“Oligarchy, State, and Cryptopia”

March 12, 2025, 12:20 pmPlutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

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”

March 12, 2025, 12:18 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

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”

March 12, 2025, 9:08 amelection administrationRick Hasen

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

Perkins Coie Web Page on Its Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration

March 12, 2025, 9:06 amauthoritarian threats in US, election law bizRick Hasen

You can find relevant documents here.

“Colorado calls DOJ interest in Tina Peters’ case a ‘grotesque attempt to weaponize the rule of law”

March 12, 2025, 7:44 amchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Colorado Public Radio: Colorado is asking a federal judge in Denver to reject the U.S. Justice Department’s statement of interest in the case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. In its filing, the state writes that the DOJ intervention… Continue reading

“Can We Save American Democracy?”

March 12, 2025, 7:33 amauthoritarian threats in US, election subversion riskRick Hasen

March 26 online event at the Ash Center (Harvard): In a recent article, Steven Levitsky, Professor of Government at Harvard University and co-author of How Democracies Die, predicts that “U.S. democracy will likely break down during the second… Continue reading

“Assessing Gerrymandering after the 2020 Census”

March 12, 2025, 7:31 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Daniel Magleby and Michael D. McDonald have written this draft for ELJ. Here is the abstract: The Roberts Court has turned over efforts to limit gerrymanders to politics and willing state courts. Scholars have proposed several methods for evaluating… Continue reading

“Musk Seeks to Put $100 Million Directly Into Trump Political Operation”

March 11, 2025, 6:43 pmconflict of interest laws, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

NYT: Elon Musk has signaled to President Trump’s advisers in recent days that he wants to put $100 million into groups controlled by the Trump political operation, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. It is unheard-of for… Continue reading

ELB 6:6: What Do Documentary Proof of Citizenship Laws Accomplish? (Fontes, Olson, Perales)

March 11, 2025, 2:20 pmELB Podcast, election administrationRick Hasen

Season 6, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast: Do documentary proof of citizenship laws stop a lot of illegal voting or suppress the votes of eligible voters? How have such laws been implemented in the state of Arizona and elsewhere?… Continue reading

“U.S. agency has stopped supporting states on election security, official confirms”

March 11, 2025, 1:58 pmelection subversion risk, voting technologyRick Hasen

Votebeat: The federal government has halted election security activities and ended funding for the system that alerts state officials of election security threats across state lines, a representative of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told state election officials… Continue reading

“9th Circuit hears appeal over Nevada law to protect election workers from harassment”

March 11, 2025, 6:47 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Reno Gazette Journal: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Friday in a case that seeks to throw out a Nevada law passed in 2023 to protect election workers from harassment and intimidation. Las Vegas attorney Sigal Chattah… Continue reading

“Firm Targeted by Trump Over Clinton Campaign Work Hires Top Litigators”

March 11, 2025, 6:38 amauthoritarian threats in US, election law bizRick Hasen

NYT: Perkins Coie, the law firm that President Trump targeted for punishment with an executive order last week for its role representing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, has hired an elite Washington firm, Williams & Connolly, to fight the order,… Continue reading

““It Just Feels Like Death”: Barrage of New Rules Target Arkansas Ballot Initiatives”

March 10, 2025, 3:20 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Daniel Nichanian for Bolts.

“Malapportionment: A Murder Mystery”

March 10, 2025, 9:55 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Daniel Wodak has posted this paper (forthcoming, Northwestern University Law Review). Here is the abstract: Malapportionment—electoral districts with divergent ratios of people to representation—was ruled to be unconstitutional in a widely venerated series of cases before the Warren Court. Those… Continue reading