Third-Party Politics in American History—A Response to Ned Foley

April 26, 2024, 7:58 amthird partiesAmerican history, FusionTabatha Abu El-Haj

In The Tyranny of the Two-Party System, Lisa Disch writes that the pervasive narrative that the United States is, and will always be, a two-party system is a product of “a reading of history that selects for continuity.” Indeed,… Continue reading

Rick Hasen on CNN’s The Lead With Jake Tapper Discussing Fake Electors and Trump Immunity Claim (Video)

April 25, 2024, 3:09 pmelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wsZqk2F6nQ

Why It Matters Legally Whether We Conceive of the Trump Case as One of “Election Interference”

April 23, 2024, 7:41 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Jed Handelsman Shugerman in NYT oped: About a year ago, when Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, indicted former President Donald Trump, I was critical of the case and called it an embarrassment. I thought an array of legal problems… Continue reading

“New Group Joins the Political Fight Over Disinformation Online”

April 23, 2024, 7:22 amUncategorizedNed Foley

N.Y. Times reports on the formation of American Sunlight Project by Nina Jankowicz and Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos: “The inception of the group, the American Sunlight Project, reflects how divisive the issue of identifying and combating disinformation has become as the 2024… Continue reading

“As Meta flees politics, campaigns rely on new tricks to reach voters”

April 22, 2024, 12:26 pmcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

WaPo: After years of pitching its suite of social media apps as the lifeblood of campaigns,Meta is breaking up with politics. The company has decreased the visibility of politics-focused posts and accounts on Facebook and Instagram as well as imposed… Continue reading

More tentative thoughts on the NJ case

April 18, 2024, 8:59 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Nick, following up on my initial post on this important new case, adds his own helpful analysis. My views continue to be very preliminary and tentative (unlike Nick, I had no prior involvement in this case until reading the… Continue reading

“Partisan election officials don’t advantage their own party”

April 18, 2024, 8:37 amUncategorizedNed Foley

John Sides in Good Authority discusses a new paper that uses statistical analysis to show that “nonpartisan election administration may be the norm.” John add his own note of caution to the paper’s disclaimer against over-reading the implications of their… Continue reading

The End of New Jersey’s County Line

April 18, 2024, 7:39 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

Ned already provided some commentary about yesterday’s Third Circuit decision affirming the district court’s preliminary injunction against New Jersey’s distortive county line system for primary election ballots. I want to add a few more points. (Full disclosure: Harvard Law School’s… Continue reading

I Spoke to the PBS News Hour About Trump’s Hush Money Case Starting Monday

April 12, 2024, 3:41 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

You can watch William Brangham’s report here, also featuring Jerry Goldfeder and Jessica Roth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sal6uWpRio&t=2s

Watch Archived Video of Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar, “Race and the Risk of Election Subversion”

April 10, 2024, 12:28 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

You can watch this important conversation with Sophia Lin Lakin (ACLU), Spencer Overton (George Washington University Law School), and Sonni Waknin (UCLA Voting Rights Project), moderated by me, at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1exeiHvCdXU&t=2s See also Spencer Overton’s comments on the … Continue reading

“At least 104 Southern California voters mailed their ballots on time. They weren’t counted”

April 9, 2024, 4:41 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Press Enterprise: On or before the March 5 primary, 104 voters in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties mailed their ballots. Legally, those ballots should have been counted, barring a problem like a ballot envelope signature not matching… Continue reading

“Republican National Committee courts election conspiracy theorists to help watch polls”

April 9, 2024, 9:14 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Zachary Roth: As the Republican National Committee ramps up plans to monitor the polls for illegal voting this fall, the national party is increasingly working with a loose network of anti-fraud extremists who have been found to routinely spread… Continue reading

Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar April 16: Fireside Chat with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Safeguarding Democracy Project Director Rick Hasen

April 8, 2024, 8:03 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Looking forward to this online event: (free registration required) Apr 16, 2024 12:30 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join us for a Fireside Chat with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Safeguarding Democracy Project Director Rick Hasen discussing the preservation… Continue reading

“In Electoral Disputes, State Justices Are Less Reliable GOP Allies than the U.S. Supreme Court—That’s the ‘Problem’ the Independent State Legislature Claim Hopes to Solve”

April 4, 2024, 8:20 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarization, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Rebecca L. Brown, Lee Epstein, and Michael J. Nelson have this new article in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Here is the abstract: Scholars have identified serious drawbacks to the independent state… Continue reading