“Far-Right Figures Escalate Talk of Retribution and Election Subversion”

October 27, 2024, 2:59 pmchicanery, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: In the weeks after the 2020 election, retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Donald J. Trump’s former national security adviser, was a key figure in efforts to subvert the election outcome. In recent interviews and speeches, he and an associate… Continue reading

“GOP focus on rare noncitizen voting may continue long after Election Day”

October 27, 2024, 2:56 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Patrick Marley for WaPo: Noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare, research has shown, but Trump and his allies have found that focusing on the issue energizes their supporters by tying together topics that have long animated their base: illegal immigration… Continue reading

New Washington and Lee Law Review Symposium on Voting Rights in a Polarized Era

October 27, 2024, 2:50 pmpedagogyRick Hasen

Check out the Washington and Lee Law Review’s Symposium issue (Volume 81, Issue 3) for the symposium that Maureen Edobor and Chris Seaman organized earlier this year, “Voting Rights in a Politically Polarized Era.” It includes the following… Continue reading

“Republican battleground-state legal blitz falters ahead of election”

October 27, 2024, 8:51 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Reuters: Donald Trump’s Republican allies have suffered a string of courtroom setbacks in battleground U.S. presidential election states as Election Day draws closer, losses which could boost voter turnout and speed certification of the eventual winner. In the past three… Continue reading

“Voters Are Deeply Skeptical About the Health of American Democracy”

October 27, 2024, 8:49 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Nearly half of all voters are skeptical that the American experiment in self-governance is working, with 45 percent believing that the nation’s democracy does not do a good job representing ordinary people, according to a new New York Times/Siena … Continue reading

“The new dark money: How influencers get paid big bucks to court your vote”

October 27, 2024, 8:48 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From the Wash. Post: Political campaigns and their surrogates are pouring millions of dollars into social media influencers with scant regulatory oversight or public transparency, as they embrace a marketing tactic that has revolutionized the U.S. economy. Online influencers who… Continue reading

“America Is Having a Panic Attack Over the Election; Voters see permanent damage to the country if their candidate loses; ‘There are not enough gummies I can take to soothe the angst!'”

October 27, 2024, 8:45 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Molly Ball for WSJ: The sun was shining. Bruce Springsteen was strumming an acoustic guitar. Yet beneath the peaceful surface, the stadium packed with thousands of Democrats practically thrummed with anxiety. “I’m honestly legit kind of terrified,” said Rebekah Williams,… Continue reading

“‘Fully staffed’: Election offices relieved after feared poll-worker shortages don’t materialize”

October 27, 2024, 8:41 amelection administrationRick Hasen

CNN: Threats and smears against election officials and the voting process haven’t killed Americans’ confidence in the system and willingness to work the polls this year. Election administrators across the country, including the top seven battleground states and big cities like Los… Continue reading

“Battle of the billionaires: the mega rich spending to swing the US election”

October 27, 2024, 8:40 amcampaign finance, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

FT: A small number of billionaires could help swing the result of the US presidential election, as many of the world’s wealthiest spend hundreds of millions of dollars to help their preferred candidate win. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are… Continue reading

“Elon Musk’s X is boosting election conspiracy theories with AI-powered trending topics”

October 27, 2024, 8:39 amcheap speech, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

David Ingram for NBC News: Elon Musk’s social media app X is supercharging the spread of voter-fraud conspiracy theories with the help of artificial intelligence, boosting unfounded claims including two personal smears against Vice President Kamala Harris. The dubious content… Continue reading

“Democrats Ready Thousands of Lawyers for Final Days of Race”

October 27, 2024, 8:37 amelection law biz, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

WSJ: Remus, a partner at Covington & Burling, is a Yale Law graduate with a diverse résumé, including a clerkship to conservative Justice Samuel Alito. Her inner circle includes Bob Bauer, a personal lawyer to Biden and White House counsel… Continue reading

Can Absentee Ballots be Received After Election Day in any Swing States?

October 27, 2024, 7:17 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Fifth Circuit decision holding that federal law invalidates (preempts) state laws that permit absentee ballots received some number of days after Election Day to count if they are postmarked on or before Election Day is not likely to be… Continue reading

“US intelligence assesses Russian operatives behind fake video showing Pennsylvania ballots being destroyed”

October 26, 2024, 12:46 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: US intelligence has assessed that Russian operatives were behind a fake video purporting to show someone destroying mail-in ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, that circulated on social media Thursday. “The IC (Intelligence Community) assesses that Russian actors manufactured… Continue reading