“With voting under attack, Arizona schools don’t want to be polling locations”

August 5, 2024, 6:24 amUncategorizedvoter turnoutTabatha Abu El-Haj

This Washington Post article should be read in light of all we know about the social nature of voting and the importance of fun and festivity to turnout (think Souls to the Polls) and the data on how important it… Continue reading

“Elon Musk PAC being investigated by Michigan secretary of state for potential violations”

August 5, 2024, 6:12 amvoter registration2024 election cyle, Misinformation, voter suppressionTabatha Abu El-Haj

New development in the story Spencer Overton posted about how Musk’s pro-Trump PAC is funding efforts to redirect voters in swing states away from official voter registration sites, while leaving them with the false impression that they have registered to… Continue reading

“Secretaries of state urge Musk to fix AI chatbot spreading false election info”

August 5, 2024, 5:57 amcheap speechAI, election misinformationTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post reports that several Secretaries of State are sending an open letter to Elon Musk, urging him to rein in his “anti-woke’ chatbot, Grok, which has already generated serious election misinformation. ” The letter . . . urges Musk… Continue reading

Turning to Tabatha . . .

August 4, 2024, 6:58 pmUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Thanks to Rick Hasen for the opportunity to guest blog over the past 14 days. In maintaining this blog Rick builds community and provides a service to us all. I’m appreciative of the blog and his many other contributions to… Continue reading

“Judge in Trump’s federal election subversion case rejects defense effort to dismiss the prosecution”

August 4, 2024, 7:57 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Washington Post: The federal judge presiding over the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump rejected Saturday a defense effort to dismiss the indictment on claims that he was prosecuted for vindictive and political purposes. The ruling from… Continue reading

“Trump Says Georgia’s Governor Is Hampering His Efforts to Win There”

August 4, 2024, 7:54 amUncategorizedelection subversion, The Big LieSpencer Overton

NY Times: Former President Donald J. Trump suggested without evidence on Saturday that Georgia’s Republican governor was hampering his efforts to win the battleground state in November, a claim that carried echoes of Mr. Trump’s attempt to overturn his… Continue reading

“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s and Brad Raffensperger’s Voter Registrations Targeted in Georgia’s New Online Portal”

August 4, 2024, 7:51 amUncategorizedvoter registrationSpencer Overton

ProPublica: On Friday, four days after Georgia Democrats began warning that bad actors could abuse the state’s new online portal for canceling voter registrations, the Secretary of State’s Office acknowledged to ProPublica that it had identified multiple such attempts… Continue reading

“Civil rights icon [Emmet Bondurant] receives ABA’s highest honor”

August 4, 2024, 7:50 amUncategorizedone person one voteSpencer Overton

American Bar Association: Emmet Bondurant “embodies the purpose of the ABA Medal” said American Bar Association President Mary Smith as she bestowed the association’s highest honor on the Atlanta lawyer who has pursued justice with integrity and demonstrated… Continue reading

“Lefty Dem group urges city voters to influence upstate elections where their vacation homes are: ‘Morally reprehensible’”

August 4, 2024, 7:48 amUncategorizedresidencySpencer Overton

NY Post: A lefty nonprofit is encouraging Democrats to vote in the districts where their vacation homes are in order to “maximize” their voting power — a “morally reprehensible” strategy experts said gives an unfair advantage to the rich… Continue reading

“How an Elon Musk PAC is using voter data to help Trump beat Harris in 2024 election”

August 3, 2024, 9:52 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

CNBC: ….If a user lives in a state that is not considered competitive in the presidential election, like California or Wyoming for example, they’ll be prompted to enter their email addresses and ZIP code and then directed quickly to… Continue reading

“American Bar task force calls on lawyers to defend against threats to democracy”

August 3, 2024, 9:50 amUncategorizedauthoritarianism, election subversionSpencer Overton

The Hill: When the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy officially launches Thursday, it will call on America’s lawyers to take up the “clarion call” to defend the U.S. constitutional democracy against the “serious threat” of “rising… Continue reading

“Trump’s stalled election-subversion prosecution revs back to life“

August 3, 2024, 9:49 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Politico: The stalled criminal case against Donald Trump for seeking to subvert the 2020 election is starting to move. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on presidential immunity — a breathtaking legal victory for Trump’s bid to sideline his criminal… Continue reading

“Trump team gambles on new ground game capitalizing on loosened rules”

August 3, 2024, 9:48 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Washington Post: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is relying on a cluster of loosely coordinated outside groups to run turnout operations traditionally performed by the campaign itself, an approach that takes advantage of new leniencies in campaign finance rules… Continue reading

“U.S. 5th Circuit rules for Galveston County in voting rights case, striking down decades of precedent”

August 2, 2024, 6:38 amUncategorizedSection 2, Voting Rights ActSpencer Overton

Houston Public Media: The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a decades-old precedent that allows different racial and ethnic groups to form coalitions to seek legal remedies under the Voting Rights Act. The ruling will likely be appealed… Continue reading