New NCSL Resource on State Voting Rights Acts

November 26, 2024, 8:20 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

This looks like it will be very useful: Eight states have enacted their own Voting Rights Acts: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. These state VRAs mirror the federal VRA in many ways and are often… Continue reading

Must-Read Charlie Savage: “End of Trump Cases Leaves Limits on Presidential Criminality Unclear”

November 26, 2024, 7:35 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of Justice, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Charlie in the NYT: The end of the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump on Monday left momentous, unsettled questions about constraints on criminal wrongdoing by presidents, from the scope of presidential immunity to whether the Justice… Continue reading

“Top Trump Aide Accused of Asking for Money to ‘Promote’ Potential Appointees”

November 26, 2024, 7:32 amchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: President-elect Donald J. Trump’s legal team found evidence that a top adviser asked for retainer fees from potential appointees in order to promote them for jobs in the new administration, five people briefed on the matter said on Monday.… Continue reading

“Riggs’ lead drops by 67 votes as 60 counties complete NC Supreme Court recount”

November 26, 2024, 7:19 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

Carolina Journal: With 60 of North Carolina’s 100 counties completing recounts in a closely contested state Supreme Court race, appointed incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs’ lead has dropped by 67 votes over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin. Riggs still leads Griffin… Continue reading

Campaign Finance and Political Polarization

November 26, 2024, 5:10 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

I’ve posted this new essay on SSRN. Here’s the abstract: In an era I have called “hyperpolarized democracy in America,” delivering effective government has become extremely difficult. Much has been written about various institutional factors that contribute to the rise… Continue reading

“2024 marks a 21st century rarity: Almost everyone thinks the election results are legitimate”

November 25, 2024, 2:15 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Harry Enten for CNN: the reaction from Democrats to Donald Trump’s 2024 victory is, to put it mildly, very much unlike their reaction to his 2016 win. Instead of mass protests in the streets, Democrats have been, for… Continue reading

“Election Integrity: How Do We Restore Faith in Our Election System?”

November 25, 2024, 2:13 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

New video from Project Sphere, a collaborative Cato/Brookings debate project: “Election Integrity: How Do We Restore Faith in Our Election System?” A discussion with Jeanine Abrams McLean of FairCount, Dan McLaughlin of National Review, and Walter Olson of Cato, moderated… Continue reading

Book event in DC & online: “Electoral Reform in the United States: Proposals for Combating Polarization and Extremism” [corrected]

November 25, 2024, 1:02 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

You’re Invited to an AEI-hosted Book Release: Electoral Reform in the United States: Proposals for Combating Polarization and ExtremismEdited by: Larry Diamond, Edward B. Foley, and Richard H. Pildes Tuesday, December 10, 2024 | 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM ETAEI… Continue reading

“Jack Smith files to drop Jan. 6 charges against Donald Trump”

November 25, 2024, 11:13 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NBC News: Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion to drop all four felony charges against President-elect Donald Trump in connection with his effort to overturn his 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the deadly Jan. 6 attack… Continue reading

“How Democrats Lost Their Base and Their Message”

November 25, 2024, 7:21 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Nate Cohn for NYT’s “The Tilt:” It has long been clear that the rise of Donald J. Trump meant the end of the Republican Party as we once knew it. It has belatedly become clear that his rise may have… Continue reading

“Trump’s Judicial Hero Would Have Hated His Recess Appointments Plan”

November 25, 2024, 7:10 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak NYT Sidebar column: President-elect Donald J. Trump has singled out one former member of the Supreme Court as his judicial north star: Justice Antonin Scalia, a giant of the conservative legal movement who died in 2016. “Justice… Continue reading

“A Lesson From Poland: Reversing Populist Policies Is Tough”

November 24, 2024, 12:03 pmauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: He promised salvation for a country “in ruins” — an end to immigration, a civil service stripped of entrenched left-wing opponents, a judiciary purged of meddlesome judges and a news media giving voice to the people instead of elites.… Continue reading

“Questions about provisional ballots remain as Casey and McCormick withdraw lawsuits”

November 24, 2024, 10:01 amprovisional ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Penn Capital-Star: The Democratic and Republican parties will withdraw 20 lawsuits on behalf of their candidates for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat following incumbent Sen. Bob Casey’s concession Thursday to Senator-elect Dave McCormick. Filed in more than a dozen counties, the… Continue reading

“Will Trump’s high-turnout win make Republicans rethink opposition to voting access?”

November 24, 2024, 9:55 ampolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Miles Park for NPR: When John Merrill was secretary of state of Alabama, he felt like it was his job as the state’s top voting official to encourage voter registration. “One of the things I was known for as a… Continue reading