[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/13/13
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Mon Aug 12 21:24:57 PDT 2013
Thoughts on the Road Ahead in North Carolina
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54296>
Posted on August 12, 2013 9:19 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54296>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Today North Carolina's governor signed
<http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/aug/12/mccrory-quietly-signs-sweeping-nc-elections-bill/>
one of the most restrictive voting laws
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/24/will-the-gop-s-north-carolina-end-run-backfire.html>in
the Nation. I have been trying to think of another state law passed
since the 1965 Voting Rights Act to rival this law but I cannot. It is a
combination of cutbacks in early voting, restrictions on voter
registration, imposition of new requirements on voters such as photo
identification in voting, limitations on poll worker activity to help
voters, and other actions which as a whole cannot be interpreted as
anything other than an effort to make it harder for some people---and
likely poor people, people of color, old people and others likely to
"skew Democratic" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=21759>---to vote.
And yet I don't expect that the entirety of this law will fall through
one of the lawsuits filed or to be filed against it.
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/175722/north-carolinas-sweeping-voter-suppression-law-challenged-court#>
I have seen one complaint
<http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/leaguewomen_complaint.pdf>, which
raises constitutional equal protection arguments and arguments under
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This attack could well get some
portions of the law knocked out. But it likely won't get many of the
major provisions knocked out. The sad truth (and why it was such a big
deal when the Supreme Court decimated Section 5 of the Voting Rights
Act) is that Section 2 suits are very hard for plaintiffs to win outside
the redistricting context. I don't think there's been a successful
Section 2 challenge to a voter id law, and it will be hard to see one here.
Some of the constitutional claims could well succeed, including those
attacking early voting. I was skeptical of some of the constitutional
attacks on Ohio's cutbacks of early voting in 2012, but courts came in
and responded the the Republican overreach on voting rules with a kind
of backlash I've described here
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2182857>. We could
also get some surprises in the state lawsuit. I don't know enough about
North Carolina's constitution or the state of North Carolina's judiciary
yet to hazard a guess on how they might respond to this law.
The attempt to get North Carolinabailed in to preclearance
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54266> under Section 3 is a long shot,
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54118> and it will require some proof
that the State has been engaging in intentional racial discrimination in
voting. Maybe those attacking the law will find some smoking gun in
discovery; but these days those legislators with racist intentions are
unlikely to put their thoughts in email (though you never know).
If the United States Supreme Court gets involved, I would not count on
them to protect minority voting rights.
Te bottom line is that the way to fight much of North Carolina's strict
law is not legally but politically. And that's part of the impetus for
the lawsuits as well. Even if they are not wholly successful, they will
keep the issue in the news. Without a compelling anti-fraud, efficiency,
or voter confidence story to tell about this set of draconian laws, and
with statistics showing that some of the provisions here could well
impact minority voters, defenders of this law could well see their own
backlash
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/24/will-the-gop-s-north-carolina-end-run-backfire.html>.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"NC governor signs measure requiring voter ID"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54294>
Posted on August 12, 2013 9:01 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54294>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP reports.
<http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/aug/12/mccrory-quietly-signs-sweeping-nc-elections-bill/>
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
"Clinton Calls for Action to Protect Voter Rights"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54290>
Posted on August 12, 2013 8:58 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54290>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT reports.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/us/politics/clinton-calls-for-action-to-protect-voter-rights.html?ref=us>
More from WaPo.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-defends-voting-rights-act-says-states-revive-old-demons-of-discrimination/2013/08/12/4632d870-03a1-11e3-88d6-d5795fab4637_story.html>
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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"Judge's ruling means no mail ballots in recall election"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54287>
Posted on August 12, 2013 8:53 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54287>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News from Colorado
<http://kwgn.com/2013/08/12/judges-ruling-means-no-mail-ballots-in-recall-elections/>:
The Sept. 10 recall elections of two Democratic Colorado lawmakers
was supposed to be the first test-run of a new election overhaul,
passed this year by Democrats, that would have sent mail ballots to
every voter.
Now, those elections won't involve any mail ballots at all.
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Posted in recall elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=11> |
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"Greg Abbott's Curious Brief" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54284>
Posted on August 12, 2013 7:52 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54284>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Michael Li blogs
<http://txredistricting.org/post/58112466646/greg-abbotts-curious-brief>.
My earlier coverage of this brief, in Texas's possible Voting Rights Act
bail-in, ishere <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54118>.
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Posted in Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"In San Francisco, Hillary Clinton calls for defense of voting
rights" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54281>
Posted on August 12, 2013 7:46 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54281>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The /San Jose Mercury News /reports.
<http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_23846726/sf-hillary-clinton-calls-defense-voting-rights>
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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> |
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VIDEO: Hillary Clinton Gives Speech on Voting Rights Act at ABA
Meeting <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54277>
Posted on August 12, 2013 4:18 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54277>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here i <http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/52739538/#52739538>s a
two-minute excerpt. Looking for an extended excerpt, and transcript.
"A phantom epidemic of election fraud."
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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
Bail-in: local, non-southern edition
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54271>
Posted on August 12, 2013 3:19 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54271>
by Justin Levitt <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>
Justin here.
In the wake of /Shelby County/, attention will naturally follow cases
seeking bail-in for jurisdictions once covered by sections 4 and 5.
Like Texas, where there's the opposite of the "New York, New York
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMfz1jlyQrw>" scenario: if you can make
it anywhere, you can make it there
<http://redistricting.lls.edu/files/_%20Levitt%20responses%20to%20Grassley%20QFRs.pdf#page=7>.
And now, North Carolina <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54266>, which
had 40 counties covered under sections 4 and 5, and where the
legislature's latest has inspired a request to bail in the state as a whole.
I still <http://judiciary.senate.gov/pdf/7-17-13LevittTestimony.pdf>
doubt
<http://redistricting.lls.edu/files/_%20Levitt%20responses%20to%20Franken%20QFRs.pdf>
that a bail-in regime premised on responsive litigation is an effective
substitute for section 4. But it is also worth remembering that
bail-in, once used exclusively for jurisdictions outside of section 4
coverage, is also still used for those jurisdictions. Last Wednesday, a
lawsuit was filed
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/jackson-v-wolf-pt-complaint.pdf> against
a high school district in Wolf Point, Montana --- seeking, among other
things, bail-in.
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Posted in redistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off
"2020 Redistricting? The Arizona GOP Is ON IT"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54270>
Posted on August 12, 2013 3:14 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54270>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Never too early
<http://atr.rollcall.com/2020-redistricting-the-arizona-gop-is-on-it/>.
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Posted in citizen commissions <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=7>,
redistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off
Read the ACLU's Complaint in the LWV v NC Case
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54266>
Posted on August 12, 2013 2:31 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54266>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here. <http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/leaguewomen_complaint.pdf>
It includes a claim for "bail in" under Section 3 of the Voting Rights
Act, which will require proof of intentional discrimination in voting on
the basis of race for a court to even consider it.
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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
Two Federal Suits, One State Suit Coming, in North Carolina
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54263>
Posted on August 12, 2013 2:25 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54263>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ari Berman
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/175722/north-carolinas-sweeping-voter-suppression-law-challenged-court#>
has the details.
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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
Chemerinsky on McCutcheon <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54259>
Posted on August 12, 2013 2:01 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54259>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The boss predicts
<http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/08/symposium-the-distinction-between-contribution-limits-and-expenditure-limits/>
aggregate contribution limits overturned without a 5-justice majority
touching the contribution-expenditure distinction.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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Lawsuit Filed Challenging New Tough North Carolina Election Law
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54256>
Posted on August 12, 2013 1:56 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54256>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Get ready to hear a lot more about League of Women Voters of North
Carolina v. North Carolina
<http://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/league-women-voters-north-carolina-et-al-v-north-carolina>.
And I expect one of the first issues will be what to do about the fact
that the (Democratic) state attorney general opposes North Carolina's
law and urged the governor to veto it.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
"Dan Wolf Will Continue His Run for Governor Despite Being Found
Ineligible" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54252>
Posted on August 12, 2013 1:30 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54252>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
What?
<http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/08/07/dan-wolf-will-continue-his-run-for-governor-despite-being-found-ineligible/>
State Senator and Democratic candidate for governor Dan Wolf said
Wednesday <https://www.facebook.com/danwolfma/posts/154030831460140>
that he would retain his office and continue his campaign despite a
ruling from the State Ethics Commission that said his ownership
stake in Cape Air actually prevents him from serving in either
position. (Kind of a "your money or your life" dilemma if we've ever
heard one.)
Wolf owns 23 percent of Cape Air, the small airline he founded in
1989, which has contracts with MassPort that allow the airline to
fly into and out of Logan Airport. The commission ruled that the
relationship "raises substantial issues" under the law that bans
state officials from having a financial interest in state contracts.
(MassPort's board is controlled by the governor.)
More here
<http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/08/12/dan-wolf-cape-air-business-cant-get-lift/>.
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> | Comments Off
"The Coming War Over Voting Rights"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54249>
Posted on August 12, 2013 1:02 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54249>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico reports
<http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/voting-rights-act-next-steps-95446.html>.
Zack Roth <https://twitter.com/zackroth/status/367028458888511489> notes
some interesting locution describing "True the Vote" in this piece.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
"North Carolina governor signs extensive Voter ID law"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54246>
Posted on August 12, 2013 11:55 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54246>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/12/north-carolina-governor-signs-extensive-voter-id-law/?sdf>:
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) on Monday signed into law one of
the nation's most wide-ranging Voter ID laws.
The move is likely to touch off a major court battle over voting
rights, and the Justice Department is weighing a challenge to the
new law.
Major battle over this law anticipated, withpolitical consequences too
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/24/will-the-gop-s-north-carolina-end-run-backfire.html>.
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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
"GOP's Eric Cantor is Dems' Unlikely Ally on Voting Rights Act"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54243>
Posted on August 12, 2013 9:35 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54243>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Hill reports
<http://thehill.com/homenews/house/316219-dems-find-unlikely-ally-for-voting-rights-act-fix>.
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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> |
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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
hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org
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