“Jack Smith Plans to Step Down as Special Counsel Before Trump Takes Office”

November 13, 2024, 7:21 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Jack Smith, the special counsel who pursued two federal prosecutions of Donald J. Trump, plans to finish his work and resign along with other members of his team before Mr. Trump takes office in January, people familiar with his… Continue reading

“Injunction Halting Kansas Election Law Reversed on Appeal”

November 13, 2024, 7:15 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg Law: An injunction blocking a Kansas law barring organizations from sending mail ballot applications to voters containing personalized information was reversed by the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday, The court upended a ruling of the US District Court for the… Continue reading

“10 most-cited Election Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023”

November 13, 2024, 7:11 amelection law bizRick Hasen

Brian Leiter: Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited election law faculty in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that… Continue reading

Sad News: Ted Olson Has Passed Away

November 13, 2024, 6:59 amelection law bizRick Hasen

Leading attorney Ted Olson of Gibson Dunn has passed away. He argued many important cases at the Supreme Court, including (most relevant to election law) Bush v. Gore and Citizens United. He was an excellent lawyer, serving as well… Continue reading

“The Internal Law of Democracy”

November 13, 2024, 6:55 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Kevin Stack has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Vanderbilt Law Review). Here is the abstract: The conventional focus of election law is the constitutional, statutory, and judicial constraints on election officials. But the operation of elections also depends on… Continue reading

“These Philadelphia voters went for Donald Trump in bigger numbers than ever before”

November 13, 2024, 4:48 ampolitical polarization2024 Election TurnoutTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s analysis of local turnout data reveals a few interesting tidbits: Nearly two-thirds of the votes for Trump in the city (90,000 votes) came from majority-white precincts, even though only a third of city precincts are majority white.… Continue reading

Vladeck: “Nor, assuming he abides by the 22nd Amendment limiting a president to two terms, does Mr. Trump have to worry about running for re-election.”

November 12, 2024, 10:37 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Quite the aside from Steve Vladeck today in the NYT!

Republican Party Appeal of Lower Court Order Requiring the Counting of Misdated/Undated But Timely Absentee Ballots Reaches Pennsylvania Supreme Court

November 12, 2024, 10:22 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can read the petition in Baxter at this link. Republicans raise the independent state legislature theory at page 34 of the brief, potentially teeing up this issue for eventual review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Trump Allies Gain Power Over Elections in Arizona’s Largest County”

November 12, 2024, 9:39 amelection administration, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Bolts: Justin Heap, an Arizona lawmaker who has pushed for severe voting restrictions and whose campaign was led by an indicted 2020 “fake elector” for Donald Trump, has won control of one of the country’s most important local elections offices. … Continue reading

Bluesky, Smiling at Me: Why I Plan to Post Substantive Commentary at Blue Sky (rickhasen.bsky.social) Rather than Threads or X (Twitter) (Automated Postings Still Will Appear on Threads and X)

November 12, 2024, 9:15 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

I pulled back a few years ago from posting on X once the platform under Elon Musk became more toxic and as it turned from fighting the spread of election disinformation to becoming a main vector for it. I still… Continue reading

“Why Was There a Broad Drop-Off in Democratic Turnout in 2024?”

November 12, 2024, 7:44 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Voters in liberal strongholds across the country, from city centers to suburban stretches, failed to show up to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris at the levels they had for Joseph R. Biden Jr. four years earlier, contributing significantly… Continue reading

“Schumer invites McCormick and Gallego to Senate orientation”

November 12, 2024, 7:36 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has extended Senate orientation invitations to Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick and Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego after previously withholding them while their respective races remained unsettled. Schumer previously insisted the Pennsylvania race had not yet … Continue reading

“Decision on whether to overturn Trump’s New York hush money conviction is delayed”

November 12, 2024, 7:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

CNN: Donald Trump’s lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney’s office have agreed to delay activity in the hush money case until November 19 to give the president-elect’s lawyers time to make new arguments on how his election victory impacts the… Continue reading

“Many in government are worried about Trump’s return. At DOJ, they’re terrified.”

November 12, 2024, 7:32 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Politico: A collective sense of dread has taken hold at the Department of Justice, which drew Donald Trump’s rage like no other part of the federal government during his campaign. Some career attorneys at DOJ are already considering heading for… Continue reading