Analysis of Alaska’s Open Primary and Ranked Choice System

May 22, 2023, 9:41 amUncategorizedGuy Charles

Sightline Institute conducted this analysis of Alaska’s voting system. Key findings: In 2022, Alaska held its first elections with open primaries and ranked choice voting. Sightline analyzed the diversity of Alaska legislative classes from 2008 to 2022 in four areas:… Continue reading

“Feinstein’s return leaves her party on edge”

May 22, 2023, 6:13 amUncategorizedGuy Charles

A story in Politico by Katherine Tully-McManus and Nicholas Wu on Dianne Feinstein. A snippet: Dianne Feinstein has taken on a noticeably lighter schedule since she came back from California. She appears in the Senate only at committee hearings or… Continue reading

Handing off blogging to Guy-Uriel Charles

May 21, 2023, 2:08 pmUncategorizedDerek Muller

Send your tips and questions to Guy! I’m grateful for the opportunity to step in this week and have cleared out my queue of pending legal questions for the moment….

Settlement reached in 2022 Arizona voter intimidation lawsuit

May 21, 2023, 2:05 pmabsentee ballotsDerek Muller

Last fall, I highlighted two lawsuits in Arizona, one that failed for its overbreadth and one that ultimately succeeded. The successful case was brought by the League of Women Voters, and they secured a temporary restraining order as to… Continue reading

Hessick, Morse, and Pinnell on Electing Prosecutors

May 21, 2023, 10:04 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Carissa Byrne Hessick, Michael Morse, and Nathan Pinnell, Donating to the District Attorney (forthcoming, UC Davis Law Review): The United States is the only country that elects its local prosecutors. In theory, these local elections could facilitate local control of… Continue reading

Muller on Ballot Access

May 21, 2023, 10:02 amballot accessDerek Muller

Derek T. Muller, Ballot Access (forthcoming, Oxford Handbook of American Election Law): Voters use ballots to choose their preferred candidates or to express support or opposition to ballot initiatives and referenda. There are many and diverse rules for how these… Continue reading

Weinstein-Tull on Federal Election Administration

May 21, 2023, 10:01 amelection administration, NVRA (motor voter)Derek Muller

Justin Weinstein-Tull, Federal Election Administration Laws (forthcoming, Oxford Handbook of American Election Law): Although states and local governments administer elections in the United States, the federal government has also enacted laws that regulate election administration. Most prominent among these laws… Continue reading

“Former candidates say New Jersey’s ‘slogan statutes’ violate the First Amendment”

May 20, 2023, 2:09 pmballot accessDerek Muller

“Cert petition of the week” highlighted at SCOTUSblog, summarizing the case Mazo v. Way.

Elected officials aren’t always the biggest fans of ballot measures

May 20, 2023, 2:09 pmballot access, voter initiativesDerek Muller

Some recent actions of legislatures and other elected officials stepping into the thick of how ballot measures are proposed and adopted…. In the Wall Street Journal, “State Lawmakers Take Aim at Voter-Led Ballot Measures,” which begins, “Lawmakers in Republican-led… Continue reading

DC Circuit affirms dismissal of challenge to FEC’s decision to accept paperwork for Trump’s presidential candidacy

May 20, 2023, 2:09 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionDerek Muller

Late last year, I highlighted a federal court’s decision to throw out a challenge to the FEC accepting paperwork for Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy on the ground that he was ineligible to serve. Last month, in an unpublished… Continue reading

Green on Adversarial Election Administration

May 20, 2023, 7:53 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Rebecca Green, Adversarial Election Administration (forthcoming North Carolina Law Review): As Americans, we are conditioned to believe that involving partisans in the administration of elections is inherently problematic. Understandably. The United States is a major outlier; virtually every other developed… Continue reading

Codrington on Voting and State Constitutions

May 20, 2023, 7:52 amConstitutional Right to VoteDerek Muller

Wilfred U. Codrington III, Voting Under State Constitutions (forthcoming, Oxford Handbook of American Election Law): Unlike their federal counterpart, state constitutions confer the right to vote in plain and affirmative terms. State charters also contain unique provisions that, among other… Continue reading

“Georgia plans security checks of voting equipment before ’24 elections”

May 20, 2023, 4:22 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Voting equipment across Georgia will undergo security “health checks” ahead of the 2024 presidential election, including efforts to verify that software hasn’t been altered, according to a plan announced Friday by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Voting… Continue reading