The Supreme Court Lets Parties Do Their Job
By Justin Riemer, President, USGI
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in NRSC v. FEC deserves a few words, even if it’s a little late. The Court struck down, as a violation of the First Amendment, federal legal limits on how much party committees may spend in coordination with their own candidates.
As a lawyer who has advised national and state parties, I welcome the ruling. It always struck me as odd that federal law capped coordinated spending by party committees whose primary purpose is to elect candidates. And the limits included exceptions that exposed how arbitrary they were. State parties could already spend unlimited amounts coordinating with candidates on yard signs, bumper stickers, and palm cards, so long as volunteers distributed them. They could even do mass mailings, subject to convoluted rules that essentially required volunteers to lick stamps and stuff envelopes. Why could a party freely coordinate in these ways but not others? Also, as the Court noted, federal law has long let parties make unlimited independent expenditures supporting candidates, provided staff and vendors involved are firewalled from those handling coordinated spending.
These exceptions left parties struggling to build workable compliance policies, starting with the threshold question of what expenditures are even “coordinated” in the first place. One could plausibly argue that nearly all DNC or RNC spending in a presidential year is coordinated with its nominee. National committees can hire lawyers to manage that legal uncertainty. State parties often cannot, yet they faced this same bewildering compliance regime in addition to layers of state and even local campaign finance laws that govern their fundraising and spending.
Criticism of the decision has been notably muted compared to other campaign finance rulings like Citizens United and McCutcheon. Some warn that it will open up a flood of campaign cash by letting donors evade the lower limits on candidate contributions and route money through parties, which enjoy significantly higher limits. But those criticisms don’t hold up.
The most serious objection is that coordinated spending can function like a direct contribution: a donor could funnel money through the party to a specific candidate and thereby evade the limits on giving to that candidate directly. It is a reasonable concern, but the decision does nothing to enable evasion. NRSC left untouched every tool that, in practice, polices this risk: the limits on what a donor may give a party committee in the first place, the corporate contribution prohibitions, disclosure requirements, and most importantly, earmarking rules that, in many applications, forbid a donor from directing the party to spend on a particular candidate.
I can attest that party officials take earmarking prohibitions extremely seriously, precisely because violating them can carry criminal consequences. No one wants to go to jail, least of all over a campaign finance violation. As a practical matter, parties also try to resist donors dictating how they spend their money, and many major donors are already giving parties the legal maximum. In sum, the conduit scenario argument is largely unfounded.
A cap on coordinated spending was therefore always an over-inclusive and clumsy solution to a problem that practical considerations, contribution limits, source prohibitions, disclosure, and earmarking rules address far more directly.
So much for the risks. What does the ruling actually gain us? As the Court recognized, the ruling has the potential to at least slow the parties’ decline, especially state parties, which are in sad shape both financially and in their degree of political influence. Critics like Rick Hasen allege the Court engaged in “deregulatory bootstrapping” — using its own earlier overruling of precedent to justify still more change. In the campaign finance context, they point to Citizens United and its progeny for empowering SuperPACs and other nonprofits at the parties’ expense. But the real instigator came earlier when Congress enacted the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). BCRA gutted the financial clout of the national party committees by eliminating so-called “soft money,” sharply limited its use by state parties, and inexplicably never indexed state party contribution limits to inflation. Although Citizens United accelerated the process, it was BCRA, well before that 2010 decision, that began driving a larger share of campaign money out of the traditional party apparatus and into the outside groups that are increasingly eclipsing it.
There is relative consensus across the ideological spectrum that strong political party organizations benefit our political system, both because they can help temper polarization and because they remain a pillar of local and state civic life. NRSC will provide parties with a boost at a time they need it most.
Arizona
Pinal County began replacing nearly 1,500 Republican primary ballots after a printing error traced to the state voter-registration database vendor affected precinct committeeman races in two precincts. Officials caught similar problems in Cochise and Yuma counties before ballots were mailed.
The campaign behind the proposed Free, Fair and Secure Elections Act—a constitutional amendment that would have guaranteed no-excuse mail voting, a right to vote in person on Election Day, and early in-person voting through the Monday before an election—withheld its signatures, keeping the measure off the November ballot. Organizers said they gathered roughly 439,000 signatures but declined to submit them rather than provide signer information to “election-denying” county election officials, and said they would instead mount a legal challenge to HCR 2001, the legislature’s referred voter-identification measure.
California
The Los Angeles City Council pulled from the November ballot a measure that would have allowed noncitizens to vote in city and school district elections, voting unanimously to study the proposal further with the goal of returning it to voters before 2028.
The state budget committed $40 million to election administration ahead of the midterms, including $29 million for county staffing, technology, and equipment intended to accelerate ballot counting.
Colorado
Ouray County accepted ballots online from primary voters unable to vote in person because of wildfires, under a state statute in place since 2014 permitting emergency voting during natural disasters.
The U.S. Postal Service has offered no clear explanation for primary ballot delivery delays in Grand County, with some residents reporting they had not received their ballots by Election Day.
The legislature’s 2026 session produced an omnibus elections bill and seven other enacted election-related laws.
Connecticut
No-excuse absentee voting took effect statewide, implementing the constitutional amendment voters approved to remove the state’s absentee-ballot excuse requirements.
The Elections Enforcement Commission opened an investigation into candidate petition pages that went missing from Hamden’s Registrar of Voters Office.
Florida
Florida prosecutors charged five people, including two St. Johns County commissioners and a former St. Augustine Beach mayor, over an allegedly unauthorized voter guide distributed during the 2024 Republican primary. The guide allegedly mimicked the county GOP’s official publication, falsely conveyed party endorsements, and omitted required disclaimers. One defendant also faces felony evidence-tampering charges.
Maria Matthews, director of the Division of Elections since 2013, is leaving the post ahead of this year’s primaries, according to a spokesperson for Secretary of State Cord Byrd. Her last day in the office was June 30, and she will continue assisting the division through July 31.
Georgia
Governor Kemp signed Senate Bill 3EX, extending the QR-code tabulation deadline to 2028, creating a committee to recommend a replacement statewide system, and requiring automatic hand recounts in the top two statewide races when the margin is 0.5% or less.
Secretary of State Raffensperger announced that a statewide audit found 23 discrepancies among more than 1.1 million ballots, all involving hand-marked ballots.
State officials launched an investigation into third-party voter-registration mailers sent to deceased Georgians and other ineligible recipients.
Indiana
County officials revoked the registration of a longtime naturalized citizen erroneously flagged under the state’s proof-of-citizenship screening laws after a database outage. The voter re-registered by presenting her naturalization paperwork and did not miss the May primary.
Iowa
A tied Runnells City Council special election will be decided by drawing names, per state tie-breaking procedure.
West Des Moines ended its use of runoff elections, citing cost and low turnout. In its place, the city will use a winner-take-all system for the candidate receiving the highest vote count.
Kentucky
Jefferson County Clerk David Yates announced a countywide audit of precinct assignments after disclosing that a 2021 clerical error assigned 30 voters to the wrong precinct, preventing several from voting in a state House primary decided by five votes.
Maryland
The Open Meetings Compliance Board found that the Charles County Board of Elections violated the Open Meetings Act by failing to adequately disclose the topics it intended to discuss in closed session and the reason for excluding the public from those discussions. The meeting in question involved candidate ballot eligibility.
Michigan
A jury acquitted a Hamtramck city councilman of felony election-law forgery charges stemming from the 2023 city council election, while convicting him of a misdemeanor for providing a false statement on an absentee-ballot application.
Another uncounted ballot surfaced in Hamtramck, prompting Mayor Adam Alharbi to call for election reform. The discovery comes amid an unresolved dispute over 37 absentee ballots that went uncounted in the November 2025 mayoral election.
A resident filed a recall petition against the Antrim County Clerk, whose access to the qualified voter file the state suspended in June. The Board of State Canvassers will review whether the petition’s language meets legal standards.
Minnesota
A state legislative audit found that, among other errors, counties failed to challenge 16 of 59 registrants flagged as newly incarcerated for felonies and missed statutory deadlines for 45% of applications submitted within 20 days of an election. The audit ultimately concluded that Minnesota’s overall voter-registration procedures were generally adequate.
Mississippi
The SHIELD Act took effect, requiring election officials to check new voter-registration applications against the federal SAVE database. Applicants not found in the database have 30 days to provide proof of citizenship.
Nevada
The Lyon County Clerk-Treasurer’s office confirmed that 32 mail ballots cast in the June primary went uncounted after the Postal Service marked them undeliverable, despite correct addressing, and delivered them to the secretary of state’s office weeks after the election. Officials said the ballots would not have changed any race’s outcome. Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, who placed the blame on USPS, opened an investigation, and the county, which has documented more than 200 mail-related problems since 2023, requested assistance from the governor’s and congressional offices.
New Jersey
The state enacted a state-level voting rights act, becoming the eleventh state with such a law. The law prohibits voting practices that suppress or dilute protected-class voting strength, expands language assistance, and requires state preclearance of certain election changes in covered jurisdictions.
A Toms River man who is not a U.S. citizen pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally voting in the November 2022 general election. Sentencing is scheduled for October.
New York
A state court temporarily halted the canvass, hand recount, and certification of the unresolved Democratic primary for the Onondaga County Legislature’s 16th District after candidate Charlene Tarver alleged absentee-ballot fraud. Tarver led Nyatwa Bullock by five votes, with 22 ballots remaining, and accused Bullock’s campaign of forging voters’ signatures on absentee-ballot applications, and then taking the resulting ballots and casting them. The Onondaga County District Attorney opened a preliminary investigation, and the court scheduled a hearing for July 15.
North Carolina
The state House passed a bill which clears a path for more ballot challenges and registration removals, assigns post-election audits of randomly selected counties to the State Auditor, allows the State Board of Elections to hire private attorneys, and ends the automatic venue for state election lawsuits in Wake County. The bill moves to the Senate.
The State Board of Elections warned New Hanover voters after third-party registration form mailers listed an incorrect return address, and flagged other errors in these mailers tied to outdated data.
The State Board of Elections will decide Columbus County’s early-voting sites after the county board deadlocked.
Ohio
Governor DeWine vetoed legislation requiring photo identification for mail ballots. Legislative leaders weighed an override.
Provisional ballots flipped the result of a Whitehall special election, triggering a recount.
Oregon
Secretary of State Read requested a statewide U.S. Postal Service review after postal workers reported being directed on primary Election Day to prioritize package deliveries over outgoing mail—potentially including ballots—on some routes in Benton County. County officials said the late-arriving ballots changed no outcomes but are pressing postal officials for answers.
South Carolina
Atlantic Beach certified its long-disputed 2023 mayoral election after the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered the town’s election commission to declare a winner, and swore in the new mayor.
South Dakota
The incumbent Secretary of State lost renomination to a challenger who supports hand-counting ballots.
A state lawmaker pleaded not guilty to two felony charges alleging that he submitted candidate forms for Republican precinct-committee positions without the purported candidates’ knowledge. Prosecutors said a plea deal was pending, while Pischke’s attorney said no agreement was imminent.
Texas
County records revealed delays in Fort Bend County’s disclosure of primary runoff voting problems.
Virginia
The city’s delayed primary left Southside Richmond without an early-voting location.
Washington
Three jurisdictions now require state approval for election rule changes under the state Voting Rights Act.
Wisconsin
Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys was placed on administrative leave Thursday while the city conducts an internal review and the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) investigates duplicate ballots issued by her office in both the April election and the August primary. Mayor Eric Genrich made the announcement shortly after the commission voted unanimously to open the investigation.
WEC warned that voters who bet on an election’s outcome and then vote in that same election commit felony election fraud and could have their ballots discarded.
Georgia
The State Election Board adopted a rule granting board members access to the emergency operations center where the secretary of state’s office aggregates and reports unofficial statewide results on election night, over a written warning from the Attorney General’s office that the rule exceeds the board’s statutory authority. The measure passed 3-2, with the chairman and the board’s sole Democratic appointee opposing. The rule follows a state court’s dismissal of a mandamus action seeking similar access. The board separately adopted a rule defining what counts as a vote and how votes are tallied.
North Carolina
Absentee Voting Rules
Comment deadline: July 16, 2026
The Absentee Voting Rules (08 NCAC 18 .0201–.0505) set procedures for county staff reviewing returned absentee ballots, distinguishing curable deficiencies, non-curable deficiencies that require cancellation and reissuance, and irregularities that do or do not require contacting the voter.
Rhode Island
The State Board of Elections unanimously approved regulations establishing uniform procedures for the state’s 20-day early-voting period. The 14-page rules govern voter identification, ballot submission, tabulation, security, and voter conduct, largely mirroring existing Election Day requirements. The regulations fill procedural gaps left by the 2022 Let RI Vote Act and will take effect after formal filing with the Department of State, ahead of early voting for the September 9 primary.
Wisconsin
The State Board of Elections dismissed a League of Women Voters petition seeking rules clarifying the state’s proof-of-citizenship law, concluding that the organization lacked statutory standing to request the rule changes.
Alaska
Sullivan v. State of Alaska, Division of Elections, No. 3AN-26-07485 (Alaska Super. Ct.)
On June 26, a state court ordered Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. restored to the August 18 primary ballot, and on June 29 the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed, directing the Division of Elections to determine how the challenger will be listed. The Division’s sample ballot lists him as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” without party affiliation.
Arizona
Heap v. Galvin, No. CV-26-0189-SA (Ariz.)
On July 7, the Arizona Supreme Court sided with Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, rejecting the county supervisors’ reallocation of election duties ahead of the July 21 primary. The ruling resolves the appeal noted in the last edition, in which the Court of Appeals had paused the duty transfer under the Purcell Principle.
Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, No. 25-1017 (U.S.)
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review whether Arizona’s documentary proof-of-citizenship and noncitizen roll-removal laws conflict with the National Voter Registration Act. Argument is expected in the October term. Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) filed an amicus brief in the case alongside Honest Elections Project and Center for Election Confidence.
Arkansas
League of Women Voters of Arkansas v. Jester, No. 5:25-cv-5087 (W.D. Ark.)
On June 30, a federal court declared unconstitutional several state restrictions on initiative canvassing, including requirements that canvassers check signers’ photo identification, read ballot titles aloud, and recite a petition-fraud warning. The court left other claims for a July 28 trial, and the state signaled an appeal.
California
California v. County of Shasta, No. ____ (Shasta Cnty. Super. Ct.)
On June 30, the Attorney General refiled the state’s challenge to Measure B in state trial court after initially filing in an appellate court. The voter-approved charter amendment would generally limit elections to a single day of in-person voting, require government-issued photo identification, restrict mail and early voting, mandate precinct-level hand counts, and create a county voter-registration system separate from the state’s.
Colorado
Republican National Committee v. Griswold, No. 2026CV32338 (Colo. Dist. Ct.)
On June 26, the Republican National Committee, joined by the Douglas County Clerk and a member of Congress, sued the Secretary of State over a statute permitting overseas citizens who have never resided in Colorado to register and vote, arguing the state constitution requires personal residency.
League of Women Voters of the Pikes Peak Region v. City of Colorado Springs, No. ____ (Colo. Dist. Ct.)
On June 24, a coalition of activist groups sued Colorado Springs over the timing of its off-cycle municipal elections.
District of Columbia
NAACP v. United States Postal Service, No. 1:20-cv-02295 (D.D.C.)
On July 1, a federal court blocked nationwide the Postal Service’s proposed rule conditioning mail-ballot delivery on states supplying voter lists and adopting specified envelope designs, holding the rule violated the settlement requiring expedited election-mail handling. The rule stemmed from President Trump’s Executive Order 14399.
State of New York v. Trump, No. 1:20-cv-02340 (D.D.C.)
On July 14, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that challenges to postal changes must first be heard by the Postal Regulatory Commission before they can be challenged in federal court. This decision reverses a lower court ruling enjoining the United States Postal Service from implementation of changes that would impact elections. The panel held that the lower court lacked original jurisdiction.
Florida
State of Florida v. United States Department of Homeland Security, No. 3:24-509-TKW-HTC (N.D. Fla)
On July 7, a federal court in Florida ordered the Department of Homeland Security to maintain SAVE-database access for Florida, Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio for voter citizenship checks, notwithstanding the June 22 ruling in League of Women Voters v. DHS setting aside changes to the system.
Georgia
Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections v. United States, No. 1:26-cv-02777 (N.D. Ga.)
On July 7, a federal court quashed a Department of Justice subpoena seeking the identities of Fulton County’s 2020 election workers, days after the FBI assigned some 260 analysts to a 2020-election investigation in the county.
Maine
United States v. Bellows, No. 1:25-cv-004468 (D. Me.)
On July 6, the First Circuit Court of Appeals declined to expedite the DOJ’s appeals from the dismissals of its suits seeking unredacted voter registration lists from Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, denying consolidation and entering a standard briefing schedule in each appeal.
Maryland
Taylor v. Maryland State Board of Elections, No. C-02-cv-26-001574 (Cir. Ct. Anne Arundel Cnty.)
On June 25, a state court denied Republican candidates’ request for livestreaming and additional oversight of Maryland’s statewide mail-ballot canvass following a vendor error that prompted the issuance of more than 437,000 replacement ballots. The court found that existing law already provides for public observation and that the challengers were unlikely to prevail.
American Accountability Foundation v. Town of Cheverly, No. C-16-CV-26-004015 (Md. Cir. Ct., Prince George’s Cnty.)
On July 8, the American Center for Law and Justice filed suit on behalf of the American Accountability Foundation to compel the town of Cheverly to produce records of its noncitizen voter registry under the Maryland Public Information Act after AAF’s October 2025 records request went unanswered.
United States v. DeMarinis, No. 1:25-cv-3934 (D. Md.)
On July 14, the DOJ moved to expedite its appeal in the Fourth Circuit from a federal court’s dismissal of its suit seeking Maryland’s complete statewide voter registration list.
Massachusetts
California v. Trump, No. 1:26-cv-11581 (D. Mass.)
On June 25, a federal court blocked key provisions of Executive Order 14399’s mail-voting restrictions in the states’ challenge, following its June 18 ruling that the states had standing to sue.
Michigan
United States v. Benson, No. 1:25-cv-1148 (W.D. Mich.)
On July 8, the DOJ petitioned the full Sixth Circuit to rehear the case en banc after a panel held on June 24 that Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 does not entitle the DOJ to Michigan’s unredacted statewide voter registration file.
Mississippi
Watson v. Republican National Committee, No. 1:24-cv-00025 (S.D. Miss.)
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court held 5-4 that federal election-day statutes do not preempt Mississippi’s law counting mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within five days. The decision leaves intact the receipt-deadline grace periods used in more than a dozen states.
Nebraska
Common Cause v. Evnen, No. D02CI250003301 (Neb. Dist. Ct., Lancaster Cnty.)
On June 26, the state Supreme Court held moot a challenge over the release of state voter data to the federal government, reasoning that federal authorities already possess the records.
Nevada
Republican National Committee v. Aguilar, No. ___ (Nev. 1st Jud. Dist. Ct., Carson City)
On June 29, the Republican National Committee filed suit challenging Nevada’s law allowing citizens born abroad who have never resided in the state to vote, the latest in its multi-state never-resident litigation campaign.
New Hampshire
United States v. New Hampshire, No. 1:25-cv-00371 (D.N.H.)
On June 29, a federal court dismissed the DOJ’s suit seeking the state’s unredacted voter roll. On July 6, the DOJ noticed an appeal to the First Circuit.
New Jersey
Republican National Committee v. New Jersey, No. MER-L-001637-26 (N.J. Super. Ct.)
On July 9, the Republican National Committee, the New Jersey Republican Party, and congressional candidate Michael McGuire filed suit challenging the ability of non-resident citizens born abroad to vote in state elections. This litigation joins a litany of similar suits filed by the RNC challenging never-resident voter provisions.
New Mexico
United States v. Oliver, No. 1:25-cv-01193 (D.N.M.)
On July 14, a federal court dismissed the DOJ’s suit seeking the state’s unredacted voter file.
New York
United States v. Board of Elections of the State of New York, No. 1:25-cv-1338 (N.D.N.Y.)
On July 10, a federal court dismissed the DOJ’s suit seeking New York’s unredacted voter file.
Ohio
National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC, No. 1:22-cv-00639 (S.D. Ohio)
On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-3 that the Federal Election Campaign Act’s limits on coordinated party expenditures violate the First Amendment, overruling Colorado II.
Pennsylvania
Republican National Committee v. Eakin, No. 25-962 (U.S.); Pennsylvania v. Eakin, No. 25-967 (U.S.)
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General to express the government’s views on the petitions asking whether states must count timely received but undated mail ballots—a case that could clarify how deferentially federal courts review state voting rules under Anderson-Burdick.
United States v. Schmidt, No. 2:25-cv-01481-CB (W.D. Pa.)
On June 27, a federal court dismissed the DOJ’s suit seeking the state’s unredacted voter file, concluding that federal law did not entitle DOJ to the requested data.
South Carolina
South Carolina Republican Party v. Bolchoz, No. 3:26-cv-02699 (D.S.C.)
On July 6, the South Carolina Republican Party sued the State Election Commission seeking to close the state’s open primaries, arguing that the state’s open-primary system violates the party’s associational rights by compelling it to accept non-members in the process that selects its nominees.
Virginia
United States v. Koski, No. 3:26-cv-42 (E.D. Va.)
On July 14, a federal court dismissed with prejudice the DOJ’s suit seeking Virginia’s complete statewide voter registration list.
West Virginia
United States v. Warner, No. 2:26-cv-00156 (S.D. W. Va.)
On July 13, a federal court dismissed the DOJ’s suit seeking West Virginia’s unredacted voter file.
Wisconsin
United States v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, No. 3:25-cv-01036 (W.D. Wis.)
On June 26, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to expedite the DOJ’s appeal of the dismissal of its Wisconsin voter-roll suit.
Wisconsin Voter Alliance v. Secord, No. 2022CV443 (Wis. Cir. Ct., Walworth Cnty.)
On July 7, the state Supreme Court denied access to records of voters adjudicated incompetent to vote. The court held that Notices of Voting Eligibility identifying people whom courts have found incompetent to vote are exempt from disclosure under the state public-records law. The Wisconsin Voter Alliance sought the forms to compare the names against the statewide voter-registration list, but the court concluded that they are records pertinent to guardianship incompetency findings and therefore confidential under state law.
On July 16, President Trump is scheduled to deliver a primetime address concerning election integrity and voting machines.
President Trump fired Election Assistance Commission members Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, while Christy McCormick resigned, leaving the agency with no commissioners and unable to take official commission action. Replacement commissioners require Senate confirmation, and no more than two may belong to the same political party.
The Department of Justice sent letters to election officials in more than a dozen states warning they could face criminal prosecution if noncitizens vote. The DOJ separately planned election monitors for Lansing, East Lansing, and Detroit.
On July 15, the Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration convened a hearing titled “Election Observation: Best Practices and Congress’s Role.”
The Trump administration moved to condition portions of state antiterrorism grant funding on adoption of specified voting changes, formalizing a Homeland Security proposal. House Democrats pressed DHS over the plan.
House conservatives forced an early recess over the Senate’s refusal to take up the SAVE America Act, and Speaker Johnson announced plans to attach the bill to the annual defense authorization.
The Supreme Court’s election rulings this term are reshaping the midterm landscape, legal experts say. USGI’s President Justin Riemer is quoted in the story.
Hans von Spakovsky hails NRSC v. FEC in the Washington Examiner as a First Amendment victory that restores political parties’ ability to coordinate spending with their own candidates.
Former FEC Chairman Trey Trainor writes that NRSC v. FEC corrects a decades-old error, arguing the coordination limits pushed money from transparent party committees toward Super PACs and that more party spending means more disclosure and accountability.
Zack Smith of The Heritage Foundation argues that the Watson v. RNC majority misread the Election Day statutes.
Nevada election attorney Brittany Walker Hausle argues that after Watson v. RNC the debate over Nevada’s four-day post-election ballot receipt window under AB 321 belongs to the Legislature, and that candidates should say where they stand on ballot deadlines before November.
Derek Muller argues in the Washington Post that voter identification requirements can advance without the SAVE America Act’s documentary proof-of-citizenship provisions.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board argues the reaction to President Trump’s removal of the Election Assistance Commission’s members is overwrought and urges Democrats to embrace decentralized election administration.
The MIT Election Data and Science Lab examined how its Elections Performance Index measures mail-ballot administration across widely divergent state rules, drawing on the 2024 EAVS report.
Aaron Blacksberg of the Institute for Responsive Government published a backgrounder on what the Election Assistance Commission can and cannot do with no sitting commissioners:
Jennifer Morrell launched an Election Operations Brief series on election administration practice.
A Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement study finds that the most distrustful voters are more than 15% more likely to say they trust the election process when told that veterans and military family members serve as election workers.
The Public Policy Institute of California interviewed the Yolo County registrar, who leads the state association of election officials, on why California’s ballot processing and certification take time.
A Bipartisan Policy Center analysis documents election offices’ accelerating adoption of .gov websites.
The organizers of the annual Election Law Conference invited paper abstracts for the third annual conference, to be held February 26-27, 2027, at the USC Gould School of Law. Papers may address any topic in election law or the law of democracy. Abstracts of up to 500 words are due to Travis Crum by September 4, 2026.
The Grant Institute has potential openings for junior level attorneys and others interested in the study of election administration and voting issues. Interested candidates should please email their resume to info@grantdemocracy.org.