[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/19/13
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Tue Dec 10 09:37:41 PST 2013
"Senate approves Patricia Millett for D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57295>
Posted on December 10, 2013 9:13 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57295>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/patricia-millett-dc-circuit-court-of-appeals-100944.html?hp=l3>:
"The Senate GOP plans to huddle on strategy in a post-nuclear option
world on Tuesday at lunchtime."
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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>
"In Arkansas, Face Off Over New Voter ID Law"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57293>
Posted on December 10, 2013 9:08 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57293>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This item
<http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2013/12/09/in-arkansas-face-off-over-new-voter-id-law/>
appears at State of Elections (h/t Doug Chapin
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2013/12/new_william_mary_blog_post_exa.php>).
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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>
"More Headaches Ahead for Tax-Exempt Groups?"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57291>
Posted on December 10, 2013 8:59 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57291>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Must-read Eliza.
<http://blogs.rollcall.com/beltway-insiders/more-headaches-ahead-for-tax-exempt-groups/>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"The IRS and (c)(4) Political Activity: Choices and Explanations"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57289>
Posted on December 10, 2013 8:57 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57289>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bob Bauer blogs
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2013/12/the-irs-and-c4-political-activity-choices-and-explanations/>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"Constitution Check: Do stockholders need a veto over corporate
campaign spending?" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57287>
Posted on December 10, 2013 8:53 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57287>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Lyle Denniston blogs
<http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/12/constitution-check-do-stockholders-need-a-veto-over-corporate-campaign-spending/>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Jeffrey Toobin Sees Voting Rights as 1 of Top 7 Legal Stories in
2014 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57285>
Posted on December 10, 2013 8:52 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57285>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
See here.
<http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/12/the-seven-top-legal-stories-of-2014.html>
I am writing something a bit more expanded along similar lines.
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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
"Reid, Alexander Spar as 'Nuclear' Fallout Begins to Take Shape"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57283>
Posted on December 9, 2013 8:17 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57283>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Roll Call reports
<http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/reid-alexander-spar-as-nuclear-fallout-begins-to-take-shape/>.
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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>
"Against Methodological Stare Decisis"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57281>
Posted on December 9, 2013 8:04 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57281>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Evan Criddle and Glen Staszewski have posted this draft
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2358150>on SSRN
(forthcoming, /Georgetown Law Journal/). Here is the abstract:
Should federal courts give stare decisis effect to statutory
interpretation methodology? Although a growing number of legal
scholars have answered this question in the affirmative, this Essay
makes the case against methodological stare decisis. Drawing on
recent empirical studies, we argue that Congress has yet to develop
the type of coherent and stable expectations for statutory
interpretation that would be necessary to support methodological
stare decisis under a "faithful agency" theory of statutory
interpretation. Although some theories and doctrines of statutory
interpretation are based on constitutional norms and other public
values that do not depend on Congress's expectations, we argue that
even under these theories federal courts should allow their
interpretive methodology to remain flexible so that the law can
respond effectively to changing societal norms over time. Finally,
we argue that the value of extending stare decisis effect to
interpretive methodology remains unproven. While treating prior
methodological decisions as binding precedent could in theory
promote the policies underlying stare decisis, the same would be
true of extending that doctrine to virtually any rules. Yet freezing
interpretive methodology into place would pose special and likely
overwhelming difficulties for federal courts. We therefore conclude
that federal courts should not extend stare decisis effect to
methodological decisions without seriously grappling with these
difficulties and demanding much stronger evidence that such a move
would improve the operation of our legal system.
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Posted in statutory interpretation <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=21>
Voting Rights Disclosure <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57276>
Posted on December 9, 2013 7:30 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57276>by Spencer Overton
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=17>
In my Harvard Law Review Forum piece /Voting Rights Disclosure
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=2365620>/, I articulate my differences with
NYU Professor Sam Issacharoff's "non-civil rights" approach to voting
rights (abstract below), and I propose detailed disclosure of voting
changes for federal, state, and local elections. Sam and I debated this
issue at NYU in November (video here
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBTRCSkxZrY>, our exchange runs from
1:07-1:33).
Spencer Overton, /Voting Rights Disclosure/
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=2365620>, 127 Harvard Law Review Forum 19 (2013)
ABSTRACT: In /Beyond the Discrimination Model On Voting/
<http://www.harvardlawreview.org/issues/127/november13/Comment_9506.php>, Professor
Samuel Issacharoff proposes that Congress turn away from what he
considers the outdated and "limited race-driven use" of the Fifteenth
Amendment and instead protect all types of voters from partisan
manipulation using a "non-civil rights" Elections Clause approach.
Specifically, Issacharoff proposes that jurisdictions disclose changes
to voting rules for federal elections. This Essay argues that
Issacharoff's approach is incomplete. Contemporary discrimination
exists and warrants attention---particularly where fast-growing minority
populations threaten the status quo. This discrimination differs from
simple partisan manipulation, as the discrimination reduces incentives
for cross-racial coalitions and fuels racial division. Further,
Issacharoff's choice to move "beyond" race and abandon the Fifteenth
Amendment limits his proposal to federal elections. As a result, his
proposal would overlook significant problems---at least 86.4% of all
election changes that resulted in VRA section 5 objections since 2000
would /not/ have been disclosed under Issacharoff's proposal. Unlike
the high-profile restrictions he targets (e.g., photo ID triggered by
"Republican control of the state legislature"), local voting changes
missed by Issacharoff's proposal are often decisive factors in
non-partisan elections, attract little national media attention, and go
unchallenged by local voters who lack resources to bring lawsuits.
Congress should deter voting discrimination by using the Fifteenth
Amendment and the Elections Clause to require disclosure of election
changes for federal, state, and local offices, as well as to require
more detailed reporting than Issacharoff's proposal. Finally,
disclosure alone is not enough. Congress should also strengthen the VRA
Section 3(c) bail-in procedure and streamline voting rights litigation.
Selecting between the Fifteenth Amendment and the Elections Clause is
a false choice, as we can work both to prevent voting discrimination and
to improve access to voting for all Americans.
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Posted in Elections Clause <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, Supreme
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
#VAAG: "Obenshain lawyer raises possible contest in General
Assembly" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57273>
Posted on December 9, 2013 3:59 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57273>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Times Dispatch
<http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/obenshain-lawyer-raises-possible-contest-in-general-assembly/article_a9df09d8-6126-11e3-b4af-001a4bcf6878.html>:
"The lawyer representing Republican Mark D. Obenshain in the pending
statewide recount in the attorney general race on Monday for the first
time openly raised the issue of contesting the election in the General
Assembly if the tally does not sway the result in the Republican's favor."
This is not
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/11/virginia_attorney_general_s_race_how_democrats_could_win.html>
a wholly unforeseen development.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
recounts <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=50>, The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"Thanks to Congressional Inaction, Seeking Clarity From the IRS Is
No Joke | Commentary" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57271>
Posted on December 9, 2013 2:59 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57271>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jessica Levinson Roll Call oped
<http://www.rollcall.com/news/thanks_to_congressional_inaction_seeking_clarity_from_the_irs_is_no_joke-229482-1.html?pg=1>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"ALEC has tremendous influence in state legislatures. Here's why"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57268>
Posted on December 9, 2013 12:39 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57268>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
It's not
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2013/12/09/alec-has-tremendous-influence-in-state-legislatures-heres-why/>just
ideology:
Another major factor was the legislative resources available to
lawmakers: states where legislators had smaller budgets, convened
for shorter lengths of time, and spent less time crafting policy
were all more likely to enact ALEC model bills (even after
accounting for the ideological orientation of state governments).
Lots of legislators fit this description:
<http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/full-and-part-time-legislatures.aspx>
In 17 states, the average state legislator only spends the
equivalent of half of a full-time job on legislative work, receives
about $16,000 per year in compensation and is assisted by only one
staffer. A similar finding emerges when you compare legislators,
too: Less-experienced legislators were much more likely to rely on
ALEC model bills compared to more experienced lawmakers.
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Posted in legislation and legislatures
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, lobbying
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>
--
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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