[EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/18/13

Mon Mar 18 14:01:40 PDT 2013

Press reports on ITCA seem to indicate that perhaps 12 states are considering proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration.

Does anyone have a definitive list on this question?

Lloyd Leonard.

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 11:39 AM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/18/13

"(Unpersuasive) Challenges to the National Popular Vote Plan: Part One in a Series of Columns"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48471>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:31 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48471> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Vik Amar Justia column<http://verdict.justia.com/2013/03/15/unpersuasive-challenges-to-the-national-popular-vote-plan>.
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Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44> | Comments Off
"Street Talk: K Street Hiring Chill Leaves Members Cold"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48468>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:27 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48468> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call<http://www.rollcall.com/news/k_street_hiring_chill_leaves_members_cold-223194-1.html>: "K Street shops, many in revenue decline for the past couple of years, can no longer afford the luxury of a high-priced former member. Senators usually don't entertain offers worth less than $1 million, and House members' threshold is typically about $700,000. And it's an investment with no guaranteed payoff. Ever."

The article does not that Covington landed both Sen. Kyl and Rep. Howard Berman. Quite a coup.
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Posted in legislation and legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, lobbying<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28> | Comments Off
"U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Case on Whether Jurisdictions Must Count Write-in Votes for Declared Write-in Presidential Candidates"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48465>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:21 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48465> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ballot Access News reports.<http://www.ballot-access.org/2013/03/18/u-s-supreme-court-wont-hear-case-on-whether-jurisdictions-must-count-write-in-votes-for-declared-write-in-presidential-candidates/>  It also reports that the Court took no action in an aggregate campaign contributions case, James v. FEC.  The Court could hold that case for argument in McCutcheon or agree to hear the case potentially consolidating it with McCutcheon.  (With McCutcheon pending, a summary affirmance seems unlikely.)
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Posted in ballot access<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, third parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47> | Comments Off
"The Right to Vote Under State Constitutions"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48463>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:19 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48463> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Josh Douglas has posted this draft<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2234762> on SSRN (forthcoming, Vanderbilt Law Review).  Here is the abstract:

This Article provides the first comprehensive look at state constitutional provisions explicitly granting the right to vote. We hear that the right to vote is "fundamental," the "essence of a democratic society," and "preservative of all rights." Yet courts and scholars are still searching for a solution to the puzzle of how best to protect voting rights, especially because the U.S. Supreme Court has underenforced the right to vote. The answer, however, is right in front of us: state constitutions. Virtually every state constitution includes direct, explicit language granting the right to vote, as contrasted with the federal constitution, which mentions voting rights only implicitly. And yet those seeking to protect the right to vote have largely ignored this state constitutional source. This is because many state courts "lockstep" their state constitutional voting provisions with federal jurisprudence of the right to vote under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, following the U.S. Supreme Court's lead in curtailing voter protections. The article explains why this lockstepping approach is wrong for the right to vote and advocates for courts to use a state-focused methodology when construing their state constitutions. It does so through the lens of recent voter ID litigation, showing how various state courts have differed in determining whether voter ID laws are constitutional based on whether the courts faithfully apply the state constitutional provisions conferring voting rights. The federal-state structure of voting rights protections requires a state-focused interpretation for state constitutional clauses that grant the right to vote. First, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution points directly to state qualification rules to determine voter eligibility. Second, the textual and substantive differences between federal equal protection voting rights jurisprudence and state constitutional grants of the right to vote counsel toward a state-first methodology. The article also proposes a test for state courts to use when construing their constitutional voting rights clauses: a law that adds an additional voter qualification beyond what the state constitution allows is presumptively invalid, and a state must justify burdens on the right to vote with specific evidence tied to the legislature's authority under the state constitution. Finally, an Appendix presents a chart illustrating all fifty state constitutions and the language they employ for the right to vote.
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Posted in voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off
"Cyberattack on Florida election is first known case in US, experts say"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48461>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:17 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48461> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Must-read NBC News report<http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17314818-cyberattack-on-florida-election-is-first-known-case-in-us-experts-say>:

An attempt to illegally obtain absentee ballots in Florida last year is the first known case in the U.S. of a cyberattack against an online election system, according to computer scientists and lawyers working to safeguard voting security.

The case involved more than 2,500 "phantom requests" for absentee ballots, apparently sent to the Miami-Dade County elections website using a computer program, according to a grand jury report on problems in the Aug. 14 primary election<http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/A_U.S.%20news/US-news-PDFs/miami-hack-grand-jury.pdf>. It is not clear whether the bogus requests were an attempt to influence a specific race, test the system or simply interfere with the voting. Because of the enormous number of requests - and the fact that most were sent from a small number of computer IP addresses in Ireland, England, India and other overseas locations - software used by the county flagged them and elections workers rejected them.

Computer experts say the case exposes the danger of putting states' voting systems online - whether that's allowing voters to register or actually vote.

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Posted in absentee ballots<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, voting technology<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40> | Comments Off
"Republicans Foil What Majority Wants by Gerrymandering"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48458>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48458> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Extensive Bloomberg repor<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/republicans-foil-what-most-u-s-wants-with-gerrymandering.html>t, and extensive graphics, focusing on gerrymandering in Michigan.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6> | Comments Off
More Arizona v. Inter-Tribal Previews<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48455>
Posted on March 18, 2013 8:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48455> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TPM: Voting Rights Advocates Sound Alarm As Supreme Court Hears Proof-Of-Citizenship Case<http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/arizona-prop-200-supreme-court.php>.

NPR: Can States Go Beyond Federal Law On Voter Registration?<http://www.npr.org/2013/03/18/174416352/can-states-go-beyond-federal-law-on-voter-registration>

NBC: Supreme Court takes up Arizona voter registration law<http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17326321-supreme-court-takes-up-arizona-voter-registration-law>

The Nation: Voting Rights Once Again Challenged at Supreme Court<http://www.thenation.com/blog/173384/voting-rights-once-again-challenged-supreme-court>

ABC: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to AZ Proof of Citizenship Law<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/03/supreme-court-to-hear-challenge-to-az-proof-of-citizenship-law/>

PR Watch: U.S. Supreme Court Considers ALEC Voting Bill; Could Have Broader Implications for Voting Rights<http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/03/12026/us-supreme-court-considers-alec-voting-bill-could-have-broader-implications-votin>

I will post the transcript and oral argument reports when they are available.
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Posted in Elections Clause<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
Overton on Arizona Inter-Tribal Case<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48452>
Posted on March 17, 2013 11:17 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48452> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/spencer-overton/arizona-voting-supreme-court_b_2895728.html>.
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Posted in Elections Clause<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off
RNC Chair: No More August Presidential Conventions, Blames Campaign Finance Rules<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48449>
Posted on March 17, 2013 10:21 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48449> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mike Allen quoting<http://www.politico.com/playbook/> RNC Chair Priebus on "Face the Nation:"

"[O]ne of the reasons why Mitt Romney was a sitting duck for two months over the summer is under the campaign finance law, he couldn't use money he had already raised until after he received nomination for president in August. I believe that our primary process is way too long. I think our calendar needs to be looked at. I think our debate calendar needs to be shrunk. I think we had way too many debates with our candidates slicing and dicing each other and I think they had to wait too long to get to the convention. I'm calling for a convention in June or July. We're going to set up a commission that's going to make that decision. I'm going to be a part of that. I'm going to chair that commission, but no more August conventions."

I will be interested to hear from others whether Romney was a sitting duck those few months, or whether Super PAC and 501c spending on his behalf was freely flowing during that period attacking Obama.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, political parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off
More Arizona Inter-Tribal Previews and Analyses<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48445>
Posted on March 17, 2013 10:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48445> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Josh Douglas<http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2013/02/the-important-voting-rights-case-this-supreme-court-term.html>

AP<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_VOTER_CITIZENSHIP_PROOF?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>

TPM<http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/supreme-court-arizona-prop-200-nvra.php>

Reuters<http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2013/03_-_March/Supreme_Court_to_weigh_Arizona_voter_registration_case/>

MORE to come.
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Posted in Elections Clause<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70> | Comments Off
House Administration Chair Candice Miller Responds to NYT Editorial on Federal Election Legislation<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48442>
Posted on March 17, 2013 9:57 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48442> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Miller<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/opinion/the-way-we-vote-theres-room-for-improvement.html?src=rechp&_r=0>: "After the 2000 election, the federal government spent billions of dollars to address problems at polling places, and problems remain in some of the same places as in 2000. Further Washington intervention is not the answer. As Michigan's former chief elections officer, I was held accountable by the people of my state for putting in place an elections system that works for Michigan. Voters in states where problems exist should hold their leaders to account and demand better.

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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | 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<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org
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