Absentee Ballots, Asylum, and Too Many A**holes to Count

<div>

<p>Leah, Kate, and Melissa preview this week’s arguments at the Court, including <em>Watson v. Republican National Committee</em>, a challenge over when election offices must receive absentee ballots in order for them to be counted. They also cover a flood of legal news, including the quagmire that is the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office, rulings from lower courts both encouraging (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) and grim (the wrong-like-clockwork Fifth Circuit), and the showdown between Senator Rand Paul and Trump’s pick for DHS head, Markwayne “NOSPACES” Mullin.</p><p>Favorite things:</p></div><ul>

<li>

<strong>Kate</strong>: <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/479924/democracy-us-brazil-south-korea-poland-backsliding-resilience">How to stop a dictator</a>, Zack Beauchamp (Vox); <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/podcasts/the-daily/kristie-metcalfe-civil-rights-case.html">The Case of Kristie Metcalfe</a> (NYT’s The Daily); <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/project-hail-mary-a-novel-andy-weir/00f52c9d7f2ed7f2?ean=9780593135204&amp;next=t&amp;next=t%2Ct&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&amp;utm_content=%7Badgroupname%7D&amp;utm_term=dsa-19959388920&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=12440232635&amp;gbraid=0AAAAACfld42Q-9BL7mCKJ5xiKA1buWBdx&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw4PPNBhD8ARIsAMo-icxwU666bn5FcvMLLpOo7_MVB8HCLX-G5h8MqsFQ4iqOz8yaepv6utwaAs89EALw_wcB">Project Hail Mary</a>, Andy Weir</li>

<li>

<strong>Leah</strong>: The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/17/nyregion/judge-quraishi-hearing-transcript.html?unlocked_article_code=1.T1A.77pB.732HlDu0MoEm&amp;smid=bs-share">Epic transcript from NJ</a>; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXGbc_WdwfdoDbcxbRw2-ST9LFC4eYq0E">luck…or something</a>, Hilary Duff (producer Melody’s pick: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9O6QUza2w4&amp;list=PLXGbc_WdwfdoDbcxbRw2-ST9LFC4eYq0E&amp;index=4">Future Tripping</a>; producer Michael’s pick: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSEsZ_7kRE8&amp;list=PLXGbc_WdwfdoDbcxbRw2-ST9LFC4eYq0E&amp;index=6">Adult Size Medium</a>); Her giveaway to celebrate Melissa’s new book (enter <a href="https://forms.gle/QsZKta8zWeM35v7u6">here</a>); </li>

<li><p><strong>Melissa</strong>: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX4H8KVg1X5jq">Love Story Official Playlist</a> (Spotify); <a href="https://www.hulu.com/series/paradise-2b4b8988-50c9-4097-bf93-bc34a99a5b4f">Paradise</a> (Hulu); <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/risk-and-resistance/020BC866D90D0B76DB6E411023CA474A">Risk and Resistance: How Feminists Transformed the Law and Science of AIDS</a>, Aziza Ahmed.</p></li>

</ul><div>

<p>Preorder Melissa’s book, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-constitution-annotated-for-the-contemporary-reader-melissa-murray/8e7f0dfa472fc3ca?ean=9781668221938&amp;next=t&amp;">The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader</a> and enter the giveaway for a t-shirt <a href="https://forms.gle/QsZKta8zWeM35v7u6">HERE</a>.</p><p>Buy Leah's book,<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628"> Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes<br /><br /></a>Follow us on<a href="https://www.instagram.com/strictscrutinypodcast/?hl=en"> Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.threads.net/@strictscrutinypodcast"> Threads</a>, and<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strictscrutiny.bsky.social"> Bluesky</a></p></div>