Iowa Governor Signs Law Making It Harder for Secretary of State to Promote Absentee Balloting During Pandemic

June 26, 2020, 8:04 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Des Moines Register: Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law new restrictions that will prevent Secretary of State Paul Pate from mailing ballot request forms to Iowans in November’s election without first seeking approval from legislators. The law will… Continue reading

Federal Court Dismisses Democrats’ Ballot Order Suit in Arizona Based on Lack of Standing

June 26, 2020, 7:57 amballot accessRick Hasen

Details at AZ Law.

University of Chicago Law Review Online Symposium: “Pandemic Elections”

June 26, 2020, 7:27 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can find the articles here: Featured Articles James A. Gardner, Democratic Legitimacy Under Conditions of Severely Depressed Voter Turnout Daniel P. Tokaji, Voter Registration in a Pandemic Richard H. Pildes, How to Accommodate a Massive Surge in Absentee … Continue reading

Barr Tried to Interfere with Michael Cohen Campaign Finance Case in SDNY, With Implications for the President’s Own Liability

June 25, 2020, 9:19 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: But Mr. Barr spent weeks in the spring of 2019 questioning the prosecutors over their decision to charge Mr. Cohen with violating campaign finance laws, according to people briefed on the matter.At one point during the discussions, Mr. Barr… Continue reading

“Barr says, without citing evidence, that an election done predominantly by mail would not be secure”

June 25, 2020, 8:32 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

CNN reports.

“Paterson City Council Vice President Among 4 Charged With Voting Fraud in May Special Election: NJ AG”

June 25, 2020, 8:27 pmabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC New York: A Paterson, New Jersey, councilman and a councilman-elect in the same city, along with two other men, face voting fraud charges in connection with the May 12 special election, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday.Councilmember… Continue reading

“The Pandemic Has Revealed America’s Impatience. But America Will Need Patience in the 2020 Election”

June 25, 2020, 8:25 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy: The impact of the coronavirus on the daily lives of millions of Americans has demonstrated that patience is a virtue. But it is clearly a virtue that not everyone in the United States possesses, as politicians and armed … Continue reading

Franita and Foley Podcast: “Is This the New Normal?”

June 25, 2020, 8:18 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Listen: Long lines, machine breakdowns, absentee obstacles: As our country grapples with a pandemic, social uprising and divisive politics, voting is more challenging than ever. But what does complacency, voter disenfranchisement and rights infringement say about our election system,… Continue reading

“Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Charged in Crypto-Currency Case, U.S. Says”

June 25, 2020, 1:46 pmchicanery, lobbyingRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Jack Abramoff, the onetime Washington insider who went to prison in a lobbying scandal, was charged with a criminal conspiracy related to cryptocurrency and lobbying disclosure, a U.S. prosecutor said.Abramoff has agreed to plead guilty and faces as… Continue reading

“Trump v. Biden: An Opinion for a Hypothetical Case”

June 25, 2020, 1:44 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Ned Foley has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming Ohio State L.J. Online). Here is the abstract: In RNC v. DNC, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important, but sharply divided, 5-4 ruling concerning the power of courts to remedy… Continue reading

11th Circuit Rejects Alabama’s Motion for Stay on Virus-Related Election Changes to Make Voting Easier in Upcoming Runoff

June 25, 2020, 1:34 pmcourt decisions, UncategorizedRick Hasen

Here is the order. And two of the judges had this to say about the Purcell principle: “Purcell is not a magic wand that defendants can wave to make any unconstitutional election restriction disappear so long as an impending… Continue reading

“Coronavirus Conversations: Elections and The Pandemic”

June 25, 2020, 11:05 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

June 26 Duke virtual event: COVID-19 presents major challenges for the US election process. Measures necessary to protect the public and prevent the spread of the virus, like shelter-in-place orders, quarantine and self-isolation, and fear of infection will keep… Continue reading

“Skewing the Vote; Voter ID laws discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities, new study reveals Image”

June 25, 2020, 11:03 amvoter idRick Hasen

Release: Voter ID laws are becoming more common and more strict, and the stakes for American democracy are high and growing higher by the year. New research from the University of California San Diego provides evidence that voter ID… Continue reading

Supreme Court, Without Noted Dissent, Won’t Revive District Court Order Blocked by 6th Circuit Allowing Ohio Petition Circulators to Collect Electronic Signatures

June 25, 2020, 11:01 amdirect democracy, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

SCOTUS won't block lower court ruling that stopped petition gatherers in Ohio from collecting electronic signatures to put measures on the ballot this year pic.twitter.com/MUs50ohue7— Sam Levine (@srl) June 25, 2020

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law