter fraud in Pennsylvania,… Continue reading

“How Some States Are Making It Harder to Register Voters”

July 26, 2024, 7:28 amUncategorizedvoter registration, voter suppressionSpencer Overton

NYT: LaVon Bracy has been registering Florida voters ever since Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, because she wanted, she said, to give others the voice she was denied as a Black student in a largely white… Continue reading

“Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Private Parties’ Right to Bring Voting Rights Act Challenge to Robocalls”

July 26, 2024, 7:26 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Press release from the U.S. Department of Justice: The Justice Department today filed a statement of interest in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire supporting the right of private plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit challenging robocalls… Continue reading

“FCC pursues new rules for AI in political ads, but changes may not take effect before the election”

July 26, 2024, 7:25 amUncategorizedAI, deepfakes, disinformationSpencer Overton

ABC News: NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads, though it is unclear whether new regulations may be… Continue reading

“A Volatile Election Is Intensifying Conspiracy Theories Online”

July 26, 2024, 7:24 amUncategorizedcontent moderation, disinformationSpencer Overton

NYT: ….The emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic front-runner touched off new paroxysms of disinformation and explicitly hateful comments. More than one in 10 posts mentioning her on X on Sunday included racist or sexist… Continue reading

“Justice Kagan calls for a way to enforce Supreme Court ethics code”

July 26, 2024, 7:23 amUncategorizedjudicial ethics, SCOTUS ReformSpencer Overton

Washington Post: SACRAMENTO — Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday that she would support the creation of a committee of judges to examine potential violations of the Supreme Court’s new ethics code, speaking out on a contentious subject as President Biden… Continue reading

“FBI should clean up its interactions with online platforms, DOJ watchdog says”

July 25, 2024, 7:45 amUncategorizedcontent moderationSpencer Overton

Washington Post: Weeks after the Supreme Court rejected a conservative-led push to block contacts between the U.S. government and social media companies, a new report from the Justice Department’s inspector general found that intelligence agencies’ communications with the companies… Continue reading

“Vance once advocated that children get votes that parents could cast”

July 25, 2024, 7:43 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Washington Post: A year before J.D. Vance was elected to the Senate, he advocated for a novel way to enhance the political strength of families — by giving parents the ability to cast tens of millions of additional votes… Continue reading

“Election officials continue to face threats, harassment ahead of November”

July 25, 2024, 7:41 amUncategorizedelection administration, harassmentSpencer Overton

ABC News: “Election workers are still dealing with a lot of lies that are being told about the elections, and are in many ways bearing the kind of the consequences of those lies with harassment, abuse and sometimes threats,”… Continue reading

“Shouldn’t Officials Who Oversee Their Own Elections Be Able to Recuse Themselves?”

July 25, 2024, 7:40 amUncategorizedconflict of interest, recusalSpencer Overton

Kevin Johnson in Governing: ….State and federal laws, codes of conduct, and judicial training provide substantial guidance on recusal, and court systems are ready to provide needed replacements. But what about a secretary of state overseeing his own race… Continue reading