Another election year, another courtroom battle over voting rules. At this point, constitutional lawyers might as well keep overnight bags packed beside their desks. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to suspend lower-court rulings blocking portions of the President’s executive order on citizenship verification and mail-in voting. The request would allow the administration…
Trump’s Election Commission Shake-Up
President Trump’s decision to remove the remaining leadership of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has opened yet another front in the seemingly endless battle over how American elections should be administered and who should be trusted to administer them. Trump fired Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, while Republican commissioner Christy McCormick resigned after…
A Housing Bill, an Election Bill, and a Missing Signature
President Trump has declined to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act because the Senate failed to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility—or SAVE America—Act. Trump is allowing the housing legislation to become law without his signature. Under the Constitution, a bill automatically becomes law when the president neither signs nor vetoes it within…
Ballot Security or Federal Overreach?
The controversy over Postmaster General David Steiner’s statement about mail ballots is one of those political stories where everyone immediately runs to their assigned battle stations. Supporters hear “election integrity” and reach for the applause button. Opponents hear ‘federal voter data portal’ and see less of a postal reform and more of a constitutional boundary…
Jim Crow 2.0 or Hardball Politics?
Black Democrats are accusing Republicans of using redistricting to create “Jim Crow 2.0,” especially as GOP-led states move to redraw congressional maps in ways that could weaken or eliminate districts currently represented by Black Democrats. The immediate flashpoint is South Carolina, where Republicans are discussing a map that could threaten Rep. Jim Clyburn’s seat, the…
When “Protecting Voters” Becomes “Sorting by Race”
Yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court to strike down certain majority-minority congressional districts as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering has landed like a political thunderclap, though not exactly a surprising one. If you’ve been watching the Court’s trajectory on race-conscious policymaking, this feels less like a sudden detour and more like the next logical mile marker. Still,…
Photo ID for Voting: Security Upgrade or Solution in Search of a Problem?
At first glance, requiring photo ID to vote sounds almost too obvious to argue about. You show ID for everyday tasks that carry far less civic weight, so why wouldn’t voting—arguably the most important civic act—require the same? That’s exactly the intuition behind Husted’s amendment that was recently rejected by Democrats. But like most things…
Counting Votes After Election Day: Fairness Fix or Trust-Busting Loophole?
When the Supreme Court wades into election law, it’s rarely a quiet splash. The latest dispute over whether mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day should still be counted is no exception. On the surface, it sounds like a dry procedural question. In reality, it’s a proxy battle over something much bigger: what we value…
SAVE America Act: Safeguard or Symbolic Politics?
The SAVE America Act is a proposal that aims to require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. On its face, it sounds about as controversial as saying water is wet: only citizens should vote in U.S. elections. Fair enough. But as with most things in politics, the simplicity ends right…
The 2020 Election Zombie
American politics has always had a tendency to hold grudges, but the lingering battle over the 2020 election might be one of the most stubborn political aftershocks in modern history. Most elections fade into the background once the ballots are counted, the lawsuits are resolved, and the next cycle begins. The 2020 election, however, has…
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