Richard L. Hasen
Professor of Law and Political Science, University of California, Irvine
Areas of Expertise:
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About Richard
Hasen is a nationally recognized expert in election law and campaign finance regulation, and is co-author of a leading casebook on election law. From 2001-2010, he served (with Dan Lowenstein) as founding co-editor of the quarterly peer-reviewed publication, Election Law Journal. He is the author of more than 80 articles on election law issues, published in numerous journals including the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review and Supreme Court Review. Hasen also writes the often-quoted Election Law Blog. He was elected to the American Law Institute in 2009, and he was named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by The National Law Journal in 2013.
Contributions
Why 2014 Will be a Pivotal Year for Judicial Decisions about Voting Rights
Basic Facts Brief,
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
Opinion: "Republicans Aren’t Done Messing With Elections," Richard L. Hasen, The New York Times, April 23, 2021.
Quoted by Grace Toohey in "About Three-Quarters of American Voters Can Cast Ballots by Mail This November, Despite President Trump's Objections," The Orlando Sentinel, August 13, 2020.
Opinion: "All the Mistakes Mueller Made in Declining to Prosecute Donald Trump Jr.," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, April 18, 2019.
Research discussed by , in "Explainer: What Legal Risks Does Cohen's Testimony Pose to Trump?," Reuters,
Interviewed in "Trump Says His Son's Meeting With Russians Was 'Totally Legal.' But Was It?," Here&Now, August 6, 2018.
Interviewed in "How Justice Kennedy's Successor Could Play A Role In Voting Rights LISTEN· 3:56," NPR, July 3, 2018.
Quoted by Sam Levine in "Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement Is A Bad Sign For Fixing Gerrymandering," Huffington Post, June 28, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court's Swing Justice, Announces his Retirement," ABA Journal, June 27, 2018.
Opinion: "Suppression of Minority Voting Rights Is About to Get Way Worse," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, June 25, 2018.
Quoted by Nina Totenberg in "Supreme Court Upholds Controversial Ohio Voter-Purge Law LISTEN· 4:30," NPR, June 11, 2018.
Quoted by Priscella Vega in "Is Huntington Beach’s Attempt to Stop a Petition Proposing a Local Gun Ban Premature or Prudent? Legal Experts Weigh In," Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2018.
Quoted by Alvin Chang in "How Fox News Has Been Ignoring the Stormy Daniels Story, in 3 Charts," Vox, May 8, 2018.
Quoted by Mark Sherman in "Giuliani Remarks on Hush Money May Have Added to Trump Woes," News-Review, May 4, 2018.
Quoted by Mark Sherman in "Has Giuliani Added Fuel to Fire on Trump Payoff?," Lowell Sun, May 4, 2018.
Quoted by Michelle Ye Hee Lee in "Giuliani Said the Stormy Daniels Payment was Legal. Here’s What Campaign Finance Experts Said.," The Washington Post, May 3, 2018.
Interviewed in "Looking Back at Scalia’s Controversial 'Long Game'," The National Law Journal, April 30, 2018.
Quoted by Sam Levine in "Federal Appeals Court Gives Thumbs-Up to Revised Texas Voter ID Law," Huffington Post, April 27, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "The Scalia Problem: It Wasn’t Originalism or Textualism -- It was Trumpism," The American Prospect, April 4, 2018.
Quoted by Arianna Poindexter in "Voter Rights Take Center Stage at MLK50 Symposium," WMC Action News 5, April 2, 2018.
Quoted by Debra Cassens Weiss in "Will Supreme Court Issue 'non-opinion' in Partisan Gerrymandering Case?," ABA Journal, March 29, 2018.
Quoted by Jeffrey Rodack in "Scalia Book Author: His Legacy Stronger than Ever," NewsMax, March 28, 2018.
Quoted by Francis Wilkinson in "Trump's Lies Will Keep Failing in Court," Bloomberg, March 22, 2018.
Quoted by Ronald Collins in "Ask the Author: Antonin Scalia – “The Justice of Contradictions”," SCOTUS Blog, March 21, 2018.
Quoted by Celia Llopis-Jepsen in "Federal Judge Expected to Rule in Kansas Voter Registration Lawsuit This Fall," NPR All Things Considered, March 21, 2018.
Quoted by Ken Dilanian in "Payment to Stormy Daniels Could be Election Law Violation, Say Experts," NBC News, March 9, 2018.
Quoted by Andrew Chung in "U.S. Top Court to Mull Rules on What Voters Can Wear to Polls," U.S. News, February 27, 2018.
Quoted by Brent Kendall and Reid J. Epstein in "Pennsylvania Gets a New District Map," The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2018.
Opinion: "Stop Treating Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a.k.a. 'Notorious R.B.G.' — Like a Celebrity," Richard L. Hasen, Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2018.
Quoted by Max Mitchell in "Court Watchers See Pa. GOP's Gerrymandering Appeal as a Long Shot," The Legal Intelligencer, January 29, 2018.
Quoted by Peter Coy and Greg Stohr in "The Supreme Court is Finally Tackling Gerrymandering," Bloomberg Businessweek, January 19, 2018.
Quoted by in "What States Can and Can't Do with Voter Data," National Public Radio, January 9, 2018.
Research discussed by , in "Voting Rights Still Need Your Protection," Yes! Magazine, January 8, 2018.
Quoted by in "The Sudden Demise of Donald Trump's Voter-Fraud Commission," The Economist, January 4, 2018.
Quoted by Rebecca Greenfield and Laura Colby in "Sexual Harassment Explains a Lot about Why Women Get Paid Less," Bloomberg, January 4, 2018.
Quoted by in "Moore Vote Challenge Fails; Jones Certified for Senate," Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 29, 2017.
Quoted by Paula Span in "Older Voters Stymied by Tighter ID Requirements," New York Times, November 24, 2017.
Quoted by Jen Kirby in "Mitch McConnell’s Latest Idea to Redo the Alabama Special Election is Likely Unconstitutional," Vox, November 17, 2017.
Quoted by Robert Barnes in "After Losses on Voting Laws and Districting, Texas Turns to Supreme Court," The Washington Post, August 27, 2017.
Opinion: "Speech in America is Fast, Cheap and Out of Control," Richard L. Hasen, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2017.
Research discussed by , in "How Social Media Helped Organize and Radicalize America's White Supremacists," Pacific Standard, August 15, 2017.
Research discussed by , in "Experts Defend, Oppose Electoral College, Campaign Finance Rules," San Francisco Gate, July 18, 2017.
Opinion: "The Supreme Court is in No Hurry to Protect Voters from Gerrymandering," Richard L. Hasen, The Washington Post, June 28, 2017.
Opinion: "Gorsuch is the New Scalia, Just like Trump Promised," Richard L. Hasen, Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2017.
Opinion: "Supreme Court to Hear WI Gerrymandering Case, Gill v. Whitford, Next Term; No Ruling Yet on Stay Motion," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, June 19, 2017.
Opinion: "Dunlap Badly Mistaken in Agreeing to Serve on Trump Voter Fraud Panel," Richard L. Hasen, Press Herald, May 24, 2017.
Opinion: "The Supreme Court May Just Have Given Voting Rights Activists a Powerful New Tool," Richard L. Hasen, The Washington Post, May 22, 2017.
Quoted by Adam Liptak in "Justices Reject Two Gerrymandered North Carolina Districts, Citing Racial Bias," New York Times, May 22, 2017.
Quoted by Emma Dumain in "After U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Ban on North Carolina Voter ID Laws, What's Next for South Carolina?," Post and Courier, May 15, 2017.
Opinion: "My Thoughts on President Trump’s Executive Order Establishing "Voter Fraud" Commission," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, May 11, 2017.
Opinion: "In the Future, John Roberts Could be the Supreme Court's Swing Vote," Richard L. Hasen, Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2017.
Opinion: "Neil Gorsuch Got Where He is because of a Form of Affirmative Action," Richard L. Hasen, The Washington Post, April 3, 2017.
Guest on St. Louis Public Radio, March 16, 2017.
Quoted by Kerry Eleveld in "Senate Democrats Have No Choice but to Fight like Hell to Block Trump's Supreme Court Pick," Daily Kos, February 2, 2017.
Quoted by Jacob Gershman in "A Post-Election Legal Challenge to the Electoral College," The Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2016.
Guest on KUNC NPR Morning Edition, December 5, 2016.
Quoted by Jeremy Stahl in "James O’Keefe Stalks Van of Voters, Alleges Fraud, is Himself Possibly Breaking Law," Slate, November 8, 2016.
Guest on PBS News Hour, November 3, 2016.
Guest on PBS Newshour, October 17, 2016.
Opinion: "Donald Trump’s Dangerous Vote Rigging Comments Follow Years of Republican Voter Fraud Hysteria," Richard L. Hasen, Talking Points Memo, October 6, 2016.
Opinion: "Hurricane Matthew Could Have Devastating Consequences for the Election," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, October 6, 2016.
Opinion: "Even Trump and Clinton Need Big-Money Donors," Richard L. Hasen, USA Today, August 24, 2016.
Guest on PBS Newshour, August 3, 2016.
Quoted by Jacob Gershman in "DNC Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Alleging Donor Deception," Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2016.
Opinion: "The Real Reason Why Judges Should Keep Quiet about Elections," Richard L. Hasen (with ), Slate, July 19, 2016.
Opinion: "Sanders Calls Clinton's Fundraising 'Obscene,' but It's More Nuanced - Influence Isn't Corruption," Richard L. Hasen, Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2016.
Opinion: "Bernie Sanders Campaign Oddly Accuses Clinton and DNC of Troubling, Perhaps Illegal, Fundraising Practices," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, April 18, 2016.
Quoted by Ron Elving in "Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to 'One Person, One Vote'," Chicago Public Radio, April 4, 2016.
Opinion: "Appoint a Few More Scalias, Kiss Democracy Goodbye," Richard L. Hasen, Reuters, February 22, 2016.
Quoted by Sari Horwitz in "Want to Vote in this State? You Have to Have a Passport or Dig Up a Birth Certificate.," The Washington Post, February 19, 2016.
Opinion: "The Battle over Replacing Justice Scalia is Just the Start of a War over the Supreme Court," Richard L. Hasen, The Washington Post, February 15, 2016.
Opinion: "Justice Scalia’s Death and Implications for the 2016 Election, the Supreme Court and the Nation," Richard L. Hasen, Talking Points Memo, February 13, 2016.
Opinion: "Justice Scalia’s Death and Implications for the 2016 Election, the Supreme Court and the Nation," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, February 13, 2016.
Opinion: "Radically Revise Campaign Laws to Give People, Not Billionaires, a Voice," Richard L. Hasen, New York Times, January 26, 2016.
Quoted by Soumya Karlamangla and David Zahniser in "Appeals Court Overturns Richard Alarcon's Conviction in Residency Case," Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2016.
Opinion: "Money Can’t Buy Jeb Bush the White House, but It Still Skews Politics," Richard L. Hasen, The Washington Post, January 14, 2016.
Opinion: "Why the Most Urgent Civil Rights Cause of Our Time is the Supreme Court Itself," Richard L. Hasen, Talking Points Memo, September 28, 2015.
Opinion: "Congress Has the Power to Improve Elections," Richard L. Hasen, New York Times, August 5, 2015.
Opinion: "This is Why the Voting Rights Act is on Trial in North Carolina," Richard L. Hasen, The Washington Post, July 31, 2015.
Guest on KGOU National Public Radio: Supreme Court Approves Arizona Redistricting Commission, June 29, 2015.
Quoted by Alicia Parlapiano, Adam Liptak, and Jeremy Bowers in "The Roberts Court's Surprising Move Leftward," New York Times, June 23, 2015.
Quoted by Evan Halper in "Hillary Clinton Attacks Republicans over Voting Restrictions," Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2015.
Quoted by Maggie Haberman and Amy Chozick in "Democrats Challenge Voter Restrictions in Battleground States," New York Times, June 3, 2015.
Quoted by in "Justices Get out More, but Calendars Aren’t Open to Just Anyone," New York Times, June 1, 2015.
Opinion: "From Supreme Court, a Mixed Blessing on Campaign Finance Limits," Richard L. Hasen, Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2015.
Quoted by Paul Waldman in "The GOP Presidential Primary: A Brawl of Billionaires?," The Washington Post, April 23, 2015.
Quoted by Alan Rappeport in "Bush Laughs about His ‘Hispanic’ Registration; Democrats Do Not," New York Times, April 7, 2015.
Quoted by Evan Halper in "Presidential Candidates-to-Be Make the Most of Fundraising Rule-Bending," Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2015.
Quoted by Robert Barnes and Mark Berman in "High Court Won't Weigh Wisconsin Voter ID Law," Houston Chronicle, March 24, 2015.
Quoted by Liam Dillon in "Inside the Mayor’s Nonprofit That’s Not Really the Mayor’s Nonprofit," Voice of San Diego, March 23, 2015.
Quoted by Jennifer Haberkorn and Jsoh Gerstein in "ObamaCare Case: All Eyes on 2 Justices," Politico, March 3, 2015.
Quoted by Melanie Mason in "California Lawmaker Seeks Tax on Independent Political Spending," Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2015.
Quoted by Daniel Strauss in "Dems Warn They Can't Counter the Koch Brothers' $1 Billion in 2016," Talking Points Memo, January 27, 2015.
Quoted by Fredreka Schouten in "Activists Press Obama to Curb Secret Political Spending," USA Today, January 21, 2015.
Quoted by Adam Liptak in "Scalia Lands at Top of Sarcasm Index of Justices. Shocking.," New York Times, January 20, 2015.
Quoted by Trip Gabriel and Manny Fernandez in "Voter ID Laws Scrutinized for Impact on Midterms," New York Times, November 18, 2014.
Opinion: "Clues to Chief Justice Roberts' Thinking on New ObamaCare Case," Richard L. Hasen, Twin Cities, November 15, 2014.
Guest on Texas Public Radio, November 14, 2014.
Quoted by Nina Totenberg in "Supreme Court Case Seeks Source of Alabama Gerrymandering," WBUR National Public Radio, November 12, 2014.
Opinion: "What to Expect When You’re Electing: Here’s What I’ll be Watching for Tuesday," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, November 4, 2014.
Quoted by Ashly McGlone in "Candidate Halts Sandwich Offer for Voters," San Diego Union-Tribune, November 4, 2014.
Quoted by Melanie Mason in "GOP Puts Millions toward Independent Spending in Legislative Races," Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2014.
Opinion: "To Guarantee Voting Rights, Enforce the Laws We Have," Richard L. Hasen, New York Times, November 3, 2014.
Opinion: "Dawn Patrol: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Critically Important 5 a.m. Wake-Up Call on Voting Rights," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, October 19, 2014.
Opinion: "Since We Can’t Count on the Court to Control Money in Politics, We Need Congress to Act," Richard L. Hasen, New York Times, October 13, 2014.
Opinion: "Just Politics: Just Because Politics Can be Ugly Doesn't Make It a Crime," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, August 18, 2014.
Opinion: "What’s Next for McDaniel after Apparent Loss but No Concession in #MSSEN Race? The Courts?," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, June 24, 2014.
Opinion: "Conservative “Election Observers” in Mississippi May be Meant to Intimidate Democratic Voters in Cochran-McDaniel Race," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, June 22, 2014.
Quoted by Ashby Jones in "Legal Experts React to Supreme Court's Campaign-Finance Ruling," Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2014.
Quoted by Steven Yaccino and Lizette Alvarez in "New GOP Bid to Limit Voting in Swing States," New York Times, March 29, 2014.
Research discussed by , in "Holder v. Roberts: The Attorney General Makes Voting Rights the Test Case of His Tenure," The New Yorker, February 17, 2014.
Opinion: "The New Conservative Assault on Early Voting," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, February 10, 2014.
Opinion: "Initial Thoughts on Today's Ruling Striking Down PA's Voter ID Law on State Grounds," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, January 17, 2014.
Opinion: "Eyes on the Courts: 2014 Will be Pivotal for Voting Rights," Richard L. Hasen, Talking Points Memo, January 9, 2014.
Opinion: "No Surprise: Supreme Court Stays Utah Gay Marriage Ruling: What It Means," Richard L. Hasen, Election Law Blog, January 6, 2014.
Opinion: "Holder's Texas-Sized Gambit: Will It Save the Voting Rights Act?," Richard L. Hasen, National Law Journal, August 5, 2013.
Opinion: "Will the GOP's North Carolina End Run Backfire?," Richard L. Hasen, The Daily Beast, July 24, 2013.
Opinion: "Are the Liberal Justices Savvy or Suckers? They are Playing to Beat John Roberts at His Long Game," Richard L. Hasen, Slate, July 1, 2013.
Publications
"Race or Party: How Courts Should Think about Republican Efforts to Make It Harder to Vote in North Carolina and Elsewhere" Harvard Law Review Forum 127 (forthcoming).
Argues that race and party are intertwined in the fight over voting rules take place in state legislatures and courts, and provides tools for courts to consider the constitutionality of restrictive voting rules.
"The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown" (Yale University Press, 2012).
Describes fights over voting rules since 2000, especially fights over voter fraud and voter suppression.