Supreme Court Hands January 6 Rioters a Win in Fischer Case, But It Likely Won’t Help Trump Beat Similar Charges Against Him (Should He Ever Go To Trial on Election Interference)

June 28, 2024, 7:58 amelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The key holding in Fischer v. United States is to read the obstruction statute so that “the Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or as… Continue reading

What Replaces Chevron Deference in Administrative Law Statutory Interpretation Cases? Greater Judicial Power

June 28, 2024, 7:40 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here, from the end of the Chief Justice’s opinion in Loper-Bright, is a brief paragraph on what replaces Chevron deference to administrative agency interpretation of ambiguous statutes: Chevron is overruled. Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether… Continue reading

More on the legal (and practical) issues around a presidential candidate’s withdrawal

June 28, 2024, 7:30 amprimariesDerek Muller

Rick H. gets the heart of the issues right in his early post. I want to highlight some more wrinkles (but I put the odds of Biden stepping down much lower than 50%). First, Rick is right that the… Continue reading

Don’t Let the Dismal Biden Debate Performance Overshadow Donald Trump’s Whitewashing of January 6 and His Refusal to Commit to Accepting the Results of the 2024 Election

June 28, 2024, 6:54 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

All eyes of course are on Biden’s dismal performance in last night’s debate. (I wrote about the election law implications here.) But that should not overshadow the continued serious risk of election subversion coming from Donald Trump. Plans are… Continue reading

The Election Law Issues Surrounding a Potential Biden Withdrawal from the Presidential Race

June 28, 2024, 6:36 amCandidate replacement, political partiesRick Hasen

I think after last night’s dismal debate performance, the odds that Joe Biden will drop out of the presidential race are now greater than 50 percent. Just look at where the columnists in the New York Times are. How would… Continue reading

“Arizona RNC delegation chair: ‘I would lynch’ county election official”

June 27, 2024, 2:49 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Earlier this month, Shelby Busch — chair of Arizona’s delegation to the Republican convention — was in court trying to learn the identities of local elections workers. Under oath, she said she was unaware of any threats that had… Continue reading

“Third-party and independent candidates for president often fall short of early polling numbers”

June 27, 2024, 1:27 pmthird partiesRick Hasen

Super interesting analysis at Pew Research Center.

Election Law Academics Update

June 27, 2024, 7:55 amelection law bizRick Hasen

Here’s my yearly roundup of election law academic hires, promotions moves, visits, accolades: Ellen Aprill is Senior Scholar in Residence at the Lowell Milken Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA (and continues as the John E Anderson Professor in Tax… Continue reading

“Fixing Texas’ ballot secrecy problems won’t be easy, experts say”

June 27, 2024, 6:43 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Votebeat reports.

“An Alabama Town’s New Mayor Was Locked Out. 3 Years Later, He Will Return.”

June 27, 2024, 6:29 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT: Nearly four years after Patrick Braxton won the mayoral election for the small town of Newbern, Ala., in November 2020, he could soon get to serve his first term. Mr. Braxton said in a lawsuit that, after he won… Continue reading

“America needs a bigger House”

June 27, 2024, 3:58 amlegislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

In the Detroit News, I have this op-ed with Michigan state representative Andrew Fink. It begins: Michigan’s population grew by 2% in the last decade and now has more than 10 million inhabitants. But those Census figures couldn’t stop… Continue reading

“New Pro-Trump Super PAC Quietly Spends Millions on G.O.P. Ground Game”

June 26, 2024, 4:59 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Republicans have quietly formed a new super PAC that is preparing what appears to be a significant push to persuade former President Donald J. Trump’s voters to vote early or by absentee ballot. The group, America PAC, was created… Continue reading

On the Fulton County certification lawsuit

June 26, 2024, 4:02 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

Rick H. posts the Washington Post story about the lawsuit from an official trying to guarantee the right to refuse to certify election results in Fulton County, Georgia. I confess, I have a somewhat different reaction to the litigation, a… Continue reading