“Why Did Sidney Powell Plead Guilty?”

October 23, 2023, 7:37 amchicanery, election subversion risk, voting technologyRick Hasen

New Yorker: In rural Coffee County, Georgia, three and a half hours southeast of Atlanta, at least a few employees of the election office agreed. After a recount of Georgia’s votes was completed, on December 4th, the county’s elections supervisor,… Continue reading

“Turnover has plagued local election offices since 2020. One swing state county is trying to recover”

October 23, 2023, 7:34 amelection administrationRick Hasen

AP goes deep in Luzerne County, PA.

Watch Video of My Appearance on PBS News Hour Weekend Talking About Our Report on How to Keep Elections Fair and Safe in 2024

October 22, 2023, 4:30 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

It was great to speak with Lisa Desjardins on the PBS News Hour Weekend about the risks to fair and safe elections in 2024 and the recommendations in our recent “24 for ’24” report on how to make… Continue reading

Must-read New Yorker Piece Goes Deep on Jim Jordan’s Attempt to Intimidate Those Researchers Who Tried to Keep the Elections Safe and Not Swimming in Disinformation in 2020

October 22, 2023, 4:26 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

This from Jonathan Blitzer is really chilling and a must read. It’s a topic I’ve been meaning to write more about and hope to do so in coming weeks.

How Big a Risk is Government “Jawboning” Where Government Pressures Media or Platforms to Include, Remove, or Demote Content?

October 22, 2023, 4:24 pmFirst Amendment theoryRick Hasen

The Knight First Amendment institute has a first-rate set of papers on this topic that just posted. And it couldn’t be more timely with Friday’s quick cert. grant in the Murthy v. Missouri case. I was struck in my conversation… Continue reading

Must-Listen Conversation on Slate’s Amicus Podcast with Ian Bassin About the Continued Risks to American Democracy and Peaceful Transitions of Power

October 22, 2023, 4:20 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Clear-eyed and frightening—though Ian is more optimistic than I am. Great sense of where the risks of election subversion are in the U.S. today. Worth a close listen.

“Lawsuit to block Trump from Colorado 2024 ballot survives more legal challenges”

October 22, 2023, 8:34 amballot access14th Amendment, Trump's EligibilityTabatha Abu El-Haj

CNN: Colorado judge presiding over the trial rejected on Friday three more attempts by former President Donald Trump and the Colorado GOP to dismiss the lawsuit seeking to block him from appearing as a presidential candidate in Colorado in… Continue reading

Resurfacing–Mississippi and LA organizing stories

October 21, 2023, 2:12 pmcampaigns, political parties, Uncategorizedgovernance, Political OrganizingTabatha Abu El-Haj

The 24-hour news cycle is brutal even on the Election Law Blog, so I want to use the relative quiet of the weekend to re-surface those articles that I “highly recommend”–to borrow Larry Solum’s phrase. “Black Voters Have New Power … Continue reading

The year to date: “14 states have enacted laws making it harder to vote, while 23 states have enacted laws making it easier.”

October 21, 2023, 1:48 pmelection administration, votingTabatha Abu El-Haj

Voting Laws Roundup: October 2023, published by the Brennan Center, offers an overview of the trends in election law around the country. There is good news, including: “Nearly half of all states enacted at least one expansive voting law… Continue reading

“Don’t Blame Ballot Harvesting Scandals On Drop Boxes”

October 21, 2023, 1:33 pmelection administrationTabatha Abu El-Haj

Walter Olson at Cato defends the use of ballot drop boxes. While emphasizes that election integrity risks are largely limited to low-turnout local election, Olson concedes that there are “many genuine reasons to be concerned about the practice of so‐called… Continue reading

“From Bush v. Gore to ‘Stop the Steal’: Kenneth Chesebro’s Long, Strange Trip”

October 21, 2023, 1:18 pmchicaneryJanuary 6, The Big LieTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times has an in-depth profile of Kenneth Chesebro. “Some former colleagues say Mr. Chesebro’s 180-degree turn came after a lucrative 2014 investment in Bitcoin and a subsequent posh, itinerant lifestyle. Others, like Mr. Tribe, see Mr. Chesebro as a… Continue reading

“Mainstream Republicans, ‘Squishes’ No More, Dig In Against Jordan”

October 20, 2023, 4:58 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

This is a must read from N.Y. Times. It reports on the personal insecurity that those who have opposed Jim Jordan are now facing in terms of threats, menacing calls, and emails. It is the election administrators’ experience all over… Continue reading

Trump Temporarily Un-gaged

October 20, 2023, 4:40 pmUncategorizedFirst Amendment, Gag Order, TrumpTabatha Abu El-Haj

AP reports that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to temporarily lift the gag order to give “Trump’s lawyers time to prove why the former president’s comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.” They presumably will… Continue reading

“A new and better California Voting Rights Act”

October 20, 2023, 4:33 pmCVRATabatha Abu El-Haj

This editorial by Steven Hill (Democracy SOS) reflects on the implications of the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Pico Neighborhood Association v City of Santa Monica–the the first California Voting Rights Act case to reach the state’s Supreme… Continue reading