“What Ginni Thomas and Leonard Leo wrought: How a justice’s wife and a key activist started a movement”

September 10, 2023, 2:42 pmcampaign finance, chicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Very deep dive by Politico’s Heidi Pryzybyla: At the time, the Citizens United ruling was widely expected, as the court had already signaled its intentions. When it came, it upended nearly 100 years of campaign spending restrictions. The conservative legal movement seized… Continue reading

“BREAKING: Judge denies Meadows’ bid to move Fulton case to fed court”

September 8, 2023, 5:15 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

AJC: A federal judge on Friday rejected a request from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to move his Fulton County election interference case to U.S. District Court in Atlanta. In a 49-page ruling, U.S. District … Continue reading

“Exclusive: How the Supreme Court’s conservatives rebuffed Alabama”

September 8, 2023, 11:05 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Must-read Joan Biskupic report for CNN: When the Supreme Court considered the challenge to an Alabama congressional map that shortchanged the state’s Black voters, liberal justices expected the conservative majority to side with Alabama – if not gut the 1965… Continue reading

“Georgia special grand jury recommended charging Lindsey Graham in Trump case”

September 8, 2023, 10:56 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

WaPo: An Atlanta-area special grand jury that spent months investigating alleged 2020 election interference in Georgia by Donald Trump and his allies agreed the former president should be indicted in the case and also recommended charging one of Trump’s closest… Continue reading

“Arizona judge rules common practice of validating ballot signatures illegal”

September 8, 2023, 8:29 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Arizona Capitol Times: A practice used by some, if not all, Arizona counties to verify signatures on early ballots may be illegal. And that could result in election officials across the state have to change their procedures – and potentially… Continue reading

Trump removes Colorado lawsuit over his eligibility to federal court, but it will likely end up back in state court

September 8, 2023, 6:22 amelectoral collegeDerek Muller

Hours ago, I was skeptical of the legal claims in Anderson v. Griswold, the Section 3 challenge filed in state court in Colorado. Now I can be skeptical of Donald Trump’s effort to remove the case to federal court… Continue reading

Lawfare podcast on procedural issues relating to 14th Amendment disqualification

September 8, 2023, 12:21 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Scott Anderson of Lawfare led a thorough and well-organized discussion of the various procedural hurdles and obstacles associated with litigation over section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, with Derek and me as participants. I think it would be particularly useful… Continue reading

Very Sad News: Gerry Hebert Has Passed Away

September 7, 2023, 8:37 amelection law bizRick Hasen

Leading voting rights litigator and champion, and overall mensch, Gerry Hebert has passed away. (I had mentioned on this blog his illness last May and was glad to have had a chance to talk to him and learn how much… Continue reading

“John Eastman declines to elaborate on Trump world discussions about Grassley presiding on Jan. 6”

September 7, 2023, 8:33 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Politico: John Eastman, testifying at his own disbarment trial, sidestepped a question Wednesday about whether he and others in former President Donald Trump’s orbit discussed the possibility that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — rather than Mike Pence — would preside… Continue reading

Anderson v. Griswold, the latest Section 3 challenge to Trump in Colorado, appears unlikely to reach the merits

September 7, 2023, 7:21 amelectoral college, legislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

If my blogging on this topic has a sense of déjà vu, my apologies. But we are in an intractable cycle of litigation on Section 3 that has a low likelihood of going anyplace. I think some cases will get… Continue reading

“Two Trump Co-Defendants Will Go on Trial Next Month, Georgia Judge Says; Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro get Oct. 23 trial date.”

September 7, 2023, 7:21 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WSJ reports.

“In Fulton County, Fear Not Removal”

September 7, 2023, 7:19 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Anna Bower, Alan Rozenshtein, and Ben Wittes for Lawfare: The question of whether the Fulton County case should be removed to federal court—in whole or in part, temporarily pending resolution of certain immunity questions or all the way through… Continue reading

“Ohio will use same unconstitutional congressional maps in 2024, as court dismisses legal challenges”

September 7, 2023, 7:14 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Cleveland.com: Ohio will use the same congressional districts in 2024 that it used last year, as the Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday granted the dismissal of two legal challenges to the map the court previously deemed to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered… Continue reading