Newly-released OLC memo from 2020: “Transmission of Electoral-College Certificates by ‘Registered Mail'”
This memo from the Office of Legal Counsel was released January 17, 2024, but was written February 27, 2020 (i.e., late in the first Trump administration and well before Election Day). There is an editor’s note that the Electoral Count… Continue reading
Pennsylvania Supreme Court to (Finally) Decide Constitutionality of Rule Barring the Counting of Undated or Misdated but Timely Mail-In Ballots
The PA Supreme Court repeatedly refused to consider this issue during the runup to the 2024 elections (which was probably wise, given the uncertainty that such a ruling, going up to SCOTUS, likely would have engendered).
It has now agreed … Continue reading
“On Voting Rights, Eight Legal Battles to Watch in 2025”
“‘Hopefully, I’ll run into a few friendly faces’: US Capitol rioters return to DC to celebrate Trump inauguration”
Marshall Cohen for CNN:
Some rioters charged or convicted in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol are returning to Washington, DC, for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to court filings in a dozen cases and multiple sources familiar with… Continue reading
“Ranked-List Proportional Representation”
I posted this paper introducing a new form of proportional representation that combines the key features of the two PR systems that are most commonly advocated in the American context. The paper is part of a Wisconsin Law Review symposium.… Continue reading
Supreme Court, Applying Intermediate Scrutiny, Upholds TikTok Ban Against First Amendment Challenge on Grounds That It Allows a Foreign Adversary to Spy on Americans
The result was unanimous, in a per curiam opinion and two concurrences (by Sotomayor and Gorsuch).
The nub, as Justice Gorsuch put it at the end of his concurrence, was this: “Speaking with and in favor of a foreign adversary… Continue reading
“Biden says the Equal Rights Amendment is law. What happens next is unclear”
NPR:
President Biden on Friday declared that he considers the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution is “the law of the land,” a surprising declaration that does not have any formal force of effect, but that is being celebrated by… Continue reading
Voting Rights Video Casebook
This is a reminder of an excellent resource for voting rights and election law educators: a VIDEO Voting Rights curriculum. This v-casebook is a wonderful supplement to any courses and seminars on election law. It features an array of… Continue reading
“BREAKING: SCOTUSblog Publisher Tom Goldstein Indicted In Tax Case”
Law360:
Tom Goldstein, a publisher of SCOTUSblog and one of the most experienced U.S. Supreme Court lawyers in the country, was indicted Thursday in Maryland federal court on charges he schemed to evade taxes for years and used funds from… Continue reading
“Minnesota House Democrats work from afar as GOP convenes sessions without them”
Minnesota Reformer:
Judy Moe walked into a Richfield Caribou Coffee on Wednesday morning ready to air grievances and advocate for disability rights with her state representative, presenting him with a copy of a printed agenda she created for the… Continue reading
Debate on the Electoral College in DC Journal
“Rudy Giuliani settles with Georgia women who won $148 million defamation judgment against him”
Politico:
Rudy Giuliani reached a deal Thursday with two Georgia women who won a $148 million defamation verdict against him that allows him to keep all of his property in exchange for a payment of unknown size — plus a… Continue reading
ELB Podcast 6:4: Katie Harbath: The Present and Future of Social Media, Politics, and Elections
Season 6, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast:
How did social media’s treatment of election content change in the 2024 elections?
What do Meta’s new announcements mean for politics and society going forward?
How might AI change everything?
On Season… Continue reading