[EL] more news 3/7/12

Thu Mar 8 07:39:53 PST 2012

Yes, you are wrong. At least when phrased so tendentiously.

The Republican Commissioners and the lawyers who testified yesterday have urged the FEC to deal with bringing its rules into line with the Citizens United and SpeechNow decisions. The Democratic Commissioners have sought a much broader rule making that would go beyond anything required by Citizens United. The clearly stated goal of the Democratic Commissioners (and the regulatory community) is to hold up bringing Citizens United rules to the table unless accompanied by new, restrictive regulations not necessitated by the Court decision. And the stated reason for doing that is to deter speech that may no longer be prohibited under Citizens United and SpeechNow.

These more restrictive, non-Citizens United rules may be beneficial, and they may arguably be desirable in light of Citizens United. But they are only arguably desirable, and they may overstep the Commission's authority as granted by Congress and the statute. What is not arguable is that the FEC has many regulations on its books that are directly in opposition to the Court's decision. To delay compliance with a Supreme Court decision because one seeks highly controversial new rules that are not required by the Court decisions would - were the Republican Commissioners taking such action - leave them subject to considerable scorn and derision.

Bradley A. Smith

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault

   Professor of Law

Capital University Law School

303 E. Broad St.

Columbus, OH 43215

614.236.6317

http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx

________________________________
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Rick Hasen [rhasen at law.uci.edu]
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 10:21 AM
To: JBoppjr at aol.com
Cc: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] more news 3/7/12

Am I mistaken in thinking that the FEC has been deadlocked for some time in considering how to implement changes in their rules to take Citizens United into account, and that the Republican commissioners, and the lawyers who testified yesterday, urged the FEC to implement the rules in as deregulatory way as possible given CU?
Just curious,
Rick

On 3/8/2012 6:45 AM, JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com> wrote:
    This is a very curious headline by Rick:

Corporations, Unions Want FEC to LOOSEN Campaign Finance Regs. Further<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31180>

    There are FEC regulations that are based exclusively on 441b that CU struck down with respect to expenditures in connection with  a federal election.  Since FEC regulations must have statutory authority, then any regulations whose sole statutory authority is 441b is invalid and should be repealed.  How is this "loosing campaign finance regs further?"  These regulations are already invalid because of CU. Jim Bopp

In a message dated 3/7/2012 6:03:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu> writes:
Voter ID is Coming to Pennsylvania<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31195>
Posted on March 7, 2012 2:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31195> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

State senate just passed the bill. Details to come.

UPDATE: Details here<http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2012/03/senate-passes-voter-id-bill.html> and here<http://www.postcrescent.com/usatoday/article/38742027?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31195&title=Voter%20ID%20is%20Coming%20to%20Pennsylvania&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
“Black lawmakers’ effort to expand early voting is rejected in Senate”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31192>
Posted on March 7, 2012 1:08 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31192> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Miami Herald reports<http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/03/black-lawmakers-effort-to-expand-early-voting-is-rejected-in-senate.html>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31192&title=%E2%80%9CBlack%20lawmakers%E2%80%99%20effort%20to%20expand%20early%20voting%20is%20rejected%20in%20Senate%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
DOJ Making Section 5 Objections in Two Texas Counties<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31190>
Posted on March 7, 2012 1:07 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31190> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Texas Redistricting has the details<http://txredistricting.org/post/18839744901/doj-objects-to-galveston-county-redistricting>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31190&title=DOJ%20Making%20Section%205%20Objections%20in%20Two%20Texas%20Counties&description=>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
Paging Dan Lowenstein<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31186>
Posted on March 7, 2012 12:50 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31186> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Lawmaker Accused of Bribing Opponent to Step Aside<http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/03/07/lawmaker_accused_of_bribing_opponent_to_step_aside.html>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31186&title=Paging%20Dan%20Lowenstein&description=>
Posted in bribery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12> | Comments Off
“Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to appeal judge’s ruling to stop state’s voter ID law”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31183>
Posted on March 7, 2012 12:41 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31183> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports<http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120307/APC010401/120307112/Wisconsin-Attorney-General-J-B-Van-Hollen-appeal-voter-ID-ruling-judge?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31183&title=%E2%80%9CWisconsin%20Attorney%20General%20J.B.%20Van%20Hollen%20to%20appeal%20judge%E2%80%99s%20ruling%20to%20stop%20state%E2%80%99s%20voter%20ID%20law%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off
Corporations, Unions Want FEC to LOOSEN Campaign Finance Regs. Further<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31180>
Posted on March 7, 2012 11:37 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31180> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico Influence<http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/0312/politicoinfluence213.html>:

ACTIVISTS URGE FEC ACTION ON CITIZENS UNITED: Conservative and labor groups alike urged the FEC to act swiftly to roll back rules that limit political spending, our own Robin Bravender is reporting live from the FEC’s chambers. The FEC conducted a public hearing Thursday on its plans to officially eliminate the rules that were made obsolete by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, although it has already announced it wouldn’t enforce them.

Conservative attorney Jim Bopp blasted the panel for taking so long to overhaul its rules after the high court threw out restrictions on corporate and labor unions’ spending on political ads. And he urged the panel to think big as it attempts to eliminate its old rules. In the wake of Citizens United, “now, the presumption is freedom,” he said. “That is, corporations and labor unions can do anything they want in terms of influencing a federal election, unless it is subject to a specific statutory provision.” Labor attorney Laurence Gold, representing the AFL-CIO, cautioned the panel against writing new rules to restrict unions’ get-out-the-vote activity beyond what’s required by campaign finance law. “We believe your final rules ought not to be imposing restrictions that aren’t there,” Gold said.

UPDATE: A fuller Politico report is here<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73742.html>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31180&title=Corporations%2C%20Unions%20Want%20FEC%20to%20LOOSEN%20Campaign%20Finance%20Regs.%20Further&description=>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments Off
“Can Caucuses Be Defended?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31178>
Posted on March 7, 2012 11:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31178> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Scott LeMieux weighs in<http://prospect.org/article/can-caucuses-be-defended> on the Hasen<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2012/02/congress_should_kill_the_republican_and_democratic_state_caucuses_and_mandate_primaries_instead_.html>/Bernstein<http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/101404/bernstein-caucuses-primaries> debate.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31178&title=%E2%80%9CCan%20Caucuses%20Be%20Defended%3F%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in political parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, primaries<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32> | Comments Off
“Congratulations Government Employees, You Might Soon Be Able To Run For Office”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31175>
Posted on March 7, 2012 10:47 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31175> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

It’s about time<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/hatch_act_modernization.php> to modernize the Hatch Act in this way.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31175&title=%E2%80%9CCongratulations%20Government%20Employees%2C%20You%20Might%20Soon%20Be%20Able%20To%20Run%20For%20Office%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off
“Wisconsin judge who blocked photo ID law for April 3 vote signed petition to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31172>
Posted on March 7, 2012 10:06 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31172> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports<http://www.htrnews.com/article/20120307/MAN0101/303080036/Update-Judge-who-blocked-photo-ID-law-vote-signed-Walker-recall-petition?odyssey=nav%7Chead>. I find the judge’s signing of the recall petition troubling, even if it is not grounds for recusal in this case. The judge certainly has a right to vote, but this kind of public political activity can undermine confidence in the judiciary’s impartiality.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31172&title=%E2%80%9CWisconsin%20judge%20who%20blocked%20photo%20ID%20law%20for%20April%203%20vote%20signed%20petition%20to%20recall%20Wisconsin%20Gov.%20Scott%20Walker%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in judicial elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>, recall elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=11> | Comments Off
“Trutanich paid for YouTube views of D.A. campaign videos”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31169>
Posted on March 7, 2012 9:34 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31169> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LA Times: <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-new-trutanich-20120304,0,5353416,full.story> “An unlikely Internet sensation has struck it big on YouTube: Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich. Two polished videos promoting his run for district attorney last month show Trutanich driving the gritty streets of Los Angeles telling war stories from his days as a prosecutor: being shot at by a street gang and sending a killer to death row. Within days, the videos amassed 725,000 views on YouTube, with the most popular clip leaping past any campaign video from GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum. A Trutanich news release trumpeted the videos’ popularity as showcasing ‘broad support behind Trutanich’s candidacy from a vast online and grass-roots audience.’ But the campaign statement left out a key detail: It paid for many of those YouTube views. After The Times questioned the video’s view count, Trutanich’s campaign acknowledged that it had hired an online marketing firm to drum up views by aggressively advertising the videos across the Internet. The Los Angeles firm said it was paid to generate 150,000 to 250,000 views but that a huge online audience then followed naturally.”

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31169&title=%E2%80%9CTrutanich%20paid%20for%20YouTube%20views%20of%20D.A.%20campaign%20videos%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, social media and social protests<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58> | Comments Off
“Court’s Map Could Push New York Legislature to Act”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31166>
Posted on March 7, 2012 9:25 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31166> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call:<http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_105/Court_Map_Could_Push_New_York_Legislature_to_Act-212921-1.html>“A federal judge unexpectedly tightened the redistricting vice on the deadlocked New York state Legislature this week, pushing the body to come up with a compromise or cede the redraw to an apolitical observer. The release of a court-drawn draft map by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann late Monday surprised the Albany political establishment — she wasn’t expected to release a map until next week — and added immense pressure to the Democratic-held Assembly and Republican-held state Senate to draw new Congressional lines.”

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31166&title=%E2%80%9CCourt%E2%80%99s%20Map%20Could%20Push%20New%20York%20Legislature%20to%20Act%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off
Voters Appeal Decision Rejecting Challenge to Senator Lugar’s Indiana Residency<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31162>
Posted on March 7, 2012 8:23 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31162> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See here<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/lugar-press.pdf>.

<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D31162&title=Voters%20Appeal%20Decision%20Rejecting%20Challenge%20to%20Senator%20Lugar%E2%80%99s%20Indiana%20Residency&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, residency<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=38> | 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<http://electionlawblog.org/>

_______________________________________________
Law-election mailing list
Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election

--
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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20120308/4f6121bd/attachment.html>