What happens to election law after the Anderson-Burdick framework is (probably) overturned?

February 25, 2022, 10:15 amelection administration, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

If I had to predict, I’d guess that the Anderson-Burdick framework for federal review election laws will be overturned in the next decade. What does election law litigation look like after that? Is that a grim thought for election law… Continue reading

“How is the ‘Purcell principle’ threatening voting rights in America?”

February 17, 2022, 7:20 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

New at The Economist.

“Will the Supreme Court Swing the 2022 Midterms?”

February 14, 2022, 7:51 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Mike Parsons: Recent commentary on the Supreme Court’s stay order in Merrill v. Milligan has focused on what the decision portends for the future of Section 2 doctrine. But the Court’s radical expansion of Purcell threatens to sow… Continue reading

Breaking and Analysis: Supreme Court on 5-4 Vote Stays District Court Order Requiring Alabama to Draw Second Black Majority District, and the Signs for the Voting Rights Act are Ominous

February 7, 2022, 3:38 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The Supreme Court issued a stay in the Alabama congressional Voting Rights Act case I wrote about last week and set the case (actually two related cases) for argument. This is bad news in the short run and likely worse… Continue reading

Two Great Symposiums on Election Law from NYU and Fordham

November 16, 2021, 8:25 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

From the NYU Law Review: Volume 96, Issue 4 Rabia Belt, Mass Institutionalization and Civil Death Ming Hsu Chen, The Political (Mis)Representation of Immigrants in the Census Wilfred U. Codrington III, Purcell in Pandemic Lee Drutman, Elections, Political Parties, and … Continue reading

Observations about the JLVRAA

August 18, 2021, 7:52 amUncategorizedKunal Dixit and Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Thanks to Travis for his terrific summary of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which was finally introduced yesterday. A few observations about the bill: 1. Crossover districts: Instead of overriding Bartlett v. Strickland and allowing plaintiffs to win… Continue reading

Travis Crum: “Revising Sections 2 and 5 in the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021”

August 17, 2021, 8:25 pmVoting Rights Act, VRAARick Hasen

The following is a very helpful guest post from Travis Crum: Following months of anticipation, Democrats in Congress unveiled the newest version of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA). In this post, I’ll highlight major portions… Continue reading

“Purcell in Pandemic”

August 7, 2021, 7:17 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

I hope to highlight a few academic pieces this weekend. First up, a piece from Wilfred U. Codrington III forthcoming in the NYU Law Review on SSRN. From the opening of the abstract: Given the major events in the… Continue reading

Supreme Court: Election Litigation That Doesn’t Come Too Early Comes Too Late

April 1, 2021, 6:47 amelection law "humor"Rick Hasen

AP: A divided Supreme Court ruled today that there is no right time to file a case contending that an election law unconstitutionally violates the right to vote protected by the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause.On a 6-3 vote,… Continue reading

Ned Foley: “Is Texas v. Pennsylvania an obituary for Bush v. Gore?”

December 12, 2020, 4:12 pmBush v. Gore reflections, Supreme Court, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

The following is a guest post by Ned Foley, on the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bush v. Gore: On the evening before the twentieth anniversary of Bush v. Gore, one of the most infamous Supreme Court… Continue reading

My New New York Times Oped Argues We Should Worry Less About Whether Trump Can Steal the Election (He Can’t); Worry More About the Damage Being Done to Voting Rights and the Legitimacy of our Election System and Democracy

November 23, 2020, 6:26 amfraudulent fraud squad, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece for the NY Times. It begins: Even as the campaign lawsuits brought by President Trump over the 2020 election enter their death throes, many people continue to worry that Mr. Trump will find three… Continue reading

#2DaysOut: “This Election Illustrates a Deeper Problem” (Pam Karlan)

November 1, 2020, 10:42 am#2DaysOutRick Hasen

The following is a symposium contribution from Pam Karlan (Stanford): There will be plenty of time later to write about the Elections Clause, the Electors Clause, the Purcell Unprinciple, and the mess that is the Electoral Count Act of 1887.… Continue reading

In Outrageous 2-1 Decision Ignoring Reliance Interests and Rejecting the Purcell Principle, 8th Circuit Panel Orders Segregation of Late Arriving Ballots in Minnesota, With Strong Hints Late Arriving Ballots Will Be Excluded from The Count

October 29, 2020, 4:03 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

It is hard to know where to start with this opinion. The majority suggests that a consent decree extending the deadline for absentee ballots in Minnesota, entered into by the Secretary of State and plaintiffs and approved by a… Continue reading

Laches and Post-2020 Election Challenges: Why Many of the Republican Gambits Challenging Election Laws Will Come Too Late

October 29, 2020, 11:39 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

There’s been much talk about what kinds of claims might be brought post-election if the election is close that could allow Trump to try to stop or delay counting, or otherwise seek to mess with the election. In this post,… Continue reading