Derek Muller Blogging Next Week
Direct all your tips and questions to Derek.
Mar 21 Event from Issue One on CISA and Protecting Federal Elections
This looks important:
Following unprecedented levels of foreign interference operations during the 2016 presidential election, members of Congress and President Trump’s first administration recognized the urgent need to bolster election security. That collective effort resulted in the Department of Homeland… Continue reading
“Under G.O.P., Congress Cedes Power to Trump, Eroding Its Influence”
NYT:
The Republican-led Congress isn’t just watching the Trump administration gobble up its constitutional powers. It is enthusiastically turning them over to the White House.
G.O.P. lawmakers are doing so this week by embracing a stopgap spending bill that gives… Continue reading
“Who Is Elon Musk Helping Now? A Judicial Candidate Who’s a Big Trump Fan.”
NYT:
In October 2016, the day after the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording in which Donald J. Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women, Wisconsin Republicans held a rally in the small town of Elkhorn.
As the state’s top Republicans… Continue reading
“Adaptation and Innovation: The Civic Space Response to AI-Infused Elections”
New report from CDT. From the Introduction:
AI avatars delivered independent news about Venezuela’s contested election, allowing journalists to protect their identity and avoid politically motivated arrest. Voters in the United Kingdom could cast their ballots for an AI avatar… Continue reading
HLR Case Comment on Petteway
This Harvard Law Review recently published this case comment on the Fifth Circuit’s en banc decision in Petteway v. Galveston County, which held that Section 2 of the VRA doesn’t authorize claims by coalitions of minority voters.
The Fifth Circuit’s… Continue reading
“Justice Dept. Moving to Downsize Units Investigating Fraud and Corruption”
NYT:
Justice Department officials are drafting plans to broadly restructure — and significantly downsize — several key units in Washington responsible for investigating cases of fraud and public corruption, according to three people briefed on the changes.
The plans, which… Continue reading
“Trump Pardons Ex-Tennessee State Senator Imprisoned for Campaign Fraud”
NYT:
President Trump has pardoned an imprisoned former Tennessee state senator who was two weeks into a 21-month sentence for his role in a campaign finance fraud scheme.
Inmate records show that the former lawmaker, Brian Kelsey, a Republican,… Continue reading
“Judge blocks key provisions of Trump’s bid to punish Democratic-linked law firm”
Politico:
President Donald Trump’s retaliation against a prominent Democratic-linked law firm is likely unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell blocked the Trump administration from enforcing central provisions of an executive order that seeks to… Continue reading
“Utah Was a Rare Red State to Champion Mail Voting. That Era Is Likely Ending.”
“Privacy Violations in Election Results”
New paper in Science Advances from Shiro Kuriwaki, Jeff Lewis,, and Michael Morse. Abstract:
After an election, should election officials release a copy of each anonymous ballot? Some policy-makers have championed public disclosure to counter distrust, but others worry that… Continue reading
“Oligarchy, State, and Cryptopia”
Julie Cohen has posted this important draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Theoretical accounts of power in networked digital environments typically do not give systematic attention to the phenomenon of oligarchy—to extreme concentrations of material wealth deployed to obtain… Continue reading
“US Rise of Cryptocurrency and Fall of Regulation Pose ‘Profound Risks’–Report”
The Guardian:
A new report warns of “profound risks” in American politics as cryptocurrency companies increase their political spending and Donald Trump oversees regulatory retreatwhile promising to create a “crypto strategic reserve”.
The situation “illustrate[s] the profound risks that unchecked… Continue reading
Wisconsin: “Madison city clerk placed on leave ahead of April election”
WKOW:
The Madison city clerk, Maribeth Witzel-Behl, has been placed on paid administrative leave ahead of the April 1 spring general election.
In an email sent to some election workers Wednesday morning, a worker at the clerk’s office described the… Continue reading