California Will No Longer Allow Payments to Induce People to Vote to Boost Turnout (Sometimes Selectively) in State Elections

October 9, 2025, 9:19 amvote buyingRick Hasen

Back in my 2000 California Law Review article, Vote Buying, I wrote about how some jurisdictions, such as California permitted payments for people to register or to vote (so long as those payments were not made to induce people to… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of Nate Persily’s Must-Watch Presentation for the Safeguarding Democracy Project on Lessons for 2024 and Risks to the 2026 Midterm Elections

October 9, 2025, 7:23 amelection administration, election subversion risk, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Nate packs a lot of data and important observations into this talk, which was held on October 7, 2025. Watch:

“Congresswoman-in-limbo Adelita Grijalva on the dilemma she faces”

October 9, 2025, 7:17 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

WaPo: Every office along the second floor of the Longworth House Office Building looks welcoming, flags lined up nicely, most with visitor sign-in logs out front. Except for the one where the plaque out front reads, “Representative Adelita S. Grijalva,… Continue reading

“Justices Appear Open to Challenge of Mail-In Ballot Rules by Illinois Politician”

October 9, 2025, 7:15 amcampaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

NYT: A majority of the Supreme Court appeared sympathetic on Wednesday to arguments by an Illinois congressman that political candidates should be able to challenge their states’ election laws. During the approximately two-hour argument, the justices grappled with what… Continue reading

“VP Vance to visit Indiana Friday to meet with Senate GOP amid redistricting standoff”

October 9, 2025, 7:08 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Indiana Capital Chronicle: Vice President JD Vance is slated to return to the Hoosier State on Friday to meet with Indiana’s Senate Republican caucus as redistricting deliberations appear to be at an impasse. Multiple sources, including two Republican state… Continue reading

“It’s Time to Reform the National Emergencies Act”

October 9, 2025, 7:06 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

At the NYU Democracy Project, William Galston publishes an essay today on reining in presidential emergency powers. Here’s an excerpt: The most important and urgent constitutional issue of our era is the relentless growth of executive power under presidents of… Continue reading

“‘The stakes are quite large’: US supreme court case could gut Voting Rights Act”

October 9, 2025, 7:03 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Sam Levine with a deep dive on Callais for The Guardian.

Dan Weiner on the Brennan Center’s Interesting Amicus Brief in the NRSC Case

October 9, 2025, 7:00 amcampaign finance, political parties, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I asked Dan Weiner of the Brennan Center to write a bit about the interesting position they’ve taken in the NRSC campaign finance case. Here is his guest post: On Monday the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law filed… Continue reading

Big Voter Registration Gap in Youth Voter Registration in Pennsylvania and Elsewhere

October 9, 2025, 6:58 amvoter registrationRick Hasen

New data from The Civics Center:

The Bost Argument Today on Election Law Standing

October 8, 2025, 11:19 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

In the pre-argument essay I published on the Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections case, which was argued today, I concluded with the view that the Court would be likely to reverse the lower court and find standing for… Continue reading

My New One at MSNBC Opinion on How the Supreme Court Seems Poised to Kill Off What Remains of the Voting Rights Act While Few Pay Attention–With Implications for 2026 Redistricting

October 8, 2025, 10:32 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece for MSNBC Opinion. It begins: With President Donald Trump flooding the zone with attacks on American democracy and the rule of law, it’s easy to lose sight of the damage that the Supreme Court is … Continue reading

NY Historical Event Tonight: “Experimenting with Democracy”

October 8, 2025, 7:52 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Tonight I’ll be participating in this program at the NY Historical (formerly NY Historical Society) on political reform issues. I’ll be joined by Scott Kendall, a key figure in the enactment of Alaska’s Top-4 primary system, along with Lauren Karallunas… Continue reading

“Justice Kennedy, Off the Bench but Still Rendering Opinions” (Including a New Revelation About Bush v. Gore)

October 8, 2025, 7:45 amBush v. Gore reflections, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak interviews Justice Kennedy: As a justice, he leaned mostly right, siding with the court’s conservatives to strike down campaign finance laws, to gut the Voting Rights Act and to expand the scope of the Second Amendment.… Continue reading

“Republicans could draw 19 more House seats after an upcoming Supreme Court ruling”

October 8, 2025, 7:36 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Politico: Democratic voting rights groups are preparing for a nightmare scenario if the Supreme Court guts a key part of the landmark civil rights-era legislation, the Voting Rights Act — a very real possibility this term. Ahead of the… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law