“Michigan dismissal highlights the challenges in prosecuting cases against Trump’s 2020 fake electors”

September 10, 2025, 7:43 amchicanery, election subversion risk, electoral collegeRick Hasen

AP: Before the abandoned federal attempt to prosecute Donald Trump for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, state and local prosecutors brought cases against his fake electors. The term referred to the people who, in several of the… Continue reading

Launching “The Democracy Project” at NYU

September 10, 2025, 4:27 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

I’m excited to announce we are launching The Democracy Project at NYU School of Law. Bob Bauer, Sam Issacharoff, and I will lead The Project. Here’s link to the Project’s website. Dissatisfaction with democratic government has been pervasive for the… Continue reading

“Why some longtime gerrymandering opponents are reconsidering their strategies”

September 9, 2025, 12:10 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Hansi Lo Wang for NPR.

“Trump Administration Quietly Seeks to Build National Voter Roll”

September 9, 2025, 6:50 amauthoritarian threats in US, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: The Justice Department is compiling the largest set of national voter roll data it has ever collected, buttressing an effort by President Trump and his supporters to try to prove long-running, unsubstantiated claims that droves of undocumented immigrants have… Continue reading

“Democrats pick members for new GOP-led committee on Jan. 6 Capitol attack”

September 9, 2025, 6:46 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

WaPo: Democrats named the members of their caucus to serve on a new subcommittee reinvestigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — a Republican-led probe that threatens to reignite tensions over one of the most divisive… Continue reading

Season 2 of “Law and Democracy” podcast

September 9, 2025, 6:42 amUncategorizedNed Foley

It starts with an episode, “What America Can Learn from Australia” available on YouTube and Apple Podcasts, in which I discuss with the Election Law at Ohio State team my reflections from spending a month this summer on a… Continue reading

“White House may discuss mid-decade redistricting with Nebraska lawmakers this week”

September 9, 2025, 6:33 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Nebraska Examiner: A handful of Nebraska lawmakers are set to travel to Washington, D.C., this week for a “state leadership conference” at the White House’s invitation. But, if what happened with delegations from other states is an indication, another reason… Continue reading

“Missouri House Set to Vote on Map That Boosts Republicans”

September 9, 2025, 6:31 amredistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: The Missouri House of Representatives is poised to vote on Tuesday on new congressional boundaries that would create an additional Republican-leaning district, part of President Trump’s national push to redraw maps to favor his party ahead of the midterm… Continue reading

“Thune Moves to Speed Trump Nominees Past Democratic Blockade”

September 8, 2025, 8:49 pmlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: Republicans took the first step on Monday toward changing the Senate’s rules to speed the confirmations of Trump administration nominees being slowed by Democratic opposition, touching off the latest in a yearslong tit for tat between the two… Continue reading

Register for Free Sept. 16 Webinar from Safeguarding Democracy Project: “The Risk of Federal Interference in the 2026 Midterm Elections”

September 8, 2025, 7:30 amauthoritarian threats in US, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

The Risk of Federal Interference in the 2026 Midterm Elections Tuesday, September 16, 12:15pm-1:15pm PT, Webinar Register here. Ben Haiman, UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice, Liz Howard, NYU Law Brennan Center for Justice, and Stephen Richer, Ash Center for Democratic Governance… Continue reading

“Russia Steps Up Disinformation Efforts as Trump Abandons Resistance”

September 7, 2025, 11:47 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has dismantled the American government’s efforts to combat foreign disinformation. The problem is that Russia has not stopped spreading it. How much that matters can now be seen in… Continue reading

“Republicans brace for redistricting ‘catastrophe’ in California”

September 7, 2025, 11:43 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: Republicans wield almost no power in California. But as a moribund state party gathered here over the weekend, it confronted an even grimmer reality now suddenly settling in: If the state gerrymanders its congressional map, they’ll practically be… Continue reading

“How Does the Gerrymandering Arms Race End?”

September 7, 2025, 11:40 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Alex Keena, Michael Latner, and Natasha Romero Moskala write at the Substack of the Houston Institute for Race & Justice.

Should Representative Ronny Jackson’s Lawyers Be Sanctioned for Filing a Frivolous Federal Lawsuit Attacking California’s Proposed Ballot Measure Redrawing Congressional Districts?

September 6, 2025, 4:27 pmchicanery, redistrictingRick Hasen

This ridiculous complaint went nowhere even before federal district judge Matthew Kascmaryk given that Rep. Jackson could not prove irreparable harm before the ballot measure even passes and given that Jackson failed to give notice to the other side. Here’s… Continue reading