Thanks to Rick Pildes for Blogging Last Week
I’m back in the saddle this week, then Derek and Spencer will be rounding out the rest of December.
Stay tuned.
“George Santos Reveals One Truth: It’s Easy to Abuse Campaign Finance Laws”
From NYT:
Perhaps no federal officeholder in modern American history has been accused of ignoring, testing or breaking as many aspects of campaign finance law so flagrantly, in such a short span of time, as George Santos has.
But his… Continue reading
“The mega rich are the new political bosses. Is that bad for democracy?”
From the Washington Post:
The demise of political party bosses and the smoke-filled rooms in which they operated was heralded a long time ago as an important step toward handing more power over the selection of presidential nominees to ordinary… Continue reading
“‘Plain historical falsehoods’: How amicus briefs bolstered Supreme Court conservatives”
From Politico:
A POLITICO review of tax filings, financial statements and other public documents found that Leo and his network of nonprofit groups are either directly or indirectly connected to a majority of amicus briefs filed on behalf of conservative… Continue reading
Justices with Political Backgrounds, such as Justice O’Connor, and Judicial Oversight of Districting
As many have noted, Justice O’Connor was the last Justice on the Court who had a political background. She was the majority leader of the Arizona state senate, before becoming a judge and then Justice.
Can we say anything about… Continue reading
“Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Dies; Had Been One of the Last Justices to Help Ballot Access”
Richard Winger:
On December 1, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died. She had been one of the last justices to write anything favorable about minor parties. In 2005, in Clingman v Beaver, she wrote, “Although the State… Continue reading
“Republicans again target Democrat Lucy McBath in Georgia congressional map that keeps 9-5 GOP edge”
AP:
Georgia Republicans on Friday proposed to redraw the state’s congressional districts to create a new court-ordered Black majority district, maintaining the current 9-5 Republican congressional majority and again targeting Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath’s district for wholesale transformation.
It’s… Continue reading
“Biden campaign prepares legal fight against election deepfakes”
CNN:
President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign has assembled a special task force to ready its responses to misleading AI-generated images and videos, drafting court filings and preparing novel legal theories it could deploy to counter potential disinformation efforts that technology… Continue reading
“Federal Judge Rejects Trump’s Immunity Claims in Election Case”
NYT:
A federal judge on Friday rejected claims by former President Donald J. Trump that he enjoyed absolute immunity from criminal charges accusing him of seeking to reverse the 2020 election, slapping down his argument that the indictment should be… Continue reading
“Florida Democratic Party says Biden is the only candidate, angering rivals”
From the Washington Post, this can be viewed as a story about how parties seek to recapture control of the nominations process in an age of primaries:
With presidential primaries looming, there is only one name on the official… Continue reading
“Florida court upholds DeSantis’ congressional redistricting map”
From The Tributary. Note that a separate lawsuit challenging this same part of the congressional map is pending in federal court, where the trial has been completed.
A Florida appeals court upheld Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional redistricting map,… Continue reading
“How Did We Get Here: Primaries, Polarization, and Party Control”
Important essay that summarizes a lot of the literature on primary elections and suggests the need for greater party control. From Protect Democracy:
Parties are increasingly nominating candidates with little experience in politics, undermining the functionality of government and prioritizing… Continue reading
Justice O’Connor’s Complex Election Law Legacy
Condolences to the family of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who passed away after a long illness.
Justice O’Connor was a trailblazer, the first woman Justice and a former state legislator. She came to her election law cases with a kind… Continue reading
RNC backs Donald Trump in ballot access dispute–when it didn’t back John McCain, Rick Perry, or Ted Cruz in years past
The Republican National Committee (joined by the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee) filed an amicus brief in support of Donald Trump in the Minnesota ballot access dispute. In one sense, I suppose, that’s not so… Continue reading