[EL] ELB News and Commentary 11/7/12

Wed Nov 7 07:50:33 PST 2012

    Thank You <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43715>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:49 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43715> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This has been probably the busiest season yet for the Election Law Blog, 
as issues related to the voting wars 
<http://www.amazon.com/Voting-Wars-Florida-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300182031/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1329286945&sr=1-2-catcorr> 
seemed to have hit the public consciousness in a way they never did 
before.  Add into that the new campaign finance regime and 
hyper-polarization and the rise of litigation--there's been a lot to cover.

I appreciate that you've taken the time to visit this site, and thanks 
especially to those of you who emailed me tips, criticisms, and 
suggestions---you've helped to make this a more accurate and fairer 
place to get information about election law.

The election is over, though there could well be some recounts.  I'll be 
turning my attention to issues related to the expected Supreme Court 
case over the constitutionality of the voting rights act, the continuing 
deregulation of campaign finance, attempts to fix our broken election 
system, the role of political polarization in Congress and the courts, 
and other issues that often take place below the radar but that have 
profound implications for the nature of our democracy and representation.

Thank you for reading.

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    "Montana Senate, governor races still too close to call"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43712>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:39 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43712> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports 
<http://missoulian.com/news/local/montana-senate-governor-races-still-too-close-to-call/article_a5841dc0-28e6-11e2-83b5-001a4bcf887a.html>.

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    "Voter Fraud In District 23 Congressional Race?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43709>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:37 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43709> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Keep your eye 
<http://www.foxsanantonio.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/vid_12716.shtml> 
on this important Texas district---tied up in voting 
rights/redistricting challenges.

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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

    Allen West Race to Recount? <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43704>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:32 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43704> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Could be <http://atr.rollcall.com/allen-west-may-fall-short/>, though it 
is too early to tell.  What else may go into overtime?

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Posted in recounts <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=50> | Comments Off

    Let's Declare Florida an Election Disaster Area and Bring in the
    Feds <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43702>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:30 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43702> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

It is worth pointing out how close we've come again to another 
meltdown.  CNN still has not called the race, though it is likely to be 
called soon for Obama.  (If so, Florida will be the only state I missed 
in my electoral college predictions <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43150>.)

Think of all the problems in Florida: the on, again off again in-person 
absentee balloting in Miami Dade, put in place by local election 
officials against the wishes of the mayor to get around the cutbacks on 
early voting by the governor and legislature; the multiple ballot snafus 
in Palm Beach County; long lines in cites throughout the state; major 
problems in handling some absentee ballots; election officials in one 
county telling people that they could vote through the end of the day 
Wednesday.

Let's declare Florida an election disaster area and bring in the feds.

UPDATE: Marc Caputo 
<http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/11/obama-turnout-machine-smashes-the-tea-party-china-in-florida-.html>:

    Republican Gov. Rick Scott, largely absent from the campaign trail,
    was highly unpopular before the election and will probably be even
    more so after it. His decision to sign an election law that cracked
    down on early voting was a major sore spot with tens of thousands of
    people who had to wait in seven-hour-long lines just to cast ballots.

    The wait times were exacerbated by another aspect of Scott's
    election law: A provision requiring that all proposed constitutional
    amendments be printed in full. It slowed voters down when they
    filled out their ballots and when they had to jam the multiple pages
    --- at least five sheets --- into the machines. Some machines
    malfunctioned under all the pressure, causing lines to back-up even
    on election night.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "Thousands of voting problem reports fielded across country"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43700>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:25 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43700> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Gannett reports 
<http://www.freep.com/article/20121107/NEWS07/311070087/-1/7daysarchives/Thousands-voting-problem-reports-fielded-across-country>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> | 
Comments Off

    "'We Have to Fix That': Will Long Lines Be the Next Major Focus for
    Election Reform?" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43698>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:23 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43698> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Doug Chapin's thoughts 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2012/11/we_have_to_fix_that_will_long.php>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "By the way, we need to fix that" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43696>

Posted on November 7, 2012 7:22 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=43696> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ned Foley's 
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=10163>election 
wrap-up thoughts.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | 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
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org
Now available: The Voting Wars: http://amzn.to/y22ZTv

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