[EL] Pensions as compelled speech

Fri Jul 13 09:50:39 PDT 2012

Professor Sachs' piece for the New York Times is interesting-for decades, campaign finance reformers have tried to pass public financing systems that would compel taxpayers to support political speech with which they do not agree or to which they are indifferent.  Then, compelled speech was good, because it yielded more speech (see Justice Kagan's dissent in Arizona Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett). Yet, all of a sudden, compelled speech is bad because of ... Citizens United<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw> (even though what Professor Sachs describes is not compelled speech because no public pension plan is compelled to invest in any private company).

This proposal thus appears to be yet another attempt to limit First Amendment freedoms under the guise of protecting the First Amendment.

Bill

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 8:51 AM
To: law-election at UCI.edu
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/13/12

"New Voter Registration Laws: Fighting Voter Fraud or Suppressing the Vote?"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36906>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:47 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36906> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The "Presidential Showcase Program"<http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/events/criminal_justice/annual12_voter.doc> at the ABA Criminal Justice Section meeting in Chicago is on this topic, featuring these panelists:

Panelists:

thomas e. perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice - INVITED

alan wilson, Attorney General, State of South Carolina

clarissa martinez DE CASTRO, Director of Immigration and Civic Engagement,  National Council of La Raza

GERALD A. REYNOLDS, Former Chair, United States Civil Rights Commission

Moderator: Ashley l. taylor, jr., Troutman Sanders, Washington, D.C.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter registration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"'Got Voter ID?' State Efforts At Public Education Vary Widely"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36903>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:44 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36903> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TPM reports<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/state_voter_id_education_efforts.php>.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
"Florida leads nation with 10 % of adults not allowed to vote"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36900>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36900> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Tampa Tribune<http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jul/13/1/state-no-1-in-blocking-votes-study-says-ar-430476/>: "Nearly one-fourth of black Florida adults, and one-tenth of the state's total voting-age population, aren't allowed to vote because of the state's prohibition on voting by former felons, the nation's highest rate of disenfranchisement, according to a study by an advocacy group."
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Posted in felon voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66> | Comments Off
California Citizen Commission a Success, on At Least One Measure<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36896>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:13 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36896> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

When Californians considered Proposition 11, establishing the redistricting commission, I was skeptical that the Rube Goldberg-esque machine could actually pass a plan, which could be implemented in time for the 2012 elections, which would not be subject to a major court challenge or referendum.

Well the measure passed, and it survived some court fights.  Now comes news that Republicans who qualified a referendum to reconsider the state Senate lines are urging a no vote<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/07/gop-activists-behind-redistricting-referendum-drop-campaign-plans.html>, admitting (quite candidly) that the main purpose of the referendum was to try to block the lines from being used in the 2012 elections.

Now I look forward to the debate over whether the lines created by the Commission were better or worse than the lines drawn by the California legislature (which has been accused of engaging in both partisan gerrymandering and bipartisan (sweetheart) gerrymandering in the past.  But I do think it is significant that the commission was able to produce lines which actually are being used, without change, in this year's elections.
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Posted in citizen commissions<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=7>, redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off
"Single-member districts offer mixed bag for minorities; Montgomery wants what Prince George's has - a majority-Hispanic district"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36894>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:07 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36894> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

News<http://www.gazette.net/article/20120713/NEWS/707139680/1022/single-member-districts-offer-mixed-bag-for-minorities&template=gazette> from Maryland. In more Maryland redistricting news see this report<http://www.gazette.net/article/20120713/NEWS/707139662/1016/redistricting-petition-drive-meets-signature-goal&template=gazette>, "Redistricting petition drive meets signature goal; Supporters expect legal challenge to congressional map."
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Posted in alternative voting systems<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>, redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, referendum<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=56> | Comments Off
"Democrats Renew Push For DISCLOSE Act"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36891>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36891> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call reports<http://www.rollcall.com/news/Democrats-Renew-Push-For-DISCLOSE-Act-216106-1.html?pos=hftxt>.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
"13 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36889>
Posted on July 13, 2012 8:03 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36889> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ezra Klein column<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/>.
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Posted in legislation and legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, political polarization<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off
"Rove hits big: The birth of a mega-donor"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36886>
Posted on July 13, 2012 7:58 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36886> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico reports<http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=C89FFCF6-12DB-48B2-A97F-372611C8A420>.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
"How Pensions Violate Free Speech"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36883>
Posted on July 13, 2012 7:55 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36883> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Benjamin Sach as written this NYT oped<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/opinion/under-citizens-united-public-employees-are-compelled-to-pay-for-corporate-political-speech.html?_r=1&ref=opinion>, which begins: "A CENTRAL principle of American political life is that everyone gets to choose which candidates to support. The idea that the government could force us to support those we oppose is anathema. But this unacceptable state of affairs is one of the unintended consequences of the Supreme Court's decision in the 2010 Citizens United<http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZS.html> case."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
"Texas Voter ID Clown Show Ends Today"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36880>
Posted on July 13, 2012 7:52 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36880> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Christian Adams<http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/07/12/texas-voter-id-clown-show-ends-today/> on the DC trial for Texas voter id.
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Posted in Department of Justice<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"Pennsylvania Is Key to Republican Vote-Blocking"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36878>
Posted on July 13, 2012 7:51 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36878> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jonathan Alter has written this column<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-12/pennsylvania-is-key-to-republican-vote-blocking.html> for Bloomberg View.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
"Election confusion looms in Florida"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36875>
Posted on July 12, 2012 8:14 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36875> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Howard Simon has written this oped<http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/election-confusion-looms-in-florida/1240010>.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"Feds: Cudahy officials threw away ballots, manipulated two elections"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36872>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:50 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36872> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LA Times<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/cudahy-corruption-election-fraud.html> reports on local election officials opening absentee ballots in advance to decide which ones to count, among other things.
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12> | Comments Off
Texas Voter ID Trial Ending<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36869>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:46 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36869> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

My SA<http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Chief-witness-in-voter-ID-trial-backs-3703522.php>: "Four days of testimony ended Thursday in a federal trial on the legality of a new Texas voter ID law that was rejected by the Justice Department<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Justice+Department%22> under the Voting Rights Act. The case is being watched closely by other states that have recently passed restrictive voter laws. 'It's over. The trial has ended. It's a tough set of issues, it's a tough case,' said U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Rosemary+Collyer%22>, one of three federal judges hearing the case."

More:

Dr. Stephen Ansolabehere<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Stephen+Ansolabehere%22>, a Justice Department witness, testified Thursday that the new ID law would disproportionately impact black and Hispanic voters casting ballots at precinct polling places - the basis of the justice department's pre-clearance denial of the law - but admitted that his conclusion could be flawed.

Ansolabehere, a Harvard University<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Harvard+University%22> professor, said that his analysis of voter registration rolls, driver's license and concealed weapons permit records used to draw his conclusions were not foolproof.

The courtroom erupted in laughter several times as lawyers for Texas said his list of those potentially affected by the law was a gross overestimation and showed that former President George W. Bush<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22George+W.+Bush%22>, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Kay+Bailey+Hutchison%22> and former Sen. Phil Gramm<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news%2Flocal_news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Phil+Gramm%22> were on a list of people that did not have Texas IDs that exactly matched the voting rolls.

"I think it's likely Sen. Hutchison has a photo ID," Ansolabehere admitted
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Posted in Department of Justice<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
"California Redistricting Commission Receives Funding, will Continue Limited Operations"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36866>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:36 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36866> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

RedistrictingOnline.org reports<http://www.redistrictingonline.org/cacrcfundingfound071212.html>.
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Posted in citizen commissions<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=7>, redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off
"Wisconsin: Election Fairness looks to count all paper ballots in recall"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36864>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:35 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36864> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This item<http://recallelections.blogspot.com/2012/07/wisconsin-election-fairness-looks-to.html> appears at the Recall Elections Blog.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, recall elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=11>, voting technology<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40> | Comments Off
Adler on Constitutional Avoidance, the Chief Justice, and Justice Ginsburg<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36861>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:25 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36861> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jonathan Adler:<http://www.volokh.com/2012/07/12/chief-justice-roberts-and-constitutional-avoidance/>

As I noted in this post<http://www.volokh.com/2012/07/09/making-sense-of-chief-justice-roberts-opinion/>, I think the pattern of the Chief Justice's behavior is a product of multiple elements within his jurisprudence. First, I think he genuinely believes in constitutional avoidance as an important principle. He also believes that the Court should strive to bring clarity and concreteness. As a consequence he dislikes splintered holdings. Thus, in NAMUDNO he was willing to adopt a strained reading of the statute on avoidance grounds because other justices were willing to go along. Similarly in FIB, while other justices did not join the portion of his opinion on avoidance, a majority did embrace his conclusion that the mandate could be viewed as a valid exercise of the taxing power. In Citizens United, on the other hand, embracing constitutional avoidance would have required the Chief to adopt a statutory interpretation that was rejected by all eight other justices. Thus, he would have written a controlling opinion based on a premise that every other justice rejected. Yet, according to Jeffrey Toobin's reporting<http://www.volokh.com/2012/05/14/jeffrey-toobin-on-citizens-united/>, he was prepared to go the narrow, avoidance-based route when it appeared other justices would agree.

While Prof. Hasen puzzles over the behavior of the Chief, I think it is the approach to avoidance taken by other justices that is harder to explain. Chief Justice Roberts appears ready to rely on avoidance quite aggressively to avoid invalidating statutes, but not at the expense of fracturing the Court. But what about, say, Justice Ginsburg? She wouldn't join the Chief to adopt a narrow holding in Citizens United that would have saved the statute, at the expense of a holding with which she would have disagreed, but was in NAMUDNO. Is there a theory to explain this?

I agree that if the Chief Justice offered to use the avoidance canon in Citizens United and the liberals refused to go along, that would indeed be puzzling.  But for this reason I am unconvinced that on this point Toobin's description is accurate.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29> | Comments Off
The Anti-Super PAC Super PAC<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36857>
Posted on July 12, 2012 12:52 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36857> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bonus<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/son-of-liberal-financier-george-soros-launches-anti-super-pac-super-pac/2012/07/12/gJQABQlufW_story.html>: from a Soros.

I think my irony meter just broke.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
"Party Strains to Be Heard Now That Its Voice Isn't Nader's"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36854>
Posted on July 12, 2012 12:06 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36854> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/us/politics/jill-stein-green-party-candidate-and-the-chances-of-making-a-difference.html?_r=1&hp> on the Green Party.
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Posted in ballot access<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, third parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47> | Comments Off
"Judges Will Rule on Texas Voter ID"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36851>
Posted on July 12, 2012 10:11 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36851> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call reports<http://www.rollcall.com/issues/58_4/Judges-Will-Rule-on-Texas-Voter-ID-216071-1.html?pos=hln>.
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Posted in Department of Justice<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"Tennessee program to provide photo IDs missing most voters who need it"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36849>
Posted on July 12, 2012 10:11 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36849> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Facing South<http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/07/tennessee-program-to-provide-photo-ids-missing-most-voters-who-need-it.html>:

Critics argued the bill posed an especially big problem for the elderly: A unique Tennessee law allows residents over 60 to get driver's licenses without a picture. According to state records, more than 230,000 Tennessee seniors have such licenses<http://www.wbir.com/news/article/185824/2/Tennessee-voter-ID-law-awaits-effect-on-seniors> - 126,000 of whom are registered to vote - meaning they wouldn't be able to vote with those IDs.

The total number of eligible Tennesse citizens without photo IDs is likely much higher. Voting rights groups like the Brennan Center estimate that up to 10 percent of eligible voters nationally lack photo ID cards<http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/policy_brief_on_voter_identification/>. With nearly 3.9 million registered voters, that would translate to more than 380,000 citizens without the needed photo ID in Tennessee.

But a Facing South public information request to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security revealed that only a fraction of the voters who likely need photo ID cards to vote are getting them.

In an email to Facing South, Jennifer Donnals of the department stated, "As of Monday, July 9 our department had issued 20,923 state IDs for voting purposes to citizens in Tennessee."

That figure would only cover 17 percent of Tennessee seniors who are registered to vote but lack photos on their driver's licenses, potentially leaving as many as 100,000 state citizens aged 60 and up without needed identification to vote.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
"Texas' Road To Victory in Its Decades Long Fight Against Voting Rights"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36847>
Posted on July 12, 2012 9:51 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36847> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

ColorLines reports.<http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/07/texas_vs_the_voting_rights_act_still.html>
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"25% of Romney bundlers hail from finance sector"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36845>
Posted on July 12, 2012 9:50 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36845> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

USA Today reports<http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-07-10/romney-bundlers-finance-sector/56156630/1>.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
"Senate Dems offer new version of DISCLOSE Act to fight Citizens United ruling"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36843>
Posted on July 12, 2012 9:49 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36843> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Hill: <http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/237377-senate-dems-offer-new-version-of-disclose-act-to-fight-citizens-united-ruling> "Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and eight other Senate Democrats proposed new legislation on Tuesday that seeks to counteract the 2010 Citizens United case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot limit political spending by corporations, unions or other groups...The new DISCLOSE Act of 2012, S. 3369<http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/flooraction/jan2012/s3369.pdf>, would not require disclosure until these groups spend $10,000 or more in aggregate, and would also remove other pieces from the 2010 bill in a bid to streamline it and make it easier for companies and other groups to comply."
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
What's the Point?<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36840>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:49 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36840> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Michigan State Supreme Court <http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2012/07/what-the-supreme-court-wants-to-know-in-the-emergency-manager-referendum-case.html> wants to delve into the meaning of "point" and "typeface" in deciding whether to kick referendum<http://sbmblog.typepad.com/files/stand-up.pdf> off ballot for using slightly smaller typeface in heading than prescribed 14 point type.

Looks like a good case to resolve with The Democracy Canon<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1344476>.
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Posted in direct democracy<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=62>, petition signature gathering<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=39>, statutory interpretation<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=21> | Comments Off
"Justice Run Amok: Big Money, Partisanship, and State Judiciaries"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36837>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:44 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36837> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Elizabeth K. Lamphier has written this student note <http://msulawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2011-4_Lamphier.pdf> for the Michigan State Law Review.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, judicial elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19> | Comments Off
"Tandem press briefings"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36835>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:42 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36835> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico<http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/07/the-tricky-legal-line-between-governing-and-campaigning-128701.html>: "President Barack Obama's White House is taking a new approach to straddling the tricky legal line between governing and campaigning: the tandem press briefing. Starting last week, Obama for America traveling press secretary Jen Psaki joined<http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/07/obamas-new-spokesteam-128089.html> White House Press Secretary Jay Carney when he was briefing reporters aboard Air Force One during Obama political trips. So far, there have been three such off-camera gaggles, as the press and White House call them. (Transcripts here,<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/05/press-gaggle-press-secretary-jay-carney-en-route-ohio-7512>  here<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/06/press-gaggle-press-secretary-jay-carney-aboard-air-force-one-7612> and here<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/10/press-gaggle-press-secretary-jay-carney-en-route-cedar-rapids-ia-71012>.) The White House says the arrangement helps comply with a federal law known as the Hatch Act, which prohibits use of taxpayer resources for political purposes and bans staffers from using their official posts to advance the president's reelection prospects. Obama aides say the tandem briefings help keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold, as it were, but not everyone is a fan of the practice."
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20> | Comments Off
"No ID? Initiative sees Limited Response"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36833>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:40 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36833> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Press release<http://www.sos.ms.gov/news_press_release.aspx?id=416>: "Jackson, MS-The Secretary of State's Office's outreach initiative offering assistance to individuals with no acceptable forms of photo voter identification has received limited response in its first two weeks. 'We have inundated the State with outreach initiatives requesting these individuals contact our Office," says Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.  "So far, only seventy-five (75) individuals have contacted our Office, and of those seventy-five (75), only thirty-five (35) had no form of identification.'"
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
Average Vote Time of One Hour in Polling Place of 1,588 Voters?<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36831>
Posted on July 12, 2012 7:37 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36831> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

We can do better<http://www.pewstates.org/research/analysis/waiting-to-vote-in-combined-locks-wisconsin-85899404700>.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> | Comments Off

--

Rick Hasen

Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science

UC Irvine School of Law

401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000

Irvine, CA 92697-8000

949.824.3072 - office

949.824.0495 - fax

rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>

http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html

http://electionlawblog.org

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