“Electoral Innovation and the Alaska System: Partisanship and Populism Are Associated With Support for Top-4/Ranked-Choice Voting Rules”

July 30, 2024, 7:46 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Abstract below of new scholarship from Christian Robert Grose, Andrew Sinclair, Betsy Sinclair, and Mike Alvarez In 2020, Alaskans voted to adopt a nonpartisan top-4 primary followed by a ranked-choice general election. Proposals for “final four” and “final five” election… Continue reading

“Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say”

July 30, 2024, 7:45 amUncategorizeddisinformation, foreign interferenceSpencer Overton

AP: The Kremlin is turning to unwitting Americans and commercial public relations firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the U.S. presidential race, top intelligence officials said Monday, detailing the latest efforts by America’s adversaries to shape public opinion… Continue reading

“A half-million records and one app: The group behind a massive effort to ‘clean’ voter rolls”

July 30, 2024, 7:44 amUncategorizedvoter challenges, voter purgeSpencer Overton

CNN: Police officers in Texas, senior citizens at a nursing home in Pennsylvania and people who had registered to vote at a Marine base in California. They are among the thousands of voters whose right to cast a ballot… Continue reading

“Can Harris Use Biden’s Campaign Money?”

July 30, 2024, 7:43 amUncategorizedCampaign finance, FEC, Federal Election CommissionSpencer Overton

Daniel I. Weiner at Brennan: But more than $90 million was held by Biden’s principal campaign committee — the official vehicle for the Biden-Harris reelection campaign. FEC filings suggest that those funds will now be used by the Harris campaign.… Continue reading

“Echoes of Roe v. Wade in Decision Granting Immunity to Trump”

July 30, 2024, 7:40 amUncategorizedpresidential immunitySpencer Overton

Adam Liptak in NYT: “The judicial method employed by Trump v. United States resembles Roe v. Wade in the ways that matter,” Richard D. Bernstein, who filed a supporting brief in the case on behalf of conservative critics of Mr.… Continue reading

“Biden Calls for Changes to Supreme Court”

July 29, 2024, 7:48 amUncategorizedSupreme Court ReformSpencer Overton

NYT: President Biden said on Monday he was pushing for legislation that would bring major changes to the Supreme Court, including imposing term limits and creating an enforceable code of ethics on the justices. In an opinion essay in … Continue reading

“Kamala Harris campaign raises $200 million in a week”

July 29, 2024, 7:47 amUncategorizedCampaign financeSpencer Overton

Reuters: WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) – Kamala Harris’s election campaign said on Sunday it has raised $200 million and signed up 170,000 new volunteers in the week since she became the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, as Republicans continued to… Continue reading

“Who’s paying for Chicago’s DNC? Voters won’t have the full picture till it’s long over”

July 29, 2024, 7:46 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

WBEZ Chicago: Once subsidized by taxpayers, major-party national conventions are now almost fully funded by uber-wealthy donors, massive corporations, labor unions and other influential big-money groups. But exactly who is chipping in to cover the potentially record-breaking bill for… Continue reading

“Misinformation floods social media in wake of breakneck news cycle”

July 29, 2024, 7:44 amUncategorizeddisinformationSpencer Overton

The Hill: A weeks-long, breakneck news cycle has set off a parallel explosion of misinformation online, which experts warn could make it harder to parse out what is real versus what is fake as the 2024 election gets underway.

“Sen. Rick Scott sounds a warning on foreign interference in elections”

July 29, 2024, 7:43 amUncategorizeddisinformation, foreign interferenceSpencer Overton

WUSF NPR: Florida’s U.S. senator said the Biden administration isn’t doing enough to combat disinformation and interference from foreign actors in elections. . . . Federal government investigators have found that foreign interference in elections has been rife since… Continue reading

“Here’s What to Know About Venezuela’s Flawed Election”

July 29, 2024, 7:41 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner in a presidential vote on Sunday that was marred by irregularities. Officials at some polling places refused to release paper tallies of the electronic vote count, and there were widespread reports… Continue reading

“Elon Musk Shares Manipulated Harris Video, in Seeming Violation of X’s Policies”

July 28, 2024, 7:47 amUncategorizeddeepfakes, disinformationSpencer Overton

NYT: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has waded into one of the thorniest issues facing U.S. politics: deepfake videos. On Friday night, Mr. Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X, reposted an edited campaign video… Continue reading

“Trump Tells Christians ‘You Won’t Have to Vote Anymore’ If He’s Elected”

July 28, 2024, 7:45 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: In the closing minutes of his speech to a gathering of religious conservatives on Friday night, former President Donald J. Trump told Christians that if they voted him into office in November, they would never need to vote… Continue reading

“Nevada attorney general appeals to state high court in effort to revive fake electors case”

July 28, 2024, 7:44 amUncategorizedElectoral College, Fake electorsSpencer Overton

Washington Post: LAS VEGAS — The top prosecutor in Nevada is asking the state Supreme Court to uphold the indictments of six Republicans charged with submitting a bogus certificate to Congress that declared Donald Trump the winner of the… Continue reading