This obscure but fascinating story from the Seattle Times reveals the vulnerability of top-two non-partisan primaries to partisan manipulation. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee is stepping down, leaving Washington’s governorship an open race for the first time since 2012. A leading contender for the seat is Bob Ferguson, the state attorney general. Presumably concerned about his prospects, “conservative activist Glen Morgan recruited two people who share a name with the Democratic front-runner for governor to also seek the state’s highest office. ” These two Bob Fergusons officially filed to run last Friday, leaving Washington’s election officials scrambling about how to address the potential voter confusion. Obviously, in a party-centered primary, the party label would be the solution. The law leaves the Secretary of State the option of otherwise differentiating between candidates, such as by occupation or incumbency status. Apart from the question of how effective that will be, I wonder if that would raise bases for challenging the primary election results.
Out Today: “The Court v. The Voters”
Joshua A, Douglas‘ new book, “The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights” offers an accessible look at the erosion of voting rights and its implications for democracy. Focusing on nine major Supreme Court cases, Douglas demonstrates the erosion of meaningful protections for the right to vote before turning to offer some legislative proposals for reversing this course. There is a nice review in Salon. Very much looking forward to reading it.
New Podcast: Alex Keyssar on why we still have the Electoral College
In a new episode of Democracy Paradox sponsored by the Ash Center, Justin Kempf sat down with Alex Keyssar to discuss his book Why We Still Have the Electoral College?— and what the future holds for this archaic institution. Keyssar explores the history behind efforts to reform the Electoral College, how the different sides of the debate changed over time, and why reformers have repeatedly failed in their efforts.
“Georgia Supreme Court declines to rule on whether counties can draw their own electoral maps”
AP News: The Georgia Supreme Court refused to issue a ruling, leaving the legality of Cobb County Commissioners’ electoral districts uncertain. The County is Georgia’s third-largest. While the Court agreed “that someone needs to issue a legally final ruling on whether county commissioners can override state legislators and draw their own electoral districts,” and one Justice urged the commissioners themselves to file for a declaration, a unanimous Court held that the “it would be improper to rule on the legal issue” where the plaintiffs lacked standing.
“Trump is gagged. So his surrogates say the forbidden stuff for him.”
From the Washington Post:
“Three GOP senators have appeared with Trump in court and conveniently proceeded to say precisely what he can’t.”
J.D. Vance’s tweets today attacked the credibility of Michael Cohen and the impartiality of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. Tuberville, among others, did the same.
Biden Invests in Organizing Rural Voters
Access to the vote is essential, but so is getting people to the polls. Axios reports that the Biden campaign gets this: It is already “investing in dozens of field offices in some of the nation’s reddest counties, pressing its early money advantage to establish political beachheads in hostile territory.” The goal is not to win these counties. It is to find or cultivate what support might exist and turn that support into votes on Election Day.
The Procedural Train Wreck Before the Court This Week in the LA Congressional Redistricting Case
The stay applications before the Supreme Court this week on Louisiana’s congressional map represent the biggest procedural quagmire in a Voting Rights Act I can recall seeing:
1. One federal court held that Louisiana’s newly enacted map, after the 2020… Continue reading
“Wisconsin Supreme Court to revisit ruling that banned most ballot drop boxes”
NBC News: The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case that could result in the use of absentee ballot drop boxes for the upcoming presidential election. The case provides an opportunity for the Court’s liberal… Continue reading
The Law of Assembly on Campus
Democratic politics involves far more than voting in elections. Yet, while we spend endless hours preoccupied with largely fabricated problems with elections, few pay any attention to the law of protest and assembly or its inadequacies. When we do, the… Continue reading
“Johnson’s ‘intuition’ clashes with data on illegal voting”
The Hill: The numbers, agreed on by both left- and right-of-center institutes, speak for themselves:
“The Brennan Center study from the 2016 general election showed an estimated 30 incidents of suspected — not confirmed — noncitizen votes out of… Continue reading
“In top races, Republicans try to stay quiet on Trump’s false 2020 claims”
Washington Post reports that while those auditioning for Vice President maybe embracing Trump’s narrative, Republican candidates in tight races are being intentionally vague, redirecting the focus on election rules. Also not good.
“[Unlike in 2022], many of the Republicans running… Continue reading
“Montana’s Tribal Voters Could Determine the Makeup of the Senate”
Politico.
Native Americans are always an important voting bloc in Montana, where they make up 6.5 percent of the population, per U.S. Census data. But this November, their involvement could potentially impact the entire nation.
Control of the Senate… Continue reading
“Will You Accept the Election Results? Republicans Dodge the Question.”
NYT.
Less than six months out from the presidential contest, leading Republicans, including several of Donald J. Trump’s potential running mates, have refused to commit to accepting the results of the election, signaling that the party may again challenge the… Continue reading
“Meta’s oversight board backs takedown of Australian voter fraud posts”
Reuters.
Meta’s oversight board upheld a decision to remove two Facebook posts calling for Australians to vote multiple times in an indigenous rights referendum, but noted the social media giant had not adequately explained its ban on encouraging voter fraud.… Continue reading