Thurs & Fri: Univ. of Penn Law Review Multiracial Democracy Symposium

October 18, 2025, 7:46 amUncategorizedDiversity, Fusion, gerrymandering, multiracial democracy, Proportional Representation, technology, Voting Rights ActSpencer Overton

You can register for and get more info on the symposium here. In light of recent attacks on multiracial democracy, I’m honored to co-organize The Future of Law & Multiracial Democracy Symposium this upcoming Thursday and Friday (October 23-24)… Continue reading

“Voting Rights Act faces a near-death experience at US Supreme Court”

October 18, 2025, 7:37 amUncategorizedRedistricting; Louisiana, Voting Rights ActSpencer Overton

Reuters: …The Trump administration’s framework would impose new evidentiary requirements on Black voters who sue over how electoral maps are drawn. Among other things, they would need current statistics showing that a legislature discriminated based on race, rather than… Continue reading

“Trump Pushes Indiana Lawmakers to Redraw State Maps”

October 18, 2025, 7:36 amUncategorized2026 Election Cycle, gerrymandering, Voting Rights ActSpencer Overton

NYT: President Trump called Republicans in the Indiana Senate on Friday morning to encourage them to redraw the state’s congressional maps to benefit Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, according to three people familiar with the call. Mr. Trump… Continue reading

“White House Hires ‘Stop the Steal’ Lawyer to Investigate 2020 Election Claims”

October 18, 2025, 7:34 amUncategorized2020 Election Conspiracies, January 6, The Big LieSpencer Overton

WSJ: A former Trump campaign lawyer who worked on the effort to overturn the 2020 election results has joined the administration to investigate that year’s election and voting-related issues, according to people familiar with the matter. Kurt Olsen, a… Continue reading

“Does the sale of Dominion Voting Systems mean a transformation? Depends who’s asking”

October 18, 2025, 7:33 amUncategorizedDominion, Voting MachinesSpencer Overton

NPR: When Scott Leiendecker announced he was buying Dominion Voting Systems — the elections technology company at the heart of countless 2020 election conspiracy theories — he teased a transformation…. “We are turning the page and beginning the vital… Continue reading

“Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People”

October 18, 2025, 7:32 amUncategorizedgerrymandering, immigrationSpencer Overton

NYT: The Trump administration is considering a radical overhaul of the U.S. refugee system that would slash the program to its bare bones while giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and Europeans who oppose migration, according to… Continue reading

“The NRSC Is Using a Schumer Deepfake to Knock Democrats on Shutdown”

October 18, 2025, 7:31 amUncategorizedArtificial Intelligence, deepfakeSpencer Overton

NOTUS / AP: The Senate Republican campaign arm put out an ad of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrating the ongoing government shutdown on Friday morning. The clip, however, was a deepfake. The video, published by the National… Continue reading

“Trump says he has commuted sentence of former US Rep. George Santos in federal fraud case”

October 17, 2025, 4:46 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

AP: President Donald Trump said Friday he had commuted the sentence of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who is serving more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft charges. The New York… Continue reading

Misleading Claims About Affected Districts

October 17, 2025, 12:28 pmUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

Toward the end of his argument in Callais, Hashim Mooppan seemed to assert that neutering Section 2 would affect only about fifteen congressional districts. In his words, “there are only 15 majority-Black districts” nationwide, so the administration’s proposed poison-pill revision… Continue reading

Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Argument in Major Campaign Finance Case, NRSC, December 9

October 17, 2025, 11:53 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

December argument calendar is out.

Watch Archived Video of Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar: “Redistricting and Re-Redistricting Controversies and the 2026 Elections”

October 17, 2025, 11:43 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can watch the conversation with Guy Charles, Moon Duchin, Michael Li, and Nick Stephanopoulos (moderated by me) here:

I Spoke with Madeline Brand of KCRW’s Press Play About the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Case and California’s Proposition 50

October 17, 2025, 7:34 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can listen here (it’s the first story in the episode).

“Parties Brace for a Political Future Without the Voting Rights Act”

October 17, 2025, 7:31 amUncategorizedgerrymandering, Section 2, Voting Rights ActSpencer Overton

NYT: After the Supreme Court appeared ready to dismantle one of the remaining provisions of the Voting Rights Act, Democrats and Republicans began to reckon with a political future that could see the balance of power in Congress tip decisively… Continue reading

“After Racist Texts, New York G.O.P. Is Set to Disband Young Republicans”

October 17, 2025, 7:31 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: After racist texts among members of the New York State Young Republicans were made public, the party’s state leaders were slated to meet Friday and vote to disband the group, three people familiar with the matter said. The… Continue reading