[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/19/13

Rick Hasen rhasen at law.uci.edu
Thu Dec 19 07:20:06 PST 2013 

    "The most important political story you haven't heard about"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57575>

Posted on December 19, 2013 7:07 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57575>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Fix 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/12/18/the-most-important-political-story-you-havent-heard-about/>on 
Dave Levinthal's must-readreport 
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/12/17/13996/how-washington-starves-its-election-watchdog>on 
the FEC.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57575&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20most%20important%20political%20story%20you%20haven%E2%80%99t%20heard%20about%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal 
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>


    "Switcheroo: Ohio SoS Says Online Registration is the Solution to
    Non-Citizen Voting" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57573>

Posted on December 19, 2013 7:05 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57573>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Doug Chapin 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2013/12/switcheroo_ohio_sos_says_onlin.php>: 
"Husted's use of non-citizen voting to push OVR instead of voter ID is a 
really, *REALLY* important development; while states that have already 
adopted OVR often cite eligibility checks as a benefit, that fact often 
gets lots alongside expanding the electorate and cost efficiency. As the 
country prepares to enter another federal election year -- which will 
inevitably bring renewed focus on the incidence and impact of voter 
fraud, including non-citizen voting -- support for OVR as an anti-fraud 
measure could become a new talking point across the country. Given that 
OVR tends to attract consensus more than voter ID, this could signal 
another wave of states joining the trend toward online registration."

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57573&title=%E2%80%9CSwitcheroo%3A%20Ohio%20SoS%20Says%20Online%20Registration%20is%20the%20Solution%20to%20Non-Citizen%20Voting%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


    "Fox News 'catches' voter fraud in Ohio: Throw this red herring
    back" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57570>

Posted on December 18, 2013 8:16 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57570>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LAT opinion blog 
<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-ohio-voter-fraud-fox-news-20131218,0,5648726.story#axzz2ntIhau8E>.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57570&title=%E2%80%9CFox%20News%20%E2%80%98catches%E2%80%99%20voter%20fraud%20in%20Ohio%3A%20Throw%20this%20red%20herring%20back%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


    "Democracy and Renewed Distrust: Equal Protection and the Evolving
    Judicial Conception of Politics" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57568>

Posted on December 18, 2013 8:13 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57568>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bertrall Ross has posted this draft 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2362573> on SSRN 
(/California Law Review/).  Here is the abstract:

Judicial interpretations of the Equal Protection Clause have undergone a 
major transformation over the last fifty years. A Supreme Court once 
suspicious of the democratic losses of discrete and insular minorities, 
now closely scrutinizes their democratic victories. A Court once active 
in structuring the democratic process to be inclusive of racial and 
other minorities, now views minority representation in the political 
process as essentially irrelevant. A Court once deferential to exercises 
of congressional power that enhanced the equal protection rights of 
minorities, now gives Congress much less leeway.What explains these 
shifts? An easy explanation is that the Supreme Court has simply become 
more conservative. But what underlies this conservatism? In this 
Article, I argue that the Court's own evolving conception of politics 
underlies the changes in the meaning of equal protection. In the past, 
the Court saw politics through the lens of pluralist theory, the crucial 
defect of which was the risk that minorities would be politically 
marginalized. That understanding has given way to a public choice 
conception in which the Court presumes these same minorities to be too 
politically powerful. In essence, one form of judicial distrust of 
democratic politics has replaced another.
I argue that two primary sources produced this renewed distrust: 
changing conservative views of the position of minorities in politics 
and a conservative legal movement that rejected pluralism in favor of 
public choice theory as the most accurate description of the operation 
of politics. I conclude by identifying important normative questions 
that this theory raises for constitutional law scholars and by offering 
a prescription for civil rights advocates seeking to influence judicial 
interpretations of the Equal Protection Clause.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57568&title=%E2%80%9CDemocracy%20and%20Renewed%20Distrust%3A%20Equal%20Protection%20and%20the%20Evolving%20Judicial%20Conception%20of%20Politics%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in theory <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=41>


    "In probe of Va. Gov. McDonnell, prosecutors agreed to delay
    decision on charges" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57566>

Posted on December 18, 2013 8:09 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57566>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo exclusive 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/prosecutors-were-ready-to-charge-va-gov-mcdonnell-but-final-decision-delayed-by-justice-officials/2013/12/18/32260fa6-67fa-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html>.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57566&title=%E2%80%9CIn%20probe%20of%20Va.%20Gov.%20McDonnell%2C%20prosecutors%20agreed%20to%20delay%20decision%20on%20charges%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in bribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>, chicanery 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


    Don't Miss Chris Ashby's Five Takeaways from the #VAAG Recount
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57564>

Posted on December 18, 2013 2:52 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57564>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here <http://www.ashby-law.com/the-vindication-of-creigh-deeds/>.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57564&title=Don%E2%80%99t%20Miss%20Chris%20Ashby%E2%80%99s%20Five%20Takeaways%20from%20the%20%23VAAG%20Recount&description=>
Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
recounts <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=50>, The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


    10th Circuit Joins Other Courts in Striking Down Limits on
    Contributions to Independent Expenditure Committees ("Super PACs")
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57562>

Posted on December 18, 2013 2:43 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57562>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Read Republican Party of New Mexico v. King 
<http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/12/12-2015.pdf>.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57562&title=10th%20Circuit%20Joins%20Other%20Courts%20in%20Striking%20Down%20Limits%20on%20Contributions%20to%20Independent%20Expenditure%20Committees%20%28%E2%80%9CSuper%20PACs%E2%80%9D%29&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>


    Polarization: A View from Political Insiders, Think Tanks, and
    Academics <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57558>

Posted on December 18, 2013 12:25 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57558>by Richard Pildes 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>

Former White House Counsel Robert Bauer 
<https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/profile.cfm?personID=36322>, 
distinguished scholar in residence and senior lecturer at NYU School of 
Law, and NYU Professor Sally Katzen 
<https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/profile.cfm?personID=34534>, 
former deputy director for management 
<http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/nyu-washington-dc-hosts-program-on-political-polarization#> 
at the Office of Management and Budget, recently hosted in D.C. one of 
the best public discussions on political polarization of which I've been 
a part.

Two things stood out about this discussion.  First, it was more 
politically diverse than usual --- not only because it included leading 
Republican and Democratic presidential campaign managers and 
consultants, but also because of the participation of a wide range of 
"outside" groups, such as AEI, Cato, Center for American Progress, the 
Hudson Institute, and others.  Second, most events on polarization do 
not integrate perspectives from high-level political "operatives" with 
those of the think tank, media, and social science/academic vantage points.

Here's the outline of the subjects and discussants.  In separate posts, 
I will provide the videos of each session.  To locate all of them in one 
place, see here 
<http://www.law.nyu.edu/news/nyu-washington-dc-hosts-program-on-political-polarization>. 
The program:

*Opening Presentation: Framing the Issue (1 hr, 3 min)*

  * Richard Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU
    School of Law
  * John Sides, associate professor of political science at George
    Washington University

*Polarization: The Role and Response of the Media and Think Tank 
Communities (58 min)*

  * /Moderator:/ John Fortier, director of the Democracy Project at the
    Bipartisan Policy Center
  * Karlyn Bowman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
  * Major Garrett, chief White House correspondent on CBS
  * John Samples, director of the Center for Representative Government
    at the Cato Institute
  * John Halpin, Center for American Progress
  * Tevi Troy, visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute

*"Polarization" in the "Political World" (50 min)*

  * /Moderator: /John Fortier, director of the Democracy Project at the
    Bipartisan Policy Center
  * Eliot Cutler, independent candidate for governor of Maine
  * Anita Dunn, managing director for SKDKnickerbocker
  * David Keating, president for the Center for Competitive Politics
  * Rick Davis, partner and chief operating officer for Pegasus
    Sustainable Century Merchant Bank and National Campaign Manager,
    2000 and 2008 McCain Presidential Campaigns

*Keynote Address: US Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) (49 min)*

* * *

      As a side note on changing models of legal education, Bob and 
Sally established this year a new NYU Legislative and Regulatory Policy 
Clinic at NYU's campus in Washington DC, Students have spent a semester 
examining the multi-faceted role of government lawyers while gaining 
experience at federal agencies and congressional offices. Clinic 
students work four days a week at a federal agency or government office, 
in addition to weekly classes.

.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57558&title=Polarization%3A%20%20A%20View%20from%20Political%20Insiders%2C%20Think%20Tanks%2C%20and%20Academics&description=>
Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, political 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>


    "Ohio: No evidence of plot to register non-citizen voters"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57554>

Posted on December 18, 2013 10:41 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=57554>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

MSNBC reports <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ohio-non-citizen-voting>.

UPDATE: A quite different take fromFOX News 
<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/18/non-citizens-caught-voting-in-2012-presidential-election-in-key-swing-state/>.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D57554&title=%E2%80%9COhio%3A%20No%20evidence%20of%20plot%20to%20register%20non-citizen%20voters%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

-- 
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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20131219/614868bd/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: share_save_171_16.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1504 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20131219/614868bd/attachment.png>

View list directory