[EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/20/13

Tue Mar 19 21:11:36 PDT 2013

    "Republican Super PAC War Splits the Party"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48558>

Posted on March 19, 2013 9:07 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48558> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call 
<http://www.rollcall.com/news/republican_super_pac_war_splits_the_party-223293-1.html>: 
"A cottage industry of new Republican super PACs run by a diverse array 
of tea party activists, conservative organizers and established 
operatives is making the GOP look less like a political party than a 
collection of competing outside groups."

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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

    Democrats Push Back Against IG Report on DOJ Voting Secton
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48554>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:44 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48554> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Huffington Post: 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/voting-section-report-politicization_n_2867329.html> 
"Former Justice Department officials are pushing back on a report 
released last week that they say falsely equates the Bush 
administration's politicization of the department's Voting Section with 
the Obama administration's efforts to get the demoralized division back 
on track."

People have tried to spin me with the "false equivalence" argument too 
but I don't buy it.  The department is a mess, and it is way too 
ideologically polarized for a government agency.

I made these points in my recent /Slate/ piece. 
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/03/justice_department_s_inspector_general_report_is_the_voting_rights_section.html>It 
is interesting to me that this piece has gotten many fewer links and 
likes than my /Slate /pieces usually get. I attribute it to the fact 
that it has a message which does not appeal to liberals---that there's 
still a problem of polarization and unprofessionalism in the 
department---and one which does not appeal to conservatives---that most 
of the problems they've flagged with the Obama DOJ in terms of biased 
enforcement and hiring decisions were rejected by the IG.

As the IG concluded: "Other Department components---including components 
that specialize in subject areas that are also politically 
controversial, such as environmental protection---do not appear to 
suffer from the same degree of polarization and internecine conflict. We 
believe the difference is largely a function of leadership and culture, 
and that steps must be taken to address the professional culture of the 
Voting Section and the perception that political or ideological 
considerations have affected important administrative and enforcement 
decisions there."

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    "House Ethics Panel Finds Cause to Investigate 2 Lawmakers"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48551>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:28 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48551> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/us/politics/house-panel-finds-initial-evidence-of-ethics-abuses-by-2-lawmakers.html?ref=politics>: 
"The House Ethics Committee has found credible evidence that two 
lawmakers --- a Republican from Alaska and a Democrat from New Jersey 
--- improperly used campaign money for personal expenses, among other 
abuses."

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 
conflict of interest laws <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, ethics 
investigations <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42> | Comments Off

    "Libertarian Party Wins Procedural Victory in Campaign Finance Case
    Involving a Bequest" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48548>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:24 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48548> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

BAN 
<http://www.ballot-access.org/2013/03/19/libertarian-party-wins-procedural-victory-in-campaign-finance-case-involving-a-bequest/>: 
"On March 19, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins ruled that the 
Libertarian Party's campaign finance case involving a bequest to the 
party can be certified to the entire panel of U.S. Court of Appeals 
Judges in the D.C. Circuit. The decision 
<http://www.campaignfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/LNCopinion.pdf> 
is 28 pages, followed by 20 pages of Findings of Fact."

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, The 
Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "Can Arizona Demand Voters' Proof of Citizenship?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48544>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:22 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48544> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This audio segment 
<http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=174738252&m=174738245>appeared 
on NPR's "Tell Me More."

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Posted in Elections Clause <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, The 
Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "Kentucky law ambiguous on residency requirements"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48540>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:13 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48540> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP 
<http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kentucky-law-ambiguous-on-residency-requirements-4367559.php>: 
"Talk of Tennessee resident Ashley Judd 
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Ashley+Judd%22> 
running for U.S. Senate 
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22U.S.+Senate%22> 
in Kentucky has turned up ambiguity in state residency requirements that 
a legislative leader says need to be cleared up."

Maybe I'm missing something but it seems to me that any state law which 
would keep a candidate for U.S. Senate off the ballot for not being a 
current resident would be an unconstitutional qualification for office 
which would be struck down in the event of a suit challenging the 
requirement.

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    Fairvote Takes on Adam Liptak on Small States and the Electoral
    College <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48537>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:05 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48537> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See here. 
<http://www.fairvote.org/new-york-times-perpetuates-myth-that-current-electoral-college-rules-help-small-states>

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Posted in electoral college <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44> | 
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    "RNC Growth And Opportunity Project Report Advises Super PACs"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48534>

Posted on March 19, 2013 8:08 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=48534> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Paul Blumenthal 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/rnc-growth-and-opportunity-project_n_2904756.html?1363704633>:

    Spend less on negative advertising and spend more on ground game.
    Target young voters, especially young women. Build a national
    database that includes e-mail and cell phone numbers. And, above all
    else, learn to work together.

    These were all suggestions in the Republican National Committee's
    (RNC) 100-page Growth and Opportunity Project report
    <http://growthopp.gop.com/RNC_Growth_Opportunity_Book_2013.pdf>
    released on Monday, detailing what went wrong in the 2012 election
    and how to set the party in the right direction for future
    elections. Except these were not recommendations for the RNC, but
    recommendations by the RNC for the network of independent political
    groups that have exploded in size and number since the Supreme
    Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling opened the door for unlimited
    independent spending.

    The litany of suggestions are notable in this very public report
    because election law forbids the GOP from certain crucial types of
    private coordination with these groups. By publicly airing its
    recommendations, the RNC can legally pass on suggestions to groups
    from Karl Rove's Crossroads to the Koch brothers' Americans for
    Prosperity and even the insurgent Club for Growth --- suggestions
    that include spending and tactical advice that would otherwise be
    against the law if shared privately.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | 
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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
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org

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