Short Circuit 347 | Election Law Special

With less than two weeks before America’s general election it’s time for our biennial dive into election law! A whirlwind tour of election decisions from the federal courts of appeals with a wide-ranging look at the legal disputes that arise before (and while) Americans cast their ballots. To guide us through the process we called upon Minnesota (and North Dakota) election law practitioner David Asp. He tells us what it’s like practicing in this “seasonal” specialty and what opportunities there are for attorneys to jump in and get courtroom and appellate experience. Then we dig into a Sixth Circuit case about foreigners and campaign contributions, a Ninth Circuit opinion about voter rolls, a Fifth Circuit decision on ballot collection, back to the Sixth Circuit for a flurry of opinions about RFJ Jr.’s quest to not be on a ballot, and finally to the Minnesota Supreme Court for what the heck “learned in the law” means. But we begin with the question of whether all that much has changed in politics in the last 100+ years.

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OPAWL v. Yost

AZ Alliance v. Mayes

La Union del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott

RFK Jr. v. Secretary of State (MI Ct App)

RFJ Jr. v. Secretary of State (MI Sup Ct)

RFK Jr. v. Benson (6th Cir panel)

RFK Jr. v. Benson (6th Cir en banc)

MacDonald v. Simon

Psmith in the City