“Donor Who Gave $130 Million to Pay Troops Is Reclusive Heir to Mellon Fortune”

October 26, 2025, 7:55 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of President Trump, is the anonymous private donor who gave $130 million to the U.S. government to help pay troops during the shutdown, according to two people familiar… Continue reading

“Justice Department Will Monitor Elections in California and New Jersey”

October 25, 2025, 7:40 amUncategorizedDepartment of Justice, Election monitorsSpencer Overton

NYT (and DOJ Press Release here): The Trump administration said on Friday that the Justice Department will monitor polling sites in California and New Jersey ahead of the Nov. 4 election, amid requests by Republican Party officials in those states.… Continue reading

“Steve Bannon says ‘there is a plan’ for Trump to be president in 2028: ‘We had longer odds in 2016 and 2024’”

October 25, 2025, 7:38 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

The Independent: Steve Bannon claims “there is a plan” for Donald Trump to secure a third term as president of the United States after the next election, scheduled for 2028. Despite the U.S. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, which bars candidates… Continue reading

“Why Future Federal Election Security Reports May Be Unreliable”

October 25, 2025, 7:36 amUncategorizedelection denierSpencer Overton

Brennan Center: As the Department of Homeland Security prepares to issue reports about the integrity of state election systems in the coming months, the public should be on the lookout for familiar tactics used by election deniers to spread… Continue reading

“Emil Bove Starts Judicial Career With a Sneer”

October 25, 2025, 7:35 amUncategorizedvote-by-mailSpencer Overton

TPM: …After Trump won, [Emil[ Bove became the president’s personal enforcer in the DOJ….Bove is [now] serving in the rarified role of a federal judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals…. On Friday, he went out of his… Continue reading

I Spoke with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki About How Worried People Should Be About DOJ Observers to CA and NJ Elections and Steve Bannon’s Threats of a 3rd Trump Term

October 24, 2025, 8:00 pmauthoritarian threats in US, Department of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

You can watch here:

I Spoke to Renato Mariotti and Asha Rangappa for the “It’s Complicated” Podcast on the Supreme Court’s Potential to Gut the Voting Rights Act in the Callais Case

October 24, 2025, 3:54 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find it here on Youtube:

“The passage of time”

October 24, 2025, 7:58 amUncategorizedVoting Rights ActSpencer Overton

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky in SCOTUSBlog: When is it ever appropriate for the Supreme Court to decide that a federal law is unconstitutional because it is no longer needed? This question arose during the oral arguments on Oct. 15 in… Continue reading

More Concerns About the SG’s Proposal in Callais

October 24, 2025, 7:54 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

I’ve already discussed a number of problems with the SG’s proposal in Callais (that plaintiffs’ demonstrative maps be required to achieve jurisdictions’ political objectives). Upon further reflection, I have two further concerns. One is that the proposal is inconsistent with the… Continue reading

“Protester Who Played ‘Star Wars’ Song Sues After Arrest in Washington”

October 24, 2025, 5:04 amUncategorizedFirst AmendmentSpencer Overton

NYT: A Washington, D.C., resident who protested while playing the “Imperial March” theme from “Star Wars” sued members of the National Guard and the city’s police force in federal court on Thursday, arguing that he was wrongfully arrested during… Continue reading

“Virginia Democrats Plan to Redraw House Maps in Redistricting Push”

October 24, 2025, 5:03 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: The next front in the nation’s pitched battle over mid-decade congressional redistricting is opening in Virginia, where Democrats are planning the first step toward redrawing congressional maps, a move that could give their party two or three more… Continue reading

“Judge sides with disenfranchised voters in challenge to Virginia’s felony voting laws”

October 24, 2025, 5:02 amUncategorizedfelon disenfranchisementSpencer Overton

Courthouse News Service: RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A judge ruled in favor of a pair of disenfranchised voters Thursday who argued Virginia’s felony voting law violates a 150-year-old federal statute. U.S. District Judge John Gibney ruled from the bench… Continue reading

“Ahead of Mayor Race, Noncitizen New Yorkers Grapple with a Voting Policy Failure to Launch”

October 24, 2025, 5:02 amUncategorizednoncitizen votingSpencer Overton

BOLTS: ….A DACA recipient who arrived in New York City in 2005 as a child from Mexico, [Antonio] Alarcón has been a longtime vocal immigration and community advocate and organizer. But he’s also part of a chunk of the… Continue reading

“Letitia James to Appear in Court as Battle Over Trump-Urged Prosecution Begins”

October 24, 2025, 5:01 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, is set to appear in federal court in Norfolk, Va., on Friday morning for an arraignment where she is expected to plead not guilty to charges lodged by the Trump administration that… Continue reading