[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/9/12
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Mon Oct 8 19:17:21 PDT 2012
"Weighing the Effects of an Exit of Centrists"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41312>
Posted on October 8, 2012 6:54 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41312>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/us/politics/pool-of-moderates-in-congress-is-shrinking.html?pagewanted=1&ref=politics>:
"A potent combination of Congressional redistricting, retirements of
fed-up lawmakers and campaign spending by special interests is pushing
out moderate members of both parties, leaving a shrinking corps of
consensus builders."
I discussed how political polarization in Congress is affecting
relations between the Supreme Court and Congress in a forthcoming paper
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2130190> in the
/Southern California Law Review. / The article was the subject of this
Adam Liptak Sidebar column in the NY Times.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/us/politics/supreme-court-gains-power-from-paralysis-of-congress.html>
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Posted in legislation and legislatures
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, political parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off
"How party ID explains Romney's 'surge'"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41309>
Posted on October 8, 2012 6:47 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41309>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Fix reports
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/08/how-party-id-explains-romneys-surge/>.
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> | Comments Off
"In voter registration fraud case, it's not Mickey Mouse you have to
worry about; The biggest worry for Florida election officials isn't
blatant fraud, but accurately re-registering voters"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41306>
Posted on October 8, 2012 6:44 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41306>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Miami Herald reports.
<http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/08/3040961/in-voter-registration-fraud-case.html>
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Posted in chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, The Voting
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter registration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37> | Comments Off
Catherine Fisk on Prop. 32 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41303>
Posted on October 8, 2012 6:39 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41303>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
My UCI Law colleague writes
<http://www.ocregister.com/articles/political-373795-money-payroll.html>
in the OC Register: "Although advertisements for it tout that it is an
even-handed way of decreasing the corrosive effects of money in
politics, in reality Prop. 32 will have one and only one effect: to
decrease political activities of labor unions. It is an unfair and
likely unconstitutional restriction on the political speech of unions
and their members and leaves businesses free to pour money into politics."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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"Colorado county clerks blast Gessler for 'errors and oversights'"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41300>
Posted on October 8, 2012 3:44 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41300>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The /Denver Post/ reports.
<http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21726818/colorado-county-clerks-blast-gessler-errors-and-oversights#ixzz28kVNSIZ9>
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
"In Va., Ex-Rep. Goode May Pose Risk for Romney"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41297>
Posted on October 8, 2012 3:21 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41297>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP reports.
<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/10/08/us/politics/ap-us-virginia-virgil-goode.html?ref=politics>
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Posted in ballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, third parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47> | Comments Off
Great Joan Biskupic Profile of Shelby County and the Voting Rights
Case <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41294>
Posted on October 8, 2012 3:14 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41294>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Somehow i missed this great Reuters piece
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/04/us-usa-court-votingrights-idUSBRE85304M20120604>.
Read it for a profile of the case which will soon be very famous.
Thanks to Rebecca Green for bringing it to my attention during my time
at the great William and Mary law school.
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Posted in Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"What to Do About Vote By Mail" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41289>
Posted on October 8, 2012 3:00 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41289>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Larry Norden of the Brennan Center responds
<http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/what_to_do_about_vote_by_mail/>
to the recent Adam Liptak piece
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/us/politics/as-more-vote-by-mail-faulty-ballots-could-impact-elections.html>
on absentee ballots.
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Posted in absentee ballots <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>,
election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
"Four Ways Ohio and Others Have Toughened Voting Rules"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41287>
Posted on October 8, 2012 2:58 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41287>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
ProPublica reports
<http://www.propublica.org/article/four-ways-ohio-and-others-have-toughened-voting-rules>.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
"Elections" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41284>
Posted on October 8, 2012 2:55 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41284>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Rick Pildes has posted this draft
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2151906>on SSRN
(Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law). Here is the abstract:
This chapter provides a comparative perspective on the legal and
policy issues surrounding the democratic process, particularly the
issues that have come before courts. Over the last generation, we
have witnessed what I have elsewhere called "the
constitutionalization of democratic politics." This work surveys the
ways different democratic systems and their courts have addressed
three dimensions of structuring democracy and elections: (1)
participation issues, including voter identification laws;
citizenship and residency; felon and ex-felon status; mental
capacity; and age; (2) political party issues, including the
legitimacy of restrictions on certain kinds of parties; and (3)
campaign finance issues. The chapter is a contribution to the Oxford
Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law.
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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off
"The Soundness of the Equal Protection Holding in the Ohio Early
Voting Decision" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41281>
Posted on October 8, 2012 12:01 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41281>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Josh Douglas blogs
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=9825>.
I'm much more skeptical. Josh says that the ruling maintains the status
quo. But the status quo, before the initial p.i., was no early voting
these last three days. If Josh means that it maintains the status quo
after the trial court ruled, that's not the status quo we usually focus
on in preliminary injunction cases.
I also have a hard time squaring the equal protection defense here with
a constitutional right to early voting. The court says there isn't one,
yet it doesn't hang its hat really on the different treatment of
military and non-military voters. And the concurring opinion even more
forthrightly ties this to general equity concerns about what will be
happening at the polls given the 2004 and 2008 history of Ohio than the
legal theory advanced in the courts. It looks really ad hoc.
To be clear, I think because of the problems Ohio has had in the past on
Election Day, the extension of early voting made sense. And I think that
the Ohio Legislature contracted early voting (except for military
overseas voters) for partisan reasons. But those facts alone don't seem
to be enough to show an equal protection violation. And the case was
not litigated on the theory endorsed by the concurrence: that Ohio's
sorry history requires the extension of early voting this time around.
That could have been a sound theory, had those facts been proven.
*UPDATE*: Josh Douglas responds:
Thanks to Rick for giving me a chance to respond to his comments
regarding my blog post.
First, by way of clarification, when I stated that the 6th Circuit's
decision "maintains the status quo," I was referring to the status
quo as it existed in Ohio for the 2008 and 2010 elections: early
voting for everyone. The Ohio legislature tried to take away voting
on the last three days before the election for everyone /except/
military voters. Requiring equal early voting opportunities for all
voters reverts back to Ohio's practice in the most recent elections,
with which the local election officials obviously have familiarity.
Second, in response to Rick's comment that "the court did not hang
its hat on the different treatment of military and non-military
voters," I disagree. In fact, the different treatment of military
and non-military voters seems to be the crux of the majority's
analysis. There is a lot of language in the 6th Circuit's opinion
that demonstrates its focus on the equal protection concern. For
example, the court (on page 13) notes that the state "has classified
voters disparately and has burdened their right to vote." "Their" in
that sentence refers one subset of those voters --- non-military
voters --- who the state is classifying disparately. Similarly, the
court says (on page 15) that "Ohio's statutory scheme is not
generally applicable to all voters, nor is the State's justification
sufficiently 'important' to excuse the discriminatory burden it has
placed on some but not all Ohio voters." It is statements like
these, and the accompanying analysis, which suggests that the crux
of the matter was the Equal Protection holding, and not a blanket
recognition of a constitutional right to early voting for all
voters. As my original post on the Election Law @ Moritz blog
indicates, I also think that the key question is which level of
scrutiny to apply, and the state made virtually no argument that it
could win if the court applied the heightened /Anderson/-/Burdick/
test. The state rested its argument on applying rational basis
review. Because the law is not sufficiently tailored to achieve the
state's interests, however, it is unlawful to treat military and
non-military voters differently with respect to early voting
opportunities.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off
"As Nov. 6 nears, Ohio rules still not set"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41278>
Posted on October 8, 2012 11:55 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41278>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The latest
<http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20121008/NEWS/310080019/As-Nov-6-nears-Ohio-rules-still-not-set>
from Ohio.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
provisional ballots <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=67>, The Voting
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off
"California's top-two voting system changes campaigns, but will it
alter governance?" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41275>
Posted on October 8, 2012 11:43 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41275>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Important SacBee report
<http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/08/4890587/californias-top-two-voting-system.html>.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
primaries <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32> | Comments Off
"Introducing The Voter Inclusion Principle: Expanding The Right To
Vote" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41270>
Posted on October 8, 2012 7:51 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41270>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Tova Wang blogs
<http://www.policyshop.net/home/2012/10/7/introducing-the-voter-inclusion-principle-expanding-the-righ.html>.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off
Lisa Gilbert Oped on Campaign Finance Disclosure Through the SEC
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41265>
Posted on October 8, 2012 7:42 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41265>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/10/07/disclosure-corporations-elections-money/1612181/>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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"Are True the Vote's Poll Watching Activities Illegal?"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41262>
Posted on October 8, 2012 7:27 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41262>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Brentin Mock explores
<http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/10/are_true_the_votes_activities_illegal.html>.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
About That Promised "Explosive" Report on Obama Campaign Donations
Coming to "National" Media Today <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41260>
Posted on October 8, 2012 7:26 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41260>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Looks like much ado about nothing
<http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/dubious-donations-peter-schweizer-speaks.php>.
UPDATE: More fromHot Air,
<http://hotair.com/archives/2012/10/08/obama-bundler-tied-to-chinese-government/>
with a supposed China connection. Here was the Obama campaign's
response <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=33935>last time these issues arose.
It is profoundly ironic that these Republican leaning groups are
claiming that there needs to be better disclosure of contributions to
the Obama campaign under $200, while at the same time the Republican
leadership in Congress has opposed even fixing the gaping holes in our
existing campaign finance disclosure laws.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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--
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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