Author: Henry

Top Facebook executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, spoke with civil rights leaders last night as the company confronts a wave of backlash over its decision not to moderate President Trump’s controversial posts.  But the roughly hour-long call, intended to show the company takes concerns from the black community seriously, only further inflamed tensions.  Color of Change … Continue reading “The Technology 202: Mark Zuckerberg spoke with civil rights leaders about Trump’s posts. It didn’t go well.” Continue Reading →

President Trump has relentlessly attacked mail voting, calling it a free-for-all for cheating and a Democratic scheme to rig elections. None of the charges are true. But as eight states and the District of Columbia vote on Tuesday in the biggest Election Day since the coronavirus forced a pause in the primary calendar, it is clear that Mr. … Continue reading “Republicans Fear Trump’s Criticism of Mail-In Ballots Will Hurt Them” Continue Reading →

Current and former election administrators said it would be virtually impossible for a foreign country to produce and mail in phony absentee ballots without detection, an issue Attorney General William P. Barr raised as a serious possibility in an interview published Monday. Barr told the New York Times Magazine that a foreign operation to mail in fake … Continue reading “Election officials contradict Barr’s assertion that counterfeit mail ballots produced by a foreign country are a ‘real’ worry” Continue Reading →

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case that challenged Montana’s law on disclosing the spending for political ads within 60 days of an election. In August 2019, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Montana’s law that nonprofit groups running ads that mention candidates, political parties or ballot issues in the 60-day window … Continue reading “U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to Montana campaign finance law” Continue Reading →

President Trump’s persistent attacks on mail-in voting have fueled an unprecedented effort by conservatives to limit expansion of the practice before the November election, with tens of millions of dollars planned for lawsuits and advertising aimed at restricting who receives ballots and who remains on the voter rolls. The strategy, embraced by Trump’s reelection campaign, … Continue reading “As Trump attacks voting by mail, GOP builds 2020 strategy around limiting its expansion” Continue Reading →

“This is a republic, not a democracy” is the last thing that one committed to voting rights wants to hear, particularly from those defending the shortcomings of what most of the world (used to) regard as the last great democracy.  But this critique highlights a core failure of the American experiment that too few people … Continue reading “Democracy As A Slogan” Continue Reading →

I’m very pleased to share the news that my friend, co-author, and co-blogger Dan Tokaji has been named the new dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School. Wisconsin is lucky to have Dan, who is so smart, judicious, patient, and modest. See Campaign: https://news.wisc.edu/university-of-wisconsin-law-school-dean-named/Contact Information:Rick HasenTags:, Wire, Legal Newswire, United States, English Continue Reading →

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, American University Law Review). Here is the abstract: This piece discusses how the case Kelly v. United States, which was pending before the Supreme Court when this piece was written, was likely to expand two different developments in the Roberts Court’s jurisprudence: (1) expanding the constitutional protections for lying … Continue reading “Elegy for Anti-corruption Law: How the Bridgegate Case Could Crush Corruption Prosecutions and Boost Liars” Continue Reading →

The California Republican Party and its national GOP counterparts have sued to stymie Newsom, arguing he had exceeded his statutory authority. Former Rep. Darrell Issa, who is running to return to Congress, has also challenged Newsom’s order. President Donald Trump has blasted mail voting on the grounds that it undermines Republicans, and he has repeatedly … Continue reading “California lawmakers advance mail-ballot legislation to bolster Newsom election change” Continue Reading →

An error on ballots mailed to voters in Baltimore’s District 1 led to inaccurate returns that cannot be counted, election officials said Wednesday, and candidates are now demanding answers from state and local leaders as they await results in several close races…. In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the State Board of Elections said Maryland’s … Continue reading “Ballot error led to uncountable results in Baltimore City Council race, candidates demand answers” Continue Reading →