Derek Clinger

Breaking: The North Carolina Legislature overrode Gov. Cooper’s veto of SB 382, a controversial power grab tied to hurricane relief. Here’s an explainer from SDRI's @DerekClinger the bill & situating it within similar efforts in NC and beyond: go.wisc.edu/7x7qdf 1/

The @WisLRev issue on public law in the states is live! Great essays by @kateandrias, @oldfatherc, @kmtani, Lisa Washington, @chris_j_walker & @neena_menon_, Hon. Melissa Hart & Jake Mazeitis, Diego Zambrano & @neelguha, and @robyablon & @derekclinger. wlr.law.wisc.edu/volume-2024-no…

People are selling Michigan's "I Voted" werewolf stickers on eBay and several have been sold already. One went for $45!

I talked to an Ohio voter who was quite upset: He says he was tricked by the ballot language & cast a vote opposing redistricting reform, when he intended to back it. The GOP-crafted summary tripped him up. He's not alone: OH groups sounding alarm. NEW: boltsmag.org/ohio-issue-1-g…

Akron-based utility FirstEnergy perpetrated one of the biggest bribery schemes in Ohio history in exchange for a $1B bailout. It also lavished money on then-President Donald Trump and enriched him personally as Trump tried give it a federal bailout. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/10/11/fir…

The campaign against solar benefited from two powerful forces funded by oil and gas interests. A former gas exec worked behind the scenes while the longstanding local paper, now in the hands of a “pink slime” media company, operated more publicly. propublica.org/article/ohio-m…

#NEW: The Utah Supreme Court has affirmed the district court's preliminary injunction, declaring Amendment D void due to the failure to meet constitutional requirements for publication and clarity on the ballot.

Check out this timely new article on election litigation from SDRI’s @RobYablon & @DerekClinger: Purcell Principles for State Courts. It finds that state courts have a more nuanced approach to pre-election remedies than SCOTUS. Forthcoming @WisLRev: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

In a new @StateCourtRpt piece, SDRI's @DerekClinger discusses recent decisions in California, Michigan, and Utah protecting direct democracy rights and how they could serve as models for courts in other states facing similar controversies. @BrennanCenter statecourtreport.org/our-work/analy…

This is a disgraceful decision by the Ohio Supreme Court. The court holds that it's accurate to summarize a ballot measure aimed at STOPPING gerrymandering as a requirement TO gerrymander. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/09/16/ohi…

In a scathing dissent, Justice Jennifer Brunner described the "required to gerrymander" language as "misleading, deceitful, and a fraud upon the voters."

Justice Patrick Fischer wrote a separate concurring opinion explaining his view that the "required to gerrymander" language is accurate because the proposal "mandates bipartisan gerrymandering." However, the ballot language does not say "bipartisan."

New: The Ohio Supreme Court, in a 4-3 party-line vote, just mostly rejected a challenge to the ballot language for the proposed const'l amend. to create an independent redistricting commission in Ohio. The challenge had been brought by backers of the proposal. 1/

BIG pro-democracy ruling out of Utah: A judge just said that the GOP's Amendment D, which would eviscerate the ballot initative process, is void. It'll still appear on the November ballot, but votes for it won't count fox13now.com/news/politics/…

Why would the Natural Law Party want a candidate who withdrew from the race? Future ballot access. Their candidate must receive a minimum number of votes or else the party is disqualified under state law and they would have to re-petition the state to form a new party.

Interestingly, the political party that nominated Kennedy in Michigan, the Natural Law Party, opposed Kennedy's request to have his name removed. They said that Kennedy's decision to withdraw several months after the party nominated him left them unable to field a new candidate.

The Michigan Supreme Court just ruled that Robert Kennedy, Jr. will remain on the ballot in Michigan. The court ruled that Kennedy failed to identify any source of law that required his name to be removed from the ballot after he withdrew. Opinion: courts.michigan.gov/4a58a0/siteass…

#ELB: Must read: “Trump threatens lawyers, donors and election officials with prison for ‘unscrupulous behavior'” (Why Is This Not Getting More Coverage?) electionlawblog.org/?p=145586

A convicted Ohio politician is pushing to enshrine a First Amendment right to accept bribes. Here’s what to know about his long-shot appeal: bit.ly/3Z5etzX