U.S. Elections Under Pressure from White House

Nate Persily joins Pam Karlan to discuss efforts to change the rules governing the 2026 elections and the legal battles over how those changes would affect voting. ---As the push to build more infrastructure gains attention, so does debate over the role of environmental protections and public participation. How can communities have a voice in development while still allowing needed projects to move forward?As the 2026 elections approach, questions about how Americans vote are increasingly becoming questions for the courts. Disputes over redistricting, mail-in voting, and how elections are run are raising broader questions about tensions between states and a federal government for control over who sets the rules and when they can be changed. Stanford's Nate Persily, JD ’98, a leading expert on election law, joins Pam Karlan to discuss the legal and constitutional questions surrounding elections. Persily and Karlan discuss Missouri’s effort to redraw its congressional districts in the middle of an election cycle, the current administration’s efforts to change mail voting rules through the U.S. Postal Service, and the Supreme Court’s handling of election disputes. They also look ahead to the 2030 census, including questions about citizenship and who should be counted, and consider the broader consequences when election rules remain unsettled as voting gets underway.Links:Nate Persily >>> Stanford Law School pageConnect:Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast WebsiteStanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn PageRich Ford >>>  Twitter/XPam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School PageDiego Zambrano >>> Stanford Law School PageStanford Law School >>> Twitter/XStanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X(00:00) Introduction(00:01:53) Setting up today's two topics(00:02:21) Missouri's redistricting battle explained(00:03:49) The Supreme Court sides with the Missouri Supreme Court(00:04:42) Two separate Supreme Court interventions(00:06:37) Why this moment is unprecedented(00:08:54) The rise of one-party congressional delegations(00:11:54) Is there a way out?(00:12:47) A preview: the 2030 census fight(00:16:25) Shifting to how Americans actually vote(00:18:00) Trump's executive order on mail voting(00:19:51) The Postal Service's ballot-matching portal(00:21:37) Envelope errors and a scramble before Election Day(00:22:34) Round one at the Supreme Court: too soon to sue(00:24:57) Round two: now it's "too late"(00:26:21) The Postal Service's outsized role in elections(00:27:17) The Purcell principle and last-minute chaos(00:28:01) A fracturing Supreme Court on election law(00:28:54) "Suppression through chaos"(00:30:10) Closing  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.