“Plaintiffs in high-profile redistricting case urge judges to toss out Alabama’s controversial congressional map”

July 30, 2023, 5:37 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

CNN: In a late-night court filing Friday, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and multiple attorneys asked a three-judge panel to direct an official to devise a new map that complies with the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The… Continue reading

“$60 Million Refund Request Shows Financial Pressure on Trump From Legal Fees”

July 30, 2023, 5:25 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

NYT: The political action committee that former President Donald J. Trump is using to pay his legal bills faced such staggering costs this year that it requested a refund on a $60 million contribution it made to another group… Continue reading

Georgia County Approves Automatic Hand Recounts

July 29, 2023, 5:49 amrecountsDan Tokaji

The Guardian: A rural Georgia elections office run by Republicans who promote falsehoods about the 2020 election approved a motion on Monday to institute automatic hand recounts for all future elections. The decision will require elections staff in Spalding… Continue reading

“Kentucky’s Governor Race Could Unwind Voting Rights Restoration”

July 28, 2023, 1:13 pmfelon votingDan Tokaji

Bolts: “At issue is an executive order Democratic Governor Andy Beshear issued in 2019, on his third day in office, that has restored the voting rights of at least about 180,000 people, or five percent of Kentucky’s adult… Continue reading

“The Mystery of How Tim Scott’s Campaign Is Spending Its Millions”

July 28, 2023, 12:51 pmcampaign financeDan Tokaji

NYT: [Sen.] Scott entered the 2024 race with a war chest of $22 million, and his campaign raised $5.8 million from April through June. In that same time, he laid out about $6.6 million, a significant clip — but… Continue reading

Federal court dismisses lawsuit challenging Illinois mail ballot deadline

July 28, 2023, 12:47 pmabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

Democracy Docket: “a federal judge in Illinois tossed out a lawsuit brought by three Republicans — including the current representative for the state’s 12th Congressional District, Michael Bost (R) — alleging that the state’s mail-in ballot receipt deadline violates… Continue reading

“Alabama Is Defying the Supreme Court on Voting Rights”

July 28, 2023, 8:59 amredistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Atlantic: “In an echo of mid-century southern defiance of school desegregation, the Yellowhammer State’s Republican-controlled legislature defied the conservative-dominated Court’s directive to redraw its congressional map with an additional Black-majority district.”

“A Black prosecutor was elected in Georgia – so white Republicans made their own district”

July 28, 2023, 5:11 amVoting Rights ActDan Tokaji

The Guardian reports on a different kind of circuit split: Since 1870, the Augusta judicial circuit has been home to the criminal justice system of a three-county area on Georgia’s border with South Carolina. In that time, no African American… Continue reading

Arkansas Voting Machine Case Remanded to State Court

July 28, 2023, 4:58 amvoting technologyDan Tokaji

You can find the order here and coverage here. USDJ James Moody remands the case for lack of federal question jurisdiction. Although the complaint includes a declaratory judgment claim under HAVA, the court concludes that there’s no private right… Continue reading

“Changing Facebook’s algorithm won’t fix polarization, new study finds”

July 28, 2023, 4:45 amcheap speech, political polarizationDan Tokaji

WaPo: For years, regulators and activists have worried that social media companies’ algorithms were dividing the United States with politically toxic posts and conspiracies. The concern was so widespread that in 2020, Meta flung open troves of internal data… Continue reading

“Inside Alabama Republicans’ plan to overturn Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act”

July 28, 2023, 4:43 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Alabama Political Reporter: The decision by Alabama Republican legislators to seemingly defy a Supreme Court directive to redraw congressional voting maps with a second majority-Black district was part of a larger strategy intended to force the high court to… Continue reading

Breaking: New Charges Against Trump in Documents Case

July 27, 2023, 5:11 pmUncategorizedDan Tokaji

AP: Former President Donald Trump is facing accusations that he and aides asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the classified documents investigations. The allegations were made Thursday in an… Continue reading

“The 2024 Election Could Be the End of the Cases Against Donald Trump”

July 27, 2023, 10:02 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

Paul Rosenzweig in The Atlantic: “[The 2024 election will] be a referendum on whether Trump will ever be held legally accountable for his actions. Trump faces multiple civil suits and at least two criminal indictments (with two more seemingly… Continue reading