Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts One Ballot After Another
51 snips
Sep 19, 2026 
Election-law scholar Richard Hasen of UCLA breaks down the Supreme Court’s fight over mail-in voting, election threats, and how to stay engaged without catastrophizing. Sam Sankar, Earthjustice’s senior vice president of programs, explores environmental deregulation, climate liability, and major cases involving power-plant emissions and Air Force explosions on Guam’s historic beach.
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The Supreme Court Rejected Election Overreach
- The Supreme Court denied the emergency stay because the government likely lacked merit and the harms to voters were overwhelming.
- Richard Hasen says the merits language suggests at least five justices see limits on presidential election meddling, despite Alito and Thomas’s dissent.
Why Early In-Person Voting Is Safer
- Vote early in person if it is convenient, because officials can often correct rejected ballots at polling places.
- Mail voting remains safe, but signatures, dates, witnesses, and other technical requirements can cause ballots to go uncounted.
Election Chaos Can Be A Demobilization Strategy
- Threats about federal agents at polling places can function as a demobilizing strategy even when officials never carry them out.
- Richard Hasen connects today’s rhetoric to a 1960s tactic of frightening minority voters away from the polls.
