[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/22/13

Wed May 22 07:41:38 PDT 2013

    Quote of the Day <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50830>

Posted on May 22, 2013 7:40 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50830> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

"I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws, I have not 
violated any IRS rules or regulations and I have not provided false 
information to this or any other congressional committee. And while I 
would very much like to answer your committee's questions today, I have 
been advised by my counsel to assert my constitutional right not to 
testify or answer questions related to the subject matter of this 
hearing. After very careful consideration, I have followed my counsel's 
advice and not testify or answer any questions today.

"Because I'm asserting my right not to testify I know people will assume 
I've done something wrong. I have not. One of the basic rights of the 
Fifth Amendment is to protect innocent individuals and that's the 
protection I'm invoking today, thank you."

---Lois Lerner, 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/05/22/the-houses-irs-hearing-live-updates/>in 
prepared statement before House Oversight and Government Reform 
Committee.  Chair Issa then excused Lerner.

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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

    "McCain, Collins Mock GOP Blockade on Budget Conference'
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50827>

Posted on May 22, 2013 7:36 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50827> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call 
<http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/mccain-collins-mock-gop-blockade-on-budget-conference/>:

    Senate Democrats picked up some GOP reinforcements in their bid to
    get to a conference on a House-Senate budget agreement.

    Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine
    joined Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., on the floor in
    support of going to conference without imposing special mandates on
    conferees.

    McCain objected to a bid by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to require that
    Senate budget negotiators not provide for an increase in the debt
    limit. Instead, McCain called for a more established process of
    offering nonbinding instructions.

Ezra Klein 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/22/wonkbook-a-thaw-in-the-senate/>: 
a thaw in the Senate?

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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

    "Who's the Right Watchdog for Nonprofits' Political Activity? |
    Rules of the Game" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50824>

Posted on May 22, 2013 7:26 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50824> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Eliza's latest 
<http://www.rollcall.com/news/irs_scandal_spurs_overdue_debate_on_agencys_regulations_rules_of_the_game-225011-1.html>.

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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

    "Why it Doesn't Matter Whether Celia Roady is a 'Lobbyist'"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50822>

Posted on May 22, 2013 7:25 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50822> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mike Stern blogs 
<http://www.pointoforder.com/2013/05/20/why-it-doesnt-matter-whether-celia-roady-is-a-lobbyist/>.

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Posted in legislation and legislatures 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, lobbying 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28> | Comments Off

    "Obama launches panel to reduce long lines at polls"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50819>

Posted on May 22, 2013 7:23 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50819> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

MSNBC reports 
<http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/05/21/obama-launches-panel-to-reduce-long-lines-at-polls/>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "A Sleeper Scandal Awakens, Post-Election"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50816>

Posted on May 21, 2013 9:00 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50816> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Michael Shear 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/us/politics/a-sleeper-scandal-awakens-post-election.html?ref=politics> 
(NYT): "The allegations had all the makings of a perfect election-year 
scandal that might threaten President Obama 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per>'s 
chances for a second term and re-energize a listless Tea Party movement 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/tea_party_movement/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>: 
an activist president, running an overbearing government, treating 
conservative groups unfairly by wielding the federal taxing power to 
undermine his adversaries. But a year ago, when the current Internal 
Revenue Service 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/i/internal_revenue_service/index.html?inline=nyt-org> 
scandal that has swirled around Mr. Obama first emerged, Washington --- 
and, apparently, the White House --- shrugged."

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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

    "With more clarity, White House adds to confusion on IRS"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50813>

Posted on May 21, 2013 8:53 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50813> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Worth readingDan Balz's Take 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-more-clarity-white-house-adds-to-confusion-on-irs/2013/05/21/a40c54f2-c24d-11e2-8c3b-0b5e9247e8ca_story.html>.

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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

    "CREW Sues IRS for Failing to Revise Rules Governing 501(c)(4)"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50810>

Posted on May 21, 2013 8:47 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50810> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

    Press release
    <http://www.citizensforethics.org/legal-filings/entry/crew-sues-irs-for-failing-to-revise-rules-governing-501c4-groups>:

    Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
    filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in United
    States District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the
    agency to initiate a rulemaking procedure to address serious
    conflicts between the Tax Code's requirements for section 501(c)(4)
    groups and implementing IRS regulations.  Current IRS regulations
    grant tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(4) of the Tax Code to
    groups "primarily engaged" in promoting social welfare.  The tax
    laws, however, require such groups to be "operated exclusively" for
    social welfare purposes.

    *Read CREW's complaint against the IRS*
    <http://www.citizensforethics.org/page/-/PDFs/Legal/CREW%20v.%20IRS%20%28Rulemaking%20Petition%29/5-21-13_District_Court_Complaint_IRS.pdf?nocdn=1>

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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

    Question of the Night (Election Administration Snark Edition)
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50807>

Posted on May 21, 2013 5:19 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50807> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

What do the Commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 
which Congress set up after the 2000 Florida election debacle to provide 
advice about best election practices, think about the just-announced 
composition <http://www.supportthevoter.gov/the-commission/> of the new 
Bauer-Ginsberg election commission?

Oh 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2013/02/thoughts_on_the_new_presidenti.php>wait 
<http://www.rollcall.com/issues/58_33/Agency-Formed-to-Restore-Confidence-in-Elections-Is-in-Disarray-218616-1.html>....

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
Election Assistance Commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>, The 
Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "Charities in Politics: A Reappraisal"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50804>

Posted on May 21, 2013 4:49 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50804> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Timely new article by Brian Galle, /Charities in Politics: A 
Reappraisal/, <http://wmlawreview.org/files/8-Galle.pdf> 54 William & 
Mary L. Rev. 1561 (2013).

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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

    Montana Law Review Election Law Symposium Now Available
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50801>

Posted on May 21, 2013 4:46 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50801> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Via the revamped MLR website <http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/>:

    Articles

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=mlr>

Foreword: The State of the Republican Form of Government in Montana 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/2>
Anthony Johnstone

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=mlr>

Keynote Address: On What Being a (small r) Republican Means 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/3>
Lawrence Lessig

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=mlr>

A Constitutional Right to Lie in Campaigns and Elections? 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/4>
Richard Hasen

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mlr>

The Constitutionality of Campaign Finance Regulation: Should Differences 
in a State's Political History and Culture Matter? 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/5>
William Marshall

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=mlr>

Taking Opt-In Rights Seriously: What Knox v. SEIU Could Mean for 
Post-Citizens United Shareholder Rights 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/6>
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

    Essays

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=mlr>

The Separation of Electoral Powers 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/7>
Edward Foley

PDF 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=mlr>

Evidencing a Republican Form of Government: The Influence of Campaign 
Money on State-Level Elections 
<http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss1/8>
Edwin Bender

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 
election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> | Comments Off

    Lois Lerner to Plead the Fifth in IRS Mess
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50798>

Posted on May 21, 2013 12:37 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50798> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The LA Times reports. 
<http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-top-irs-official-fifth-amendment-20130521,0,6645565.story>

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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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