[EL] WaPa Invites a 3-3 deadlock
JBoppjr at aol.com
JBoppjr at aol.com
Wed Aug 7 04:44:51 PDT 2013
This makes it clear:
_“A Full Commission Should Address FEC Rules Changes”_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53992)
Posted on _August 5, 2013 10:00 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53992)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
WaPo editorializes _here_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-full-commission-should-address-fec-rules-changes/2013/08/02/24f5ce36-fa1b-11e2-9bde-
7ddaa186b751_story.html) .
that the "reformers" really haven't cared about the 3-3 deadlocks, just
that their pet projects didn't pass. Jim Bopp
In a message dated 8/6/2013 12:01:12 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
dtokaji at gmail.com writes:
_Tokaji’s Election Law in a Nutshell, Shipping this Month_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54034)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 8:47 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54034)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
I’m happy to announce the imminent publication of Election Law in a
Nutshell, _coming later this month_
(http://www.westacademic.com/Professors/ProductDetails.aspx?productid=176279&tab=1) from West Academic Press. It’s
designed for use by students with all the casebooks in the field. It will also
be useful to practitioners looking for a succinct summary of the law, and
others with an interest in election law. Here’s the description on West’s
website:
Election law is a dynamic and quickly growing field that has garnered
enormous public interest. It is a subject of great practical importance to
lawyers and law students, with increasing litigation and several important
decisions from the Supreme Court in recent years. This Nutshell provides a
succinct and thorough description of the law governing voting rights,
elections, and the political process in the United States. The topics addressed
include the fundamental right to vote, gerrymandering, minority voting rights,
ballot access, voter identification, recounts, direct democracy, and
campaign finance. The Nutshell covers the constitutional law in these areas,
including rights of free speech and equal protection, as well as the Voting
Rights Act and other essential statutes. It addresses Shelby County v. Holder
and other cases from the 2012-13 Supreme Court Term.
I believe that, casebooks aside, this is the first book summarizing the
law in the field (_at least in the modern era_
(http://books.google.com/books/about/A_treatise_on_the_American_law_of_electi.html?id=cZgRAAAAIAAJ) ).
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54034&title=Tokaji’
s%20Election%20Law%20in%20a%20Nutshell,%20Shipping%20this%20Month&description=)
Posted in _election law biz_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51) |
Comments Off |
_NYC Campaign Finance Board Rejects Public Funding for Mayoral Candidate
John Liu_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54031)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 8:24 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54031)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
The NYT reports on the decision _here_
(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/nyregion/campaign-finance-board-denies-liu-public-funds.html) .
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54031&title=NYC%20Campaign%20Finance%20Board%20Rejects%20Public%20Funding%20for%2
0Mayoral%20Candidate%20John%20Liu&description=)
Posted in _campaign finance_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10) |
Comments Off |
_FairVote Infographics on Fair Representation and Gridlock_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54026)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 8:13 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54026)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
Available _here_
(http://www.fairvote.org/fair-representation-voting-explained#.UgESJF_D-00) .
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54026&title=FairVote%20Infographics%20on%20Fair%20Representation%20and%20Gridlock
&description=)
Posted in _political polarization_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68) |
Comments Off |
_“The Daily Show Sees a Sharknado’s Worth of Voter Suppression”_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54023)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 8:06 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54023)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
_Atlantic Wire_
(http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/08/daily-show-sees-sharknados-worth-voter-suppression/68011/) reports on _John
Oliver’s take_ (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-5-2013/ballotproof)
on post-Shelby voting bills, including one in _North Carolina_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53963) , summarized _here_
(http://www.democracy-nc.org/downloads/MonsterLaw-IDAug2013.pdf) by Democracy North Carolina.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54023&title=“The%20Daily%20Show%20Sees%20a%20Sharknado’
s%20Worth%20of%20Voter%20Suppression”&description=)
Posted in _campaign finance_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10) ,
_election administration_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18) , _voter id_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9) , _voter registration_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37) | Comments Off |
_People Suspected of Being Registered Under False Address to Be “Warned”_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54019)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 7:46 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54019)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
_This story_
(http://www.wvxu.org/post/people-false-voting-addresses-be-warned) from NPR reports on the decision of the elections board in Hamilton
County, OH, where approximately 100 people are reportedly registered at an
address other than their home address. That includes about 30 _police
officers_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53981) believed to have used a police
station as their registration address. That’s _contrary to state law_
(http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201308050522/NEWS/30805001
9&nclick_check=1) , which says that voters must register where they live,
and _makes it a felony_ (http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3599.11) to “knowingly”
file a false registration. The board will reportedly send out letters
warning all of the voters to fix the problem or be dropped from the rolls,
while allowing the officers to have their addresses redacted from public view,
as permitted by state law.
I agree with the board’s decision, which represents a restrained response
to a minor violation of the law. But I wonder if the response would have
been so restrained, if some of the alleged violators weren’t police officers.
Update: Today’s Columbus Dispatch has _this story_
(http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/08/06/officers-voting-address-police-hq.html)
on officers being registered at police headquarters in Franklin County as
well. This story suggests that there’s a double standard, which I find very
troubling.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54019&title=People%20Suspected%20of%20Being%20Registered%20Under%20False%20Addres
s%20to%20Be%20“Warned”&description=)
Posted in _election administration_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18)
| Comments Off |
_The Voting Rights Act is 48 Today_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54016)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 7:33 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54016)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
Happy (?) Birthday. “Can Moral Monday help counteract SCOTUS?,” asks
_this Salon column_
(http://www.salon.com/2013/08/05/reconstruction_3_0_can_moral_monday_help_counteract_scotus/) by Gary May, author of _a book on the VRA
’s history_
(http://www.amazon.com/Bending-Toward-Justice-Transformation-Democracy/dp/0465018467) cited in Justice Ginsburg’s Shelby dissent.
_Huffpost_
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/06/voting-rights-act-anniversary_n_3713053.html) and _the Nation_
(http://www.thenation.com/blog/175618/voting-rights-act-peril-48th-anniversary#) also have posts on the birthday.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54016&title=The%20Voting%20Rights%20Act%20is%2048%20Today&description=)
Posted in _Voting Rights Act_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15) |
Comments Off |
_“RNC Accuses NBC and CNN of Boosting Hillary, Threatens to Nix Debates”_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54013)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 7:19 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54013)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
_WaPo reports_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/05/rnc-accuses-nbc-and-cnn-of-boosting-hillary-threatens-to-nix-debates/)
on the RNC’s response to the networks’ planned Hillary films. Chair
Reince Preibus calls them a “thinly veiled attempt at putting a thumb on the
scales of the 2016 presidential election,” and says: ““If they have not
agreed to pull this programming prior to the start of the RNC’s Summer Meeting
on August 14, I will seek a binding vote stating that the RNC will neither
partner with these networks in 2016 primary debates nor sanction primary
debates they sponsor.”
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54013&title=“
RNC%20Accuses%20NBC%20and%20CNN%20of%20Boosting%20Hillary,%20Threatens%20to%20Nix%20Debates”&description=)
Posted in _political polarization_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68) |
Comments Off |
_More on NY Absentee Ballot Fraud Allegations_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54011)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 7:12 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54011)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
Dan Janison has _this column_
(http://www.newsday.com/columnists/dan-janison/fraud-cases-center-on-absentee-ballots-1.5828034) in Newsday, discussing
the _94-count indictment_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53734) against
the Democratic Commissioner of the Dutchess County Election Board, as well as
a former Republican commissioner.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54011&title=More%20on%20NY%20Abse
ntee%20Ballot%20Fraud%20Allegations&description=)
Posted in _chicanery_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12) | Comments Off
|
_“Did Shelby County Impact Congress’s Authority Under Section 2 of the
13th Amendment?”_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54009)
Posted on _August 6, 2013 7:01 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54009)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
Josh Blackman _blogs_
(http://joshblackman.com/blog/2013/08/05/did-shelby-county-impact-congresss-authority-under-section-2-of-the-13th-amendment-federa
lism-individual-liberty-and-the-hates-crime-prevention-act/) on a
constitutional challenge to the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54009&title=“Did%20Shelby%20County%20Impact%20Congress’
s%20Authority%20Under%20Section%202%20of%20the%2013th%20Amendment?”&description=)
Posted in _Voting Rights Act_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15) |
Comments Off |
_“GOP Congressman Provides Super PAC Seed Funding”_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54005)
Posted on _August 5, 2013 2:10 pm_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54005)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
According to the _Center for Public Integrity_
(http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/08/05/13129/gop-congressman-provides-super-pac-seed-funding) : “The
campaign of Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., provided two-thirds of the first
$15,000 raised by a super PAC that employs his brother and a former
congressional aide….”
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54005&title=“GOP%20Congressman%20Provides%20Super%20PAC%20Seed%20Funding”
&description=)
Posted in _campaign finance_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10) |
Comments Off |
_Torres-Spelliscy on SEC Regulation of Money in Politics_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54001)
Posted on _August 5, 2013 10:58 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54001)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy’s article “_Safeguarding Markets from Pernicious
Pay to Play: A Model Explaining Why the SEC Regulates Money in Politics_
(http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2184554) ” is out. From the
abstract:
At first blush, the SEC’s regulation of money in politics may seem to fall
outside of its jurisdiction, but this is a mistake. This view ignores
three previous times when the SEC stepped in to curb pay to play: (1) in the
municipal bond market in 1994; (2) in the public pension fund market in
2010; and (3) in investigating questionable payments post-Watergate from 1974
to 1977. The result of the first two interventions led to new Commission
rules and the third intervention resulted in the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act (a federal statute).
When these three previous SEC interventions into the role of money in
politics are examined, a principled model emerges for when the Commission’s
regulatory intervention is appropriate. The principled model, hereinafter
known as the “Money in Politics Model,” has the following characteristics:
there must be (1) a potential for market inefficiencies; (2) a problem that
is not likely self-correct through normal market forces; (3) a lack of
transparency; (4) a material amount of aggregated money at stake; and (5) a high
probability for corruption of the government….
The SEC is not new to the inherent conflicts of interest between business
and government, especially when elected officials have the ability to make
private contractors in the financial services industry rich through
commissions and fees. The risk of corruption is intrinsic in such a situation.
Here corruption is best captured by the definition as “the misuse of public …
office for direct or indirect personal gain.” What is new as of January
2010, thanks to Citizens United, is the potential for every publicly traded
company to try to influence the government not just through traditional
lobbying, but also through campaign expenditures. This new problem merits a
new SEC intervention to reveal the campaign activities of public
companies.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54001&title=Torres-Spelliscy%20on%20SEC%20Regulation%20of%20Money%20in%20Politics
&description=)
Posted in _campaign finance_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10) ,
_conflict of interest laws_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20) | Comments Off
|
_Judge Marbley Extends Ohio Provisional Voting/ID Consent Decree_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53997)
Posted on _August 5, 2013 10:51 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53997)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley has issued _this order_
(http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/NEOCH-Order-2013-0805.pdf) extending the
consent decree in _Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless v. Husted_
(http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/NEOCHv.Blackwell.php) through
2016. The Columbus Dispatch reports _here_
(http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2013/08/05/provisional-ballots-ID-voting-rules-extended.html)
.
This lawsuit was originally filed to challenge disparities in the
implementation of Ohio’s then-new voter ID law. A _consent decree_
(http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/NEOCH-Decree-4-19-10.pdf) in
place since 2010 addresses provisional voting by people using the last four
digits of their SSN as identification. The decree was to expire June 30,
but was temporarily extended since then, pending consideration of plaintiffs’
motion for an indefinite extension.
Today’s order extends the consent decree through the end of 2016. It
concludes that an extension is warranted, given the failure to achieve the
decree’s intended purpose of ensuring that “valid ballots cast by SSN-4 voters
are counted.” The court relies in part on an affidavit from former Ohio
Secretary of State, Democrat Jennifer Brunner, on her understanding and
expectation that “broad enfranchisement and consistency in providing equal and
fair access would become institutionalized in Ohio statutory provisions,”
due to the consent decree.
The central disputed legal question is whether it’s appropriate for the
court to extend the consent decree without finding constitutional violations.
The court concludes that it is – and that without the decree, there’s
nothing to prevent Ohio counties from going back to the “haphazard” practices
that previously prevailed.
Here’s a choice excerpt from Judge Marbley’s ruling:
At the hearing on the Motion, in an unfortunate choice of words, Defendants
’ counsel dismissed the purposes or goals of the Consent Decree as “
flowery language.” The Court finds nothing “flowery” about the Consent Decree’
s instruction that “[a]ll legal votes that are cast by indigent and
homeless voters on Election Day will be counted.” The Court will not do Defendants
the disservice of presuming that they would oppose such a result, or, that
they would prefer that registered voters who cast valid provisional
ballots under Ohio law not have their votes counted because county boards of
election misinterpret Ohio laws.
According to the Dispatch story, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State
says extension of the consent decree doesn’t change current practice, and
that Secretary Husted hasn’t decided whether to appeal. Plaintiff’s
counsel Subodh Chandra responds: “If the consent decree doesn’t really do
anything, as he claims, then why fight it?”
Update: Chandra adds the following by email:
The federal Consent Decree incorporates a directive from now former Ohio
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to Ohio’s 88 county elections boards.
The directive provides for broadly expansive and enfranchising definitions
of all forms of voter ID. For example, “government documents” are broadly
defined to include things like letters from public universities. “Utility”
bills include not just landline, electric, and gas bills, but cellphone
bills (which younger, more transient voters tend to have). And “current”
billing statements can be up to a year old. (Some elections boards used to
reject anything more than a couple of months old.) Without Secretary Brunner’s
directive, Ohio’s 88 elections boards used to apply broadly differing
interpretations of voter ID. The bottom line is that the federal Consent Decree
is broadly enfranchising where Ohio statutes, elections-board practice, and
the whimsy of its secretary of state at any given moment may not be.
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53997&title=Judge%20Marbley%20Extends%20Ohio%20Provisional%20Voting/ID%20Consent%
20Decree&description=)
Posted in _provisional ballots_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=67) ,
_voter id_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9) | Comments Off |
_“The Root of Washington’s Ills”_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53994)
Posted on _August 5, 2013 10:04 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53994)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
It’s the lobbyists, _according to Fareed Zakaria_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-the-root-of-washingtons-ills/2013/08/01/085392a
a-fa15-11e2-8752-b41d7ed1f685_story.html) .
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53994&title=“The%20Root%20of%20Washington’s%20Ills”&description=)
Posted in _lobbying_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28) , _Uncategorized_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1) | Comments Off |
_“A Full Commission Should Address FEC Rules Changes”_
(http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53992)
Posted on _August 5, 2013 10:00 am_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53992)
by _Dan Tokaji_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5)
WaPo editorializes _here_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-full-commission-should-address-fec-rules-changes/2013/08/02/24f5ce36-fa1b-11e2-9bde-
7ddaa186b751_story.html) .
(http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53992&title=“A%20Full%20Commission%20Should%20Address%20FEC%20Rules%20Changes”
&description=)
Posted in _campaign finance_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10) ,
_federal election commission_ (http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24) | Comments
Off |
--
Daniel Tokaji
Robert M. Duncan/Jones Day Designated Professor of Law
The Ohio State University | Moritz College of Law
55 W. 12th Ave. | Columbus, OH 43210
_614.292.6566_ (tel:614.292.6566) | _tokaji.1 at osu.edu_
(mailto:tokaji.1 at osu.edu)
_______________________________________________
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Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
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