Common Cause Files 54 Complaints Against the Trump Administration for Ethics Violations

October 7, 2025, 7:33 amethics investigationsRick Hasen

Release via email: Common Cause, a national, nonpartisan government watchdog, filed 54 separate complaints against the Trump Administration for violating the Hatch Act, the Anti-Deficiency Act, and the Anti-Lobbying Act—a volume of filings that underscores the breakdown of federal ethics… Continue reading

“Legislature passes new map in Utah, creating 2 more competitive seats”

October 7, 2025, 7:32 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: Utah lawmakers passed a new congressional map on Monday that presents Democrats with two new pickup opportunities in the red state, a potential win for the party as it tries to respond to Republican-backed redistricting efforts nationwide. The map… Continue reading

The Supreme Court: Standing in Election Cases

October 7, 2025, 5:54 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear argument in Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, an important case on who has standing, and in what circumstances, to bring prospective challenges to election laws in advance of the election. I’ve published… Continue reading

New York: “Printing error led to filled-in absentee ballots being sent to Rush voters”

October 6, 2025, 10:19 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WROC: A printing error led to absentee voters in Rush receiving ballots that were already filled out. Over the last couple of weeks, 33 residents in Rush received their absentee voting ballots in the mail, but every bubble was already… Continue reading

Party Discipline in the UK: Tories Enforce Their Commitment to Leave the European Convention on Human Rights

October 6, 2025, 9:58 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

To give you a sense of how party discipline works in some other democratic systems, at the party conference for the Conservatives currently taking place in the UK, the party’s leader, the Kemi Badenoch, announced that the Conservatives would commit… Continue reading

“House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Burns Down”

October 6, 2025, 7:33 ampolitical violenceRick Hasen

Time: Police are investigating the cause of a fire that burned down the home of South Carolina Circuit Court judge Diane Goodstein, who had reportedly received death threats for weeks related to her work. State law enforcement is investigating the… Continue reading

“Bow to the Emperor’: We Asked 50 Legal Experts About the Trump Presidency”

October 6, 2025, 7:21 amauthoritarian threats in US, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Emily Bazelon for the NYT: Last year, in the months before the 2024 presidential election, the magazine surveyed 50 members of what might be called the Washington legal establishment about their expectations for the Justice Department and the rule of… Continue reading

This Week’s Essays in the NYU Democracy Project Series Features Several Essays on the Supreme Court

October 6, 2025, 6:33 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

With the start of the Supreme Court Term, the NYU Democracy Project is publishing several essays this week on the Court. The first of these, Enshrine Nine, comes from Ed Whelan, who argues for a constitutional amendment fixing the… Continue reading

“Abcarian: Does Donald Trump really think he can run for president again in 2028?”

October 5, 2025, 10:09 amauthoritarian threats in US, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Robin Abcarian in the LA Times: At this point, the Constitution seems less a constraint than a mere sticking point for Trump as he smashmouths his way past anything that impedes his heart’s desires. “I think the scenario in… Continue reading

“Partisan Shutdown Messages Could Hurt Civil Service, Experts Warn”

October 4, 2025, 2:33 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: The Trump administration’s levying of political attacks on Democrats through federal agency websites and the out-of-office email messages of furloughed workers challenges the foundation of a nonpartisan civil service, a move that could deepen distrust in the government, according… Continue reading

“Electronic Voting: 10th International Joint Conference, E-Vote-ID 2025, Nancy, France, October 1–3, 2025, Proceedings”

October 4, 2025, 8:55 amvoting technologyRick Hasen

Now available.

“Long Island Republicans criticized for filing lawsuit to keep missing Democratic candidate’s name on ballot”

October 4, 2025, 8:51 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

CBS News: Republicans on Long Island are under fire after they filed a lawsuit to keep the name of a Democrat running for the Nassau County Legislature on the ballot even though he has been missing for over five months.… Continue reading

“Democracies in the Age of Fragmentation”

October 4, 2025, 6:44 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Here is an excerpt from my essay this week in NYU’s Democracy Project series of essays on challenges facing democracy today, both here and elsewhere: Writing from Mussolini’s prison in 1930, the Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci observed of democracies… Continue reading

“Progressives and the Supreme Court: The Case for Disengagement Is Misguided”

October 4, 2025, 6:24 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Next, here is an excerpt from Bob Bauer’s essay in the NYU Democracy Project’s series of 100 essays in 100 days: …I entirely agree with critics who are very troubled by aspects of this [presidential immunity] opinion, including its holding… Continue reading