[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/3/12
Justin Levitt
levittj at lls.edu
Tue Jul 3 00:14:51 PDT 2012
"Politicians Condemn Voting Rights For INEC Officials"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36433>
Posted on July 3, 2012 12:13 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36433> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
Putting the Voting Wars
<http://www.amazon.com/The-Voting-Wars-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300182031>
in perspective. Here, there's a debate over whether sitting election
administrators should have leadership responsibilities in partisan
campaigns. In Nigeria, the fight is apparently about whether election
officials should be voting at all
<http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/28724/2012/07/02/politicians_condemn_voting_rights_inec_officials.html>.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off |
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"Fla. Election Law Draws New Legal Challenge"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36430>
Posted on July 3, 2012 12:09 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36430> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
Naturally. The latest in Florida
<http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/02/2878845/fla-election-law-draws-new-legal.html>
(which is up to six current lawsuits relating to election
administration, by my count) is a request for an administrative
determination
<http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/2012-06-29-UniformityPetition.pdf> that
proceeding with Florida's new omnibus voting law in 62 counties, while
applying the pre-law rules in the 5 counties where some portions of the
law are still awaiting preclearance, violates the state's requirement of
uniform voting procedures.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
legislation and legislatures <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27> |
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Very Interesting Vermont Campaign Finance Ruling
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36428>
Posted on July 3, 2012 12:01 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36428> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
Another interesting campaign finance case filed by the Right to Life
Committees, and another interesting campaign finance case out of
Vermont. The decision on summary judgment
<http://www.atg.state.vt.us/assets/files/194%20VRLC%20MSJ%20Decision.pdf> denied
the plaintiffs' challenges to the application of Vermont's law. Along
the way, the court offers an intriguing discussion on "major purpose" as
a limit on regulating PACs, at odds with the Fourth and Tenth Circuits.
And an intriguing decision on refusing to find segregated bank accounts
alone (without distinct accounting) sufficient to render an
independent-expenditure entity distinct from a related entity making
contributions, distinguishing the DC Circuit's opinion in /Emily's List/
(and, perhaps, the /Thalheimer/ litigation that Rick is working on in
San Diego).
The case is /Vermont Right to Life Committee v. Sorrell (II)/, No.
2:09-cv-188 (D. Vt.).
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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"Stealthy Super PACs Influenced Primaries Without Disclosing Donors"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36421>
Posted on July 2, 2012 11:42 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36421> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
That's the title of a new Center for Responsive Politics
<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/07/stealthy-super-pacs-influenced-prim.html>
blog post, focused not on the degree of disclosure, but the timing: the
next disclosure round for quarterly-filing federal PACs is July 15.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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Briefing Complete in Suit Over Wording of MN Voter ID Ballot
Question <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36418>
Posted on July 2, 2012 11:30 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36418> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
A hearing is scheduled for July 17
<http://www.startribune.com/local/161112075.html>. The MN Supreme Court
doesn't publish appellate briefs <http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=4648>,
but most of the litigants have published copies themselves. Here are the
petitioners' opening petition
<http://www.aclu-mn.org/index.php/download_file/view/315/293/> and brief
<http://www.aclu-mn.org/index.php/download_file/view/314/293/>, the
legislature's opposition
<http://www.scribd.com/doc/98909066/Brief-Respondents-Intervenor-Minnesota-House-and-Senate>,
and the petitioners' reply <http://t.co/JpD5JSVN>. And here are amicus
briefs from the City of St. Paul
<http://www.docstoc.com/docs/123007209/Voting-Brief-and-Appendix>,
Minnesota Majority
<http://www.protectmyvote.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/MN-Majority-Amicus-Curiae-Brief-1.pdf>,
and Sen. Newman and Rep. Kiffmeyer
<http://www.scribd.com/doc/98909148/Brief-Amici-Curiae-Rep-Kiffmeyer-and-Sen-Newman>;
I'm still looking for some others.
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Posted in voter id <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off |
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"Republican Group Deploys [U.S.] Voter Registration Drive in Israel"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36415>
Posted on July 2, 2012 10:51 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36415> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
And in other news, a timely reminder
<http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ballot-2012/2012/07/02/republican-group-deploys-voter-registration-drive-in-israel>
of the systemic need for private entities fostering voter registration.
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Posted in voter registration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37> |
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More Unfortunate News for the Voter Participation Center
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36412>
Posted on July 2, 2012 10:33 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36412> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
Dona Ana County, NM, is the source of the latest
<http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/news/dona-ana-county-residents-confused-over-voter-regi/nPkcC/>.
There have been no claims of fraud (and from what I can see, no basis
for such claims), but there are substantial questions about the accuracy
of the lists the organization is using to send voter registration forms
to the public. The Voter Participation Center used to be Women's
Voices, Women Vote
<http://www.voterparticipation.org/womens-voices-women-vote/>, which ran
into similar accuracy and execution questions four
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90114863> years
<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/05/13/514828/-BREAKING-WVWV-sows-fresh-confusion-in-WV-and-KY-updateX2>
ago <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=9862>.
I enthusiastically support efforts to help the enormous percentage of
eligible but unregistered citizens get registered, and to help those who
are registered stay registered when they move. It would be great to
update our 19th-century registration system to something a little more
modern
<http://www.brennancenter.org/content/pages/voter_registration_modernization>,
with fewer opportunities for error and confusion all around. In the
meantime, we're stuck with a suboptimal process that systemically
depends on the efforts of civic-minded individuals, alone and in
concert, helping to make sure that democracy works.
That said, too much unchanneled enthusiasm may create problems of its
own. Registration forms sent in by voters who are already registered
create hassles for election officials, and substantially overbroad
efforts, however well-intentioned, will stoke (unwarranted) calls for
clamping down on voter registration across the board. This is a script
we've seen before.
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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter
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"The Current Electoral College is Like the World Series (Which is
Why We Need to Change It)" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36409>
Posted on July 2, 2012 8:22 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36409> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
My prediction: we'll see this FairVote opinion piece
<http://www.fairvote.org/the-current-electoral-college-is-like-the-world-series-which-is-why-we-need-to-change-it#.T_JlapGwUsc>
again, in --- say --- October.
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Posted in electoral college <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44> |
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[NH] "Photo ID Still Has Federal Hurdle"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36403>
Posted on July 2, 2012 10:57 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36403> by
Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
New Hampshire's new voter ID law must still be precleared by the DOJ.
In this report
<http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120701/NEWS0604/707019979>, Garry
Rayno of the Union Leader says: "Nobody believes the DOJ will simply
approve the new law. The department has already found several state
photo identification laws in violation of the Voting Rights Act."
Count me as "nobody." The New Hampshire law differs in significant ways
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36300> from the laws in South Carolina
and Texas that have drawn preclearance objections, and those differences
matter.
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--
Justin Levitt
Associate Professor of Law
Loyola Law School | Los Angeles
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-736-7417
justin.levitt at lls.edu
ssrn.com/author=698321
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