[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/12/13
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sun May 12 10:58:15 PDT 2013
Two from USA Today on IRS Controversy
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50188>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:57 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50188> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
GOP reaction in IRS case spurs calls for probe, apology
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/05/12/obama-irs-calls-for-investigation-and-apology/2153267/>
and
Tea Party firestorm could stall other IRS probes
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/05/12/irs-tea-party-tax-exempt-investigation-controversy/2152151/>
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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off
"Judge: Take politics out of our races"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50185>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:53 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50185> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Cincinnati Enquirer
<http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201305120522/NEWS/305120044>:
Should Ohio judicial elections go entirely nonpartisan on the
ballot? Should Ohio switch to some nonpartisan process to help
governors fill judicial vacancies, and should those appointments
require state Senate confirmation?
In a Cleveland appearance Thursday before the Ohio State Bar
Association, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor put eight topics on the
table for discussion that she hopes will lead to judicial election
reform by year's end.
The plan skirts the political hot-potato of replacing elections with
a form of merit appointment process.
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, judicial
elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>, political parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68> | Comments Off
"Alleged voter fraud in Little Armenia being investigated"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50181>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:50 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50181> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
LA Times
<http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vote-fraud-20130510,0,286181.story>:
Prosecutors are investigating allegations of voter fraud in Little
Armenia
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/armenia-PLGEO00000064.topic>,
part of a Los Angeles City Council district where two candidates are
waging a bitter battle for an open seat.
According to a spokeswoman for L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey,
prosecutors are trying to determine whether backers of one candidate
illegally filled out mail-in ballots for dozens of voters in the
Armenian enclave in East Hollywood. The May 21 election will decide
who succeeds Eric Garcetti
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/eric-garcetti-PEPLT007524.topic>,
who is running for mayor.
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Posted in absentee ballots <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>,
chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> | Comments Off
"Dozens of Think Tank Scholars are also Beltway Lobbyists; Why
D.C.'s policy shops need to be transparent about who else is paying
their scholars" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50179>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:48 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50179> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Important New Republic report
<http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113158/report-dozens-lobbyists-work-think-tank-scholars#>.
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Posted in conflict of interest laws
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, legislation and legislatures
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, lobbying
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28> | Comments Off
Torres-Spelliscy on SEC and Corporate Campaign Finance Disclosure
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50177>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:47 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50177> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here <http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column/2120336>, in the
Tampa Bay Times.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> |
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"For freshman in Congress, focus is on raising money"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50175>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:46 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50175> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Must-read Boston Globe
<http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2013/05/11/freshman-lawmakers-are-introduced-permanent-hunt-for-campaign-money/YQMMMoqCNxGKh2h0tOIF9H/story.html>:
Newly elected congressional Democrats had just a week to savor their
victories before coming face to face with a harsh reality of Washington.
At a party-sponsored orientation session, the freshmen --- many
still giddy from winning close races in which they espoused grand
plans to change the Capitol's toxic atmosphere --- were schooled in
their party's simple list of priorities for them.
Raise money. Raise more. Win.
The newcomers were told to devote at least four hours each day to
the tedious task of raising money --- so-called dialing for dollars
--- so they could build a war chest and defend their seats,
according to those present. That's twice as much time as party
leaders expect them to dedicate to committee hearings and floor
votes, or meetings with constituents.
Some members were flabbergasted. One rolled his eyes and walked out
of the room.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
legislation and legislatures <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27> |
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"10 crazy things the IRS asked Tea Party groups"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50173>
Posted on May 12, 2013 10:43 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50173> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Hot Air has the docs
<http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/10/10-crazy-things-the-irs-asked-tea-party-groups/>.
More here
<http://c0391070.cdn2.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/pdf/irs-questions-aclj-tea-party-clients.pdf>
and here.
<http://media.aclj.org/pdf/issa-jordan-letter-to-irs-regarding-intrusive-tea-party-questionnaires.pdf>
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Posted in tax law and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
| Comments Off
"2012 Election: A Failure to Mobilize the Youth Vote"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50171>
Posted on May 11, 2013 9:26 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50171> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Michael McDonald explains
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-p-mcdonald/2012-election-a-failure-t_b_3255221.html>.
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59> | Comments Off
"G.O.P. Delays on Nominees Raise Tension"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50168>
Posted on May 11, 2013 9:21 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50168> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Very important NYT article
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/us/politics/gop-delays-on-nominees-raise-tension.html?ref=politics&_r=0>
on what's going on with the Senate, procedurally and politically.
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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
Pomeranz on IRS Fiasco <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50166>
Posted on May 11, 2013 9:20 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50166> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
John Pomeranz of Harmon, Curran sent the following message to the
Election Law Listserv, which I am reprinting here with John's permission:
I was in the room listening this morning as IRS Exempt Organizations
Director Lois Lerner made her statement apologizing for the actions
of IRS officials who, in the course of reviewing applications for
501(c)(4) status, subjected organizations with the words "tea party"
or "patriot" in their names to special, unfair IRS scrutiny. In her
apology, Ms. Lerner stated that it was wrong of the IRS to target
groups on that basis, and she furthermore acknowledged that some IRS
requests for information from applicant organizations were overbroad
(e.g. requesting the names of contributors) and that some
applications took too long to process.
In the wake of this news (and a tawdry history of use of the IRS
against political opponents in the past), it is inevitable and
reasonable for people to wonder whether what happened was the result
of political bias against conservative groups. The IRS has denied
any such political bias, asserting instead that what happened was a
poorly implemented effort by frontline IRS staff to better review
the flood of applications from advocacy-oriented 501(c)(4)s created
in the wake of the Citizens United decision. Predictably, the degree
to which people believe the IRS seems to track closely with the
listener's political ideology, with conservatives more certain that
bias was at work and liberals believing that this was "just a
mistake" by the IRS. (I have my own uninformed guesses, but,
pending further investigation, I acknowledge that either could turn
out to be correct.)
There should be absolutely no disagreement, however, that what
happened with these organizations was wrong. Very wrong. Whether
as a result of political bias (either of frontline staff or those
above them) or an incredibly poor operational decision, the
organizations that the IRS targeted were treated unjustly and
suffered real injury. More generally, this has been another huge
blow to public confidence in IRS enforcement of the laws governing
tax-exempt organizations (especially those involved in advocacy
activities). There should be an independent, objective
investigation of exactly what occurred, how it occurred, and how to
prevent it (or anything like it) from occurring again. I expect
that part of that process will involve holding people responsible
for their mistakes or misconduct.
Looking beyond the immediate scandal, I believe that part of the
reason it was possible for the IRS to treat these groups this way
was the failure of Congress, the Treasury Department, and the IRS to
adequately define what and how much political activity is permitted
for tax-exempt organizations. For years, many practitioners,
academics, and advocates have called for replacing the vague IRS
"facts and circumstances" test for what constitutes electoral
activity with something that provides real guidance to organizations
and regulators. A decade ago, a group of members of the ABA Tax
Section Exempt Organizations Committee (the same organization Ms.
Lerner was addressing today when she made her statement) called for
greater clarity regarding 501(c)(4) political activities. Congress,
Treasury, and the IRS (no matter the political party in the White
House) have failed to act, and their inaction has led to the
ambiguity in the 501(c)(4) determination process that gave IRS staff
the power to harm these groups.
Unfortunately, I fear that this scandal will make it harder to
address these underlying problems that made it possible for this
situation to occur. It appears that this is going to become a
partisan political football. If that happens, conservative
political partisans will seek to prolong the public outrage and make
the case that the entire problem is the result of Democratic dirty
tricks. Meanwhile, liberal partisans will advise against any
cooperation with Republicans on fundamental reform efforts for fear
that acknowledging that there really are problems that need to be
solved will lend credence to political opponents' claims.
Regardless of the political calculus, the underlying causes of the
IRS failures that have been disclosed today must be addressed (even
as we take steps to fix the immediate problem and hold accountable
those who were responsible). The first step toward that will be for
liberals to acknowledge that conservatives are justified in being
outraged at these actions by the IRS. My hope is that this will
occur and that conservatives might then be willing to forego at
least some of the opportunity to exploit this for immediate
political gain and choose instead to work on addressing the
underlying policy problems that have again been exposed. Please
allow me my perhaps naïve optimism for now.
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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off
"Report: Top IRS officials knew in 2011 that conservative groups
were targeted" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50163>
Posted on May 11, 2013 9:15 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50163> by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/report-top-irs-officials-knew-in-2011-that-conservative-groups-were-targeted/2013/05/11/2619face-ba7b-11e2-b94c-b684dda07add_story.html>:
An inspector general's report due for release this week says senior
Internal Revenue Service officials knew that agents were targeting
conservative groups for special scrutiny as early as 2011, nine
months before the IRS commissioner assured Congress the targeting
was not happening.
The report is certain to raise questions about the timing of the
IRS's disclosure of the targeting on Friday, how high up were the
officials who knew about the practice, and whether anyone outside
the agency was aware of it.
Details of the inspector general's audit, obtained by The Washington
Post from a congressional aide with knowledge of the findings,
revealed that Lois G. Lerner, who oversees tax-exempt groups for the
IRS and made the disclosure Friday, knew about the targeting of tea
party and other groups in June 2011. In March 2012, IRS Commissioner
Douglas H. Shulman told Congress that the agency was not targeting
conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status as "social
welfare" groups...
On Friday, IRS officials said that Lerner's admission that tea party
groups had been singled out occurred because she had been asked
about it at a bar association conference. But it now appears that it
may also have been an effort to position the agency ahead of the bad
news it knew was coming in the report.
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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://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org
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