Rick Hasen
Election-law and campaign-finance scholar at the UCLA School of Law.
Rick Hasen argues that federal law leaves voter-list upkeep to the states, with the National Voter Registration Act setting the rules for removals. That reading is now before the Supreme Court, where the federal government backed the Republican National Committee on 16 October 2026.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
Timeline for Rick Hasen
Mentioned in: Judge voids DOJ's SAVE voter-roll policy
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: DOJ loses again on state voter files
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Colorado shuts last Democratic map route
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Court keeps late mail ballots counting
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Shadow docket shields Alabama map for 2026
US Midterms 2026Background
Rick Hasen's reading of voter-roll law frames the 2026 fights over who may strike names from state lists. He argues that federal law leaves list upkeep to the states, with the National Voter Registration Act setting the rules for removals. The Justice Department had lost seventeen voter-file suits by 23 July, and on 9 October a federal judge ruled its SAVE voter-roll programme unlawful.
Hasen joined UCLA School of Law in 2022 after teaching at UC Irvine from 2011. He writes on election law and campaign finance and founded the Election Law Blog. His books include The Voting Wars (2012), Plutocrats United (2016), Election Meltdown (2020), Cheap Speech (2022) and A Real Right to Vote (2024).
His work matters now because the Act's freeze on systematic removals in the 90 days before a federal election is before the Supreme Court. How strictly the justices read it will decide how close to polling day states may purge suspected non-citizens.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.