[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/24/13

Sat Aug 24 11:48:34 PDT 2013

    "All the Pretty Little Districts: Why You Need to Stop Whining About
    Gerrymandering" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54792>

Posted on August 24, 2013 11:47 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54792> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jonathan Bernstein: 
<http://prospect.org/article/all-pretty-little-districts>

    Of all the good-government obsessions that keep people focused on
    process instead of substance, one of the very worst---and I know
    that lots of you reading this share it---is over the "unfairness" of
    how congressional district lines are drawn. Within that overrated
    problem, there's nothing worse than the obsession with pretty and
    ugly districts. Really: let it go. If you care about politics and
    public policy, find something else to worry about.

    This paragraph of polite rage is brought to you by a current feature
    over at Slate
    <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2013/08/gerrymandering_jigsaw_puzzle_game_put_the_congressional_districts_back_together.html>
    ridiculing funny shaped House districts---such as one in Maryland
    which, as Chris Kirk tells us, has been called "'a crazy quilt,' 'a
    blood spatter from a crime scene,' and a 'broken-winged pterodactyl,
    lying prostrate across the center of the state.'"

    Kirk brings us through the most successful partisan gerrymanders of
    the last cycle---Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and a few more. And
    it's true: In a handful of states, partisan gerrymanders really did
    cost Democrats (or, in a few others, Republicans) a few seats in the
    House.

    Overall, however, political scientists like John Sides and Eric
    McGhee have found that gerrymandering is not a big deal
    <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/17/redistricting-didnt-win-republicans-the-house/>,
    at least as far as partisan effect is concerned. It is true that
    current districts help Republicans, but that appears to be primarily
    because of where Democrats and Republicans live, not because of
    cleverly drawn lines. That is, because Democrats tend to clump
    together more closely, it's extremely hard in many states to draw
    any lines (and particularly lines for compact districts) which do
    not give Republicans a little edge.

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Posted in redistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off

    "States, Justice Department girding for battle over voting laws"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54790>

Posted on August 24, 2013 11:44 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54790> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

McClatchy reports 
<http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/23/5675895/states-justice-department-girding.html>.

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Posted in Department of Justice <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, 
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

    "Thousands march to Mall to mark 'Dream' anniversary"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54787>

Posted on August 24, 2013 11:42 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54787> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/thousands-march-to-mall-to-mark-dream-anniversary/2013/08/24/2a20d512-0cbe-11e3-b87c-476db8ac34cd_story.html> 
on today's march.

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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | 
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    Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint in Federal Voter ID Case
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54783>

Posted on August 24, 2013 11:36 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54783> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Read 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/TX-ID-Complaint-Final.pdf>.

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Posted in 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

    "Senate committee to soon vote on FEC nominees"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54780>

Posted on August 23, 2013 4:05 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54780> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI reports 
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/08/23/13264/senate-committee-soon-vote-fec-nominees>.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal 
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24> | Comments Off

    "There's Nothing Special About the Filibuster"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54777>

Posted on August 23, 2013 2:01 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54777> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Stephen Spaulding of Common Cause has written this /Politico /oped. 
<http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/theres-nothing-special-about-the-filibuster-95812.html#ixzz2coFhOfGT>

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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

    "Texas Minority Voters File Amended Challenge to State's Voter ID
    Law as Justice Department Enters Fray"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54774>

Posted on August 23, 2013 1:58 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54774> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See this press release 
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2224:august-23-2013-texas-minority-voters-file-amended-challenge-to-states-voter-id-law-as-justice-department-enters-fray&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>.

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Posted in Department of Justice <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, 
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

    AALS 2014 Program and Call for Papers: The Right to Vote, from
    Reynolds to Shelby and Beyond <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54763>

Posted on August 23, 2013 12:10 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54763> 
by Dan Tokaji <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

//The subject of AALS Legislation & Law of the Political Process 
Section's 2014 Annual Meeting program is "The Right to Vote:  From 
/Reynolds v. Sims /to /Shelby County/, and Beyond."  The program will 
take place on *Friday, January 3, 2014*, from *1:30 to 3:15 P.M.* in New 
York.  The panel will include Professors Derek Muller, Rick Pildes, and 
Franita Tolson.  Two additional panelists will be chosen through a call 
for papers 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Call4Papers.pdf>, to be 
published in /Election Law Journal/.

Those interested in submitting a paper should submit an abstract by 
*September 20, 2013*, to section chair Dan Tokaji.  Completed papers may 
also be submitted, though they are not required, by this date.  Those 
selected to be panelists will be expected to submit completed papers by 
December 20, 2013. /Election Law Journal/ prefers papers of 15,000 words 
or fewer, and will generally not publish papers over 20,000 words. 
Additional publication guidelines are available here 
<http://www.liebertpub.com/manuscript/election-law-journal-rules-politics-and-policy/101/>.

We hope that readers of the blog and listserv will attend the 
program and that some of you will submit paper proposals. There will 
also be an open meeting to discuss the possible creation of a new AALS 
Election Law section, on *Saturday, January 4* from *8:30 to 10:15 A.M*.

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Posted in election law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>, Voting 
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off

    Texas Voter ID Case in D.C. "Going Away"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54760>

Posted on August 23, 2013 10:26 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54760> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

So reports Michael Li. <http://t.co/wexrnNc5M8>

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Posted in Department of Justice <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, 
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

    "Race Equality Is Still a Work in Progress, Survey Finds"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54757>

Posted on August 23, 2013 9:11 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54757> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT: 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/us/americans-see-racial-equality-as-a-work-in-progress-pew-poll-finds.html?ref=us&_r=0>

    The historic disparity in voter turnout evaporated in 2012 with the
    re-election of President Obama, yet euphoria over his election has
    faded. Both blacks and whites were much less likely this year to say
    black people were better off than five years earlier than they did
    in a 2009 Pew survey after Mr. Obama's first election. The latest
    nationwide survey of 2,200 adults was conducted this month after the
    Supreme Court in June effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act of
    1965, freeing nine states to change their election laws without
    advance federal approval.

    "Our country has changed," Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote
    for the majority.

    Not so much, though, that nearly half of all Americans --- 49
    percent in all, or 44 percent of whites, 48 percent of Hispanics and
    79 percent of blacks --- said a lot more progress needed to be made
    to achieve Dr. King's vision of a colorblind society. Republicans
    are more likely than Democrats to believe there has been racial
    progress. Fully 80 percent of all Americans say at least some more
    needs to be done.

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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | 
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    "Holder Would Make Texas a Test Case Over Voting Limits"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54754>

Posted on August 23, 2013 8:49 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54754> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NLJ reports. 
<http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202616614477&kw=Holder%20Would%20Make%20Texas%20a%20Test%20Case%20Over%20Voting%20Limits&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20130823&src=EMC-Email&pt=Daily%20Headlines&slreturn=20130723114730>

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Posted in Department of Justice <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, 
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

    Rachel Maddow Show Broadcast from North Carolina on Voting Issues
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54751>

Posted on August 23, 2013 8:46 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54751> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Watch <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/#52823877>.

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

    NYT Ed Board Supports Van Hollen Suit Against IRS
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54749>

Posted on August 23, 2013 8:44 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=54749> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Read. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/opinion/suing-the-irs-back-to-basics.html?ref=politics&_r=0>

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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

-- 
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://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org

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