“The Year of the AI Election Wasn’t Quite What Everyone Expected; Deepfakes were nothing like the political force in 2024 that many feared—but that doesn’t mean that generative AI didn’t profoundly affect elections all over the world.”

December 26, 2024, 10:51 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Wired reports: Earlier this year, WIRED launched the AI Elections Project to track instances of AI in elections around the world. An analysis of the WIRED AI Elections Project published by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University… Continue reading

“Trump has pressed for new voting requirements. Republicans in Congress will try to make that happen”

December 26, 2024, 10:49 amelection administration, fraudulent fraud squad, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

AP: Republicans plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to push through long-sought changes that include voter ID and proof-of-citizenship… Continue reading

“Expect a quieter Jan. 6 this time around — as long as Republicans avert a looming speakership crisis”

December 26, 2024, 7:13 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Politico: Donald Trump’s victory has made Jan. 6 boring again. Four years after a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory, Republicans and Democrats seem to agree they’ll give Trump the smooth,… Continue reading

“How prosecutors’ evidence mistakes could let Menendez walk away from corruption charges”

December 25, 2024, 6:25 pmbribery, Speech or Debate ClauseRick Hasen

Politico: Five months after a jury convicted Sen. Bob Menendez of corruption-related charges that ended his political career, federal prosecutors have admitted to a series of errors that could upend the verdicts. The missteps have handed Menendez’s attorneys just… Continue reading

“The Big Companies Funding Trump’s Inauguration Despite Denouncing Jan. 6”

December 25, 2024, 8:36 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

WSJ: Four years ago, dozens of companies denounced the invasion of the U.S. Capitol and pledged to withhold support from those who disputed the 2020 election results. Now, many of those companies are lining up to fund Donald Trump… Continue reading

“Trump’s Re-election Defines a New Era of American Politics”

December 25, 2024, 8:10 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for NYT’s The Upshot: When Barack Obama won re-election in 2012, it seemed to mark the beginning of a new era of Democratic dominance, one propelled by the rise of a new generation of young, secular and nonwhite… Continue reading

“Rep. Granger’s Hill absence, revelation of ‘dementia issues’ reignite age debate”

December 24, 2024, 4:31 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

Rick’s Opeds and Commentaries, 2024

December 24, 2024, 4:16 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Voting in the U.S. Shouldn’t Be This Hard, MSNBC Opinion, Nov. 5, 2024 Thousands of Pennsylvania Ballots Will Be Tossed on a Technicality. Thanks SCOTUS, Slate, Nov. 4, 2024 Why the “Blue Shift” Everyone Seems to Have Forgotten … Continue reading

“Protracted GOP speaker fight could complicate Electoral College count”

December 24, 2024, 10:38 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Roll Call: Lingering ill will among House Republicans after another messy spending fight could complicate Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to retain the House gavel — and potentially the Jan. 6 formalizing of Donald Trump’s election victory. As president of the… Continue reading

“Experts: Trump’s use of consumer fraud law to sue Des Moines Register unlikely to succeed”

December 24, 2024, 10:05 amauthoritarian threats in US, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

Des Moines Register: Legal experts representing different ends of the political spectrum say the recent lawsuit by President-elect Donald Trump against the Des Moines Register is based on a strained interpretation of Iowa law and is unlikely to find success… Continue reading

“This company rates news sites’ credibility. The right wants it stopped.”

December 24, 2024, 9:54 amauthoritarian threats in US, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

WaPo: When veteran newsmen L. Gordon Crovitz and Steven Brill started their news site rating company, they were prepared for the inevitable cries of bias from both sides. What they didn’t anticipate was that NewsGuard, their company of some… Continue reading

“Here’s why business leaders are spending big on Trump’s inaugural committee”

December 24, 2024, 9:48 amcampaign finance, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

CNBC: Top CEOs and their companies are pledging to donate millions of dollars to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, as they seek to get on his good side and make inroads before he takes office. Some of the planned … Continue reading

“Stein and Cooper go to court to challenge GOP shift of elections power to NC auditor”

December 24, 2024, 9:45 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

News and Observer: Incoming Gov. Josh Stein and Gov. Roy Cooper sought to expand a lawsuit on Monday to challenge a new wide-ranging law passed by the GOP-led legislature earlier this month that removes power from incoming Democratic officeholders. Cooper… Continue reading

“A North Carolina Supreme Court Candidate’s Bid to Overturn His Loss Is Based on Theory Election Deniers Deemed Extreme”

December 23, 2024, 9:11 pmfraudulent fraud squad, judicial elections, recountsRick Hasen

ProPublica: Months before voters went to the polls in November, a group of election skeptics based in North Carolina gathered on a call and discussed what actions to take if they doubted any of the results. One of the ideas… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law