[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/15/12

Mon Oct 15 08:56:02 PDT 2012

    "The IRS's 'feeble' grip on big political cash"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41691>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:53 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41691> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

/Politico/ 
<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82387.html>reports. 
<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82387.html>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

    The Latest on the Ohio Election Disputes
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41688>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:49 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41688> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The briefing is complete in theOhio early voting case 
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-13/obama-campaign-asks-high-court-to-allow-ohio-early-voting.html> 
before Justice Kagan (and presumably the Supreme Court).   The Court can 
rule at any time, and I expect something this week. Here's a post 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41599>discussing the role of Bush v. Gore 
in the case. I've written a piece on this case which should appear later 
today.  Stay tuned.

We are still waiting to hear if Ohio AG DeWine will go to the Sixth 
Circuit, to the Supreme Court, or give up in the Ohio wrong precinct 
case (subject of my /Slate/ commentary here 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41452>).  This is the case I've called 
the most important of this election season 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41452>.  Stay tuned on this one too.

More on Ohio's voting wars from Jonathan Adler. 
<http://www.volokh.com/2012/10/14/ohios-voting-wars/>

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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

    "Opinion: GOP's voter ID campaign aimed at suppressing
    constitutional rights" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41685>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:39 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41685> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Juan Williams has written this opinion piece 
<http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/261945-opinion-gops-voter-id-campaign-aimed-at-suppressing-constitutional-rights>for 
/The Hill./

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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | 
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    "True the Vote's True Agenda" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41682>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:31 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41682> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Part II <http://prospect.org/article/true-votes-true-agenda> of 
/American Prospect/'s must-read report.

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Posted in chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, The Voting 
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    Arlen Specter, RIP <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41679>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:28 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41679> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The NYT 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/politics/arlen-specter-senator-dies-at-82.html?ref=politics> 
has an obituary of Senator Specter.  I had the pleasure to meet him 
once, when I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he 
was chairing, about the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting 
Rights Act as it came up for renewal in 2006. Other Republicans did not 
trust Specter as chair of the committee, believing he was too moderate 
(Specter later became a Democrat at the end of his career, after losing 
in the primary to Toomey.)  To keep his chairmanship, he had to hire a 
very conservative Judiciary staff, which he did.

I interacted with that staff as I and other liberal law professors were 
called by the committee to raise concerns about section 5?s 
constitutionality. It was awkward to say the least, but Sen. Specter was 
welcoming and put everyone at ease.

My position was that the Supreme Court's federalism jurisprudence was 
wrong, but under that jurisprudence there was a significant risk that 
section 5 would be struck down. (That risk may soon materialize in the 
Shelby County case.) Of all the questions I received from that 
committee, it was clear that only Specter was grappling with the 
constitutional issues.  The other Republicans were convinced section 5 
was unconstitutional; the Democrats were convinced it was 
constitutional.  Specter was always searching for the truth, without 
grandstanding. He went his own way.  He spoke his mind.  We need more of 
that in the Senate today.

Rest in peace.

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

    "Koch relentless in pursuing his goals"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41676>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:19 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41676> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

McClatchy 
<http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/15/4911909/koch-relentless-in-pursuing-his.html> 
sits down with Charles and Liz Koch. Fascinating:

    I'm so hopeful that there will be something, SOMETHING in the world
    out there besides 'Evil Koch Brothers,' " Liz Koch said. "Jesus H.,
    I'm sick of it."

    The family now lives night and day with bodyguards.

    "We get a lot of death threats," said Charles Koch, 76. "We get
    threats to fire-bomb our facilities. We get attacks by 'Anonymous,'
    trying to break in, destroy our communications, computer systems --
    cyberattacks."

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "Supreme Court to take up Arizona voter registration"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41673>

Posted on October 15, 2012 8:16 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41673> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Reuters 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/us-usa-court-arizona-vote-idUSBRE89E0UU20121015?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28Reuters+Politics+News%29>: 
"The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Arizona may 
demand that voters show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in 
federal elections."  More info from SCOTUSBlog 
<http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/10/court-to-rule-on-az-voting-law/>.

The Court granted only the portion of the case involving the meaning of 
the Elections Clause.  Here's what I wrote 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=33081>in April about the 9th Circuit en 
banc decision on this issue:

    1. The ruling on the registration provision is very important. 
    Arizona can continue to use a form for voter registration which
    requires proof of citizenship. But as to registering in federal
    elections, Arizona must accept the "federal form" (promulgated by
    the EAC) which does not require proof of citizenship. Congress has
    the power to make Arizona accept this form under the Elections
    Clause of the Constitution.  This means that voter registration
    drives in Arizona (which may be key toDemocrats' plans for the
    November election
    <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/us/politics/obama-campaign-turns-attention-on-arizona.html?ref=politics>)
    may use the federal form. (Barring, of course, any further action in
    this case in the Supreme Court.)

Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSBlog notes an interesting procedural twist about 
the case:

    The grant of review was a bit of a surprise, since the Court on the
    last day of last Term had denied a stay application, over the lone
    dissent of Justices Samuel A. Alito, Jr.   That denial assured that
    the citizenship mandate would not be imposed for the November 6
    election, but it did not settle whether the Court would grant
    review. That is what happened with the order Monday morning.  The
    case probably will be argued in February, with a decision by the end
    of the Term in late June.

This is the only election law case now currently on the Supreme Court 
docket, but more are probably coming: Shelby County (on the 
constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act); Texas's appeal 
of the denial of preclearance in its voter i.d. and redistricting cases; 
cases challenging corporate contributions to candidates and aggregate 
limits on campaign contributions; and one or two cases involving current 
election disputes out of Ohio.  Stay tuned.

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Posted in Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29> | Comments Off

    "Two More 'Big-Little' for Election Officials in Ohio Provisional
    Ballots Case" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41670>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:58 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41670> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A ChapinBlog 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2012/10/two_more_big_little_issues_in.php>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
provisional ballots <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=67> | Comments Off

    "Spoiler Alert! G.O.P. Fighting Libertarian's Spot on the Ballot"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41667>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:56 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41667> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Front-page NYT report 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/politics/gary-johnson-the-libertarian-partys-presidential-nominee-worries-republicans.html?ref=politics>well 
worth reading.

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Posted in ballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, third 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47> | Comments Off

    "Secret Political Cash Moves Through Nonprofit Daisy Chain"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41664>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:38 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41664> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Absolute must-read 
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-15/secret-political-cash-moves-through-nonprofit-daisy-chain.html?alcmpid=politics> 
from Bloomberg.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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    "The Mind of the Judicial Voter" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41660>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:35 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41660> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jordan Singer has posted this draft 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1937742> on SSRN 
(Michigan State Law Review).  Here is the abstract:

    Scholarship on judicial elections has all but neglected the primary
    actors in the drama: the voters themselves. All too frequently, the
    electorate's role in choosing its judges is relegated to secondary
    status, and the specific question of how citizens decide to cast
    their vote in judicial elections is almost totally ignored. But the
    question is important, and the answer may be surprising. Drawing
    from decades of research by social scientists and case studies of
    recent high-salience judicial elections in Iowa and Wisconsin, this
    Article argues that judicial voters are motivated first and foremost
    by considerations of procedural fairness, not policy preferences or
    expected case outcomes. The Article then assesses the consequences
    of this finding for both contestable judicial elections and
    retention elections, concluding that retention elections are better
    able to provide voters with the information they value most.

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Posted in judicial elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19> | 
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    If Prop. 34 Passes in CA, It Will Moot 2 of 3 Cases the Day after
    the Election on CA Supreme Court Calendar
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41657>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:33 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41657> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Interesting possibilities 
<http://www.atthelectern.com/a-light-november-calendar-with-a-chance-to-get-even-lighter-depending-on-the-election-results/>.  
The polling is pretty close 
<http://field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2429.pdf>.

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

    Lots of New Election Law Entries Over at the "History Commons"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41654>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:29 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41654> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Check it out 
<http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=civilliberties&civilliberties_us_elections__voting__finance>.

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

    "Connecticut Dem Jokes About Corruption"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41651>

Posted on October 15, 2012 7:26 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41651> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This video 
<http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/connecticut-dem-jokes-about-corruption_654445.html>appears 
at /The Weekly Standard./

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

    "Online voter registration helps bulk up voter rolls"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41648>

Posted on October 14, 2012 4:43 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41648> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

USA Today reports. 
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2012/10/14/online-voter-registration-catches-on/1625321/>

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting technology 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40> | Comments Off

    "Why Supreme Court Nonpartisanship Is Important in the Ohio Early
    Voting Lawsuit" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41645>

Posted on October 14, 2012 4:40 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=41645> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ned Foley 
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=9867>: 
"/This comment builds on my earlier one 
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/comments/index.php?ID=9855> on the 
need for nonpartisanship in the Supreme Court's decision in this case 
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/ObamaForAmericaVHusted.php>./"

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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

-- 
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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