UCI Law Unveils Redesign of the Election Law Blog Led by Election and Politics Expert Rick Hasen
IRVINE, Calif. (June 30, 2021) — The University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law) is delighted to announce the launch of the redesigned Election Law Blog website, led by Rick Hasen, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at UCI Law. The blog now features a cleaner, more contemporary design, and its appealing enhancements provide a much more user friendly experience.
The redesign includes a new interface, look and navigation – it is easier to find content and the website will be housed on a new server. In addition, there are new contributors and more guest content including “ELB Book Corner,” with a variety of voices, featured on the blog.
“The Election Law Blog has grown from a small site that I started in 2003 into the go-to destination for journalists, scholars, law students, and the general public who wish to learn about the most important cases and legislation focused on the future of American democracy,” Hasen said. “Our newest group of contributors adds diversity of voices and content that readers will not want to miss.”
The site was supposed to relaunch July 1, but the relaunch date was moved up so that contributors can comment on the expected Supreme Court decisions on voting rights and donor disclosure expected Thursday morning. Commentary on the site is frequently quoted by major media outlets.
A leading expert on election law, free speech and politics, Prof. Hasen founded the Election Law Blog (ELB) in 2003 to share news and analysis of election law issues. The blog explains the law of politics and the politics of law, election law, campaign finance, legislation, voting rights, initiatives, redistricting, and the Supreme Court nomination process. It also tracks election administration mishaps, financing issues and election snafus.
Before starting the blog, Prof. Hasen had been writing about these topics on an informal basis -- co-founding the Election Law Listserv in 1995 with Professor Daniel Lowenstein, Professor of Law Emeritus at UCLA Law. ELB, however, provided the vehicle to deliver the content to a broader audience. Over the years, ELB has been the go-to source for courts, lawyers, journalists, scholars, and the general public for news and analysis of issues including campaign financing, redistricting, election administration, ballot measures, recall elections, legislation and statutory interpretation, comparative election law, and the rule of law. The ABA Journal named ELB to its “Blawg 100 Hall of Fame” in 2015.
In the early 2010s Prof. Hasen expanded ELB to allow regular contributors, and this year Prof. Hasen revamped ELB and increased the contributor roster to include more of the most important and interesting voices in the field. Guest posts also appear with some frequency. The ELB is filled with an array of content, including: podcasts, commentaries, articles (written by Prof. Hasen or featured contributors), law resources, op-eds, and much more.
More about Rick Hasen
A nationally recognized election law and politics expert, Rick Hasen was an Election Law Analyst on CNN during and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. Earlier that year, he published a book, Election Meltdown (Yale University Press) explaining the reasons for declining public confidence in the integrity of the American election system. He also convened an ad hoc committee made up of a diverse group of leading scholars and thinkers to consider multifaceted solutions to assure the legitimacy and acceptance of the 2020 election results. The Committee issued a report with 14 recommendations in the field of law, media, tech, and politics in April 2020 called: Fair Elections During a Crisis: Urgent Recommendations in Law, Media, Politics and Tech to Advance the Legitimacy of, and the Public’s Confidence in, the November 2020 U.S. Elections. In 2022, Yale University Press will publish his new book, Cheap Speech.
He has co-authored leading casebooks in election law and remedies. In 2013 Hasen was named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal, and his previous books include "The Voting Wars," "Plutocrats United," and "The Justice of Contradictions." His op-eds and commentaries have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, and Slate. Hasen also writes for the often-quoted Election Law Blog. He has appeared on numerous newscasts and television shows, as well as podcasts.
Professor Hasen holds a B.A. degree (with highest honors) from UC Berkeley, and a J.D., M.A., and Ph.D. (Political Science) from UCLA. After law school, Hasen clerked for the Honorable David R. Thompson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then worked as a civil appellate lawyer at the Encino firm Horvitz and Levy
About the University of California, Irvine School of Law
The University of California, Irvine School of Law is a visionary law school that provides an innovative and comprehensive curriculum, prioritizes public service, and demonstrates a commitment to diversity within the legal profession. UCI Law students have completed more than 123,000 hours of pro bono work since 2009. Forty-seven percent of UCI Law’s graduates are students of color. At UCI Law, we are driven to improve our local, national, and global communities by grappling with important issues as scholars, as practitioners, and as teachers who are preparing the next generation of leaders. The collaborative and interdisciplinary community at UCI Law includes extraordinary students, world-renowned faculty, dedicated staff, engaged alumni, and enthusiastic supporters. More information on UCI Law is available here. Please follow us on Twitter @ucilaw and on Facebook @UCIrvineLaw.
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