“Trump’s DOJ focuses in on voter fraud, with a murky assist from DOGE”

May 17, 2025, 12:26 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NPR: Last October, at a library in Boynton Beach, Fla., Yelyzaveta Demydenko went with her mom and stepdad to vote for the first time. Demydenko, who’s 22, told a federal investigator that she voted in the presidential election “because she… Continue reading

“Kansas ends mail-in ballot grace period. Why have other states followed?”

May 17, 2025, 12:21 pmabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

KC Star: Once a bipartisan safeguard against postal delays and slow mail processing times, Kansas’ three-day mail ballot grace period is now gone — axed by lawmakers, challenged in court, and mirrored in a growing number of Republican-led states. Following… Continue reading

“Revisiting Section 2 and the Electors Clause: On the Right of the People to Choose Presidential Electors”

May 16, 2025, 3:45 pmelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Mark Bohnhorst has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recent scholarship argues that Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the people’s right to elect presidential electors. This Article offers fresh perspectives both on Section 2 scholarship… Continue reading

“Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC failed to pay swing state petition signers, new suit alleges”

May 16, 2025, 12:35 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNBC: Elon Musk’s America PAC didn’t keep its promise to pay swing state voters who signed a pro-Trump petition ahead of the 2024 election, and who enlisted others to do the same, a new lawsuit alleges. The case, a proposed… Continue reading

Banana Republic Dept: “Comey under investigation for ‘threat’ to Trump on social media, officials say”

May 16, 2025, 7:14 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: Trump administration officials said Thursday that they would investigate former FBI director James B. Comey, whom they accused of threatening President Donald Trump after Comey posted a picture of seashells on a beach arranged to spell out “86… Continue reading

“Democrats Won a North Carolina Supreme Court Seat. But They Lost Control Over the Board That Sets Election Rules.”

May 16, 2025, 7:07 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

ProPublica: Last week, North Carolina Democrats scored a victory when Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin, who’d lost a tight race for the state’s Supreme Court, finally conceded defeat after a six-month legal battle to throw out ballots that he contended were… Continue reading

“Trump Can’t Stop Trolling Everyone About 2028”

May 16, 2025, 7:04 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Political Wire: Donald Trump is once again suggesting — this time while addressing U.S. troops in Qatar — that he might run for a third term in 2028. Said Trump: “As you know we won three elections. And some… Continue reading

“Remembering John H. Thompson”

May 15, 2025, 4:06 pmelection law bizRick Hasen

Sad News: It is with great sadness I share news of the passing of former U.S. Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson, who was a member of the Census Bureau family for over 30 years and played a critical… Continue reading

“U.S. AG Pam Bondi Sold More than $1 Million in Trump Media Stock the Day Trump Announced Sweeping Tariffs”

May 15, 2025, 7:06 amchicanery, conflict of interest laws, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

ProPublica: Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares of Trump Media the same day that President Donald Trump unveiled bruising new tariffs that caused the stock market to plummet, according to records obtained… Continue reading

“Trump Administration Cancels Scores of Grants to Study Online Misinformation”

May 15, 2025, 7:03 amauthoritarian threats in US, cheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: The Trump administration has sharply expanded its campaign against experts who track misinformation and other harmful content online, abruptly canceling scores of scientific research grants at universities across the country. The grants funded research into topics like ways to… Continue reading

“The FEC Can’t Do Anything. Congress Should Leave It That Way”

May 15, 2025, 6:59 amauthoritarian threats in US, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Trevor Potter and Adav Novi in The Fulcrum: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is vital to America’s political process. As the only federal agency dedicated solely to enforcing election laws, the FEC plays a critical role in protecting voters and… Continue reading

“Check the Box for Secure Voting”

May 14, 2025, 5:34 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

WSJ oped by retired Senator Roy Blunt: Why not transform the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which has sunk into obscurity, into the Election Security Fund? Public trust in elections is waning. The administration of our elections, along with the tens… Continue reading

“Indiana elections chief defends voting ban on ‘unsecured’ student IDs after legal challenge”

May 14, 2025, 3:35 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales on Wednesday celebrated the state’s forthcoming student ID voting ban — just two days after he and other Hoosier election officials were named in a lawsuit challenging the prohibition. Since… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “Two Supreme Court Justices Invited an All-Out Assault on the Voting Rights Act. Now It’s Here.”

May 14, 2025, 1:30 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece at Slate. It begins: On Wednesday, the Voting Rights Act suffered the second shot in a brutal new one-two punch, and some worry it could lead to a knockout blow at the Supreme Court. The… Continue reading