“Elon Musk gave Trump and the GOP $15M even as he was fighting with the president”

August 1, 2025, 8:09 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Elon Musk gave $5 million to Donald Trump’s super PAC during a dramatic and bitter falling out with the president, new filings show. The donation to MAGA Inc. was made a month after Musk said he had “done enough” … Continue reading

“Trump, Term-Limited, Amasses $200 Million War Chest for Political Ambitions”

August 1, 2025, 7:50 amauthoritarian threats in US, campaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump’s super PAC is sitting on about $200 million that it can spend against his rivals, giving a term-limited president a never-before-seen amount of power in his party’s finances and future. In the first half of 2025, Mr.… Continue reading

“Old money: Campaign finance and gerontocracy in the United States”

July 31, 2025, 5:21 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Adam Bonica and Jacob Grumbach have written this article for the Journal of Public Economics. Here is the abstract: Politicians in the United States rank among the oldest globally. This study examines how money in politics contributes to age inequality… Continue reading

Screenshot of the Day

July 31, 2025, 4:05 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

What else can you say?

“Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum”

July 31, 2025, 3:44 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Wapo: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in July removed references to President Donald Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit display. A person familiar with the exhibit plans, who was not authorized to discuss them publicly, said the change… Continue reading

California: “Gavin Newsom floats November special election for his anti-Trump redistricting push”

July 31, 2025, 3:40 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will likely call a November special election to have voters approve new House maps that boost Democrats. By embracing a public vote, Newsom teed up a nationalized contest that opens a prominent front… Continue reading

“The Fact Checker rose in an era of false claims. Falsehoods are now winning.”

July 31, 2025, 3:32 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Glenn Kessler’s final WaPo column as their fact checker: In reviewing many of the some 3,000 fact checks I have written or edited, there is a clear dividing line: June 2015, the month Donald Trump rode down the Trump Tower… Continue reading

D.C. Bar Committee Recommends that Jeffrey Clark, Who Tried to Help Trump Subvert the 2020 Presidential Election, Be Disbarred

July 31, 2025, 12:00 pmchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

From the report and recommendation: Having reviewed the record in this matter, including the parties’ arguments before the Board, we reject Respondentís procedural arguments and dispositive motions. On the merits, we conclude that Disciplinary Counsel proved by clear and… Continue reading

“Overcoming the Barriers that Native Americans Face in the Voting Process”

July 31, 2025, 9:58 amvoting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

James Thomas Tucker, Jacqueline De León & Daniel Craig McCool have written this article for the Urban Lawyer. This article describes the many barriers that Native American voters face, litigation brought to remove those barriers, and proposed policy solutions.

“Corporate America has largely abandoned its post-January 6 promises on democracy”

July 31, 2025, 9:46 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

CREW: Since the January 6 insurrection, over 2,000 corporate and industry group PACs have given over $174 million to members of the Sedition Caucus—those 147 lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election as well as Donald Trump and… Continue reading

“Shifting Attention to Internal Administrative Law in the States”

July 31, 2025, 8:54 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Chris Walker at Jotwell, reviewing Kevin M. Stack, The Internal Law of Democracy, 77 Vand. L. Rev. 1627 (2024): In The Internal Law of Democracy, Professor Stack examines how internal administrative law has shaped election administration. After Part I… Continue reading

Wice: “Congressional bills threaten equal representation, census accuracy”

July 31, 2025, 8:52 amcensus litigation, redistrictingRick Hasen

Jeff Wice Newsday oped: Fair representation in Congress is under attack. Several bills aim to limit the population used for allotting the 435 congressional districts among the states. …These current efforts threaten equal representation, and census accuracy, for Long… Continue reading

The Downballot on Why the Texas Gerrymander is Likely to be Effective and Not a “Dummymander”

July 31, 2025, 8:47 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Downballot: Texas Republicans unveiled a congressional redistricting proposal on Wednesday that would, as Donald Trump asked, further gerrymander the state’s map by making five Democratic-held seats more likely to flip in next year’s elections. The plan, which could change… Continue reading