[EL] ELB News and Commentary 11/5/13
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Tue Nov 5 07:36:39 PST 2013
"The Supreme Court's Docket Addresses the Washington Gridlock"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56485>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:34 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56485>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Pam Karlan writes
<http://www.bostonreview.net/us-karlans-court/constitutional-gridlock>
for the /Boston Review/.
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Posted in political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
"15 officials facing recall votes on Tuesday"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56483>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:32 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56483>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This item
<http://recallelections.blogspot.com/2013/11/15-officials-facing-recall-votes-on.html>appears
at the Recall Elections Blog.
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Posted in recall elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=11>
Court Strikes Down CA Loyalty Oath
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56481>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:30 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56481>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The following press release arrived via email:
A California Superior Court in San Luis Obispo County has declared
three Joe McCarthy era sections
<http://www.stewjenkins.com/Ruling_Barta_v_Bowen_CV110665.pdf>of the
State's Election Code unconstitutional. In the case brought by John
Barta against Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Attorney General
Kamala Harris, and San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Julie
Rodewald, the Superior Court struck down sections that forbid
membership on county political party committees of the Democratic,
Republican, and American Independent Party without first taking and
signing a loyalty oath.
Judge Martin J. Tangeman summarized Barta's Complaint for
Declaratory relief which charged that by requiring a loyalty oath to
belong to political party governing committee California Election
Code §§ 7210, 7408 and 7655 are each "premised upon ... violations
of First Amendment rights, California Constitutional free speech
rights, and preemption."
Barta's lawyers, Saro Rizzo and Stew Jenkins, of San Luis Obispo
filed a Petition and Complaint In November 2011 seeking a
Declaration that the statutes were unconstitutional, together with
issuance of an Injunction against further enforcement of the
sections. Barta also urged the Court to order for the California
Attorney General to correct a formal opinion issued in the 1990s
asserting that § 7408 constitutionally limits membership and voting
on county central committees; and an order directing the Secretary
of State to notify all 58 County Clerks in California to stop
requiring the unconstitutional loyalty oaths. The California
Secretary of State supervises elections conducted by all 58 County
Clerks. Both the County and the State defendants sought to have the
suit thrown out by filing separate /demurrers/, but Barta's lawyers
prevailed against both /demurrers/. The Defendants had argued that
a provision of California's Constitution prevented them from
refusing to enforce the statutes unless a court first declared them
unconstitutional. Trial before Judge Tangeman was held Monday,
October 28, 2013.
According to page 2 of the Court's November 1, 2013 Ruling the San
Luis Obispo County Clerk "elected not to answer the Petition and a
default was entered on June 10, 2013." The Secretary of State and
California Attorney General had continued to oppose the suit but by
time of trial admitted that "some of Barta's claims have merit and
that the State has no objection to the Court entering a declaratory
judgment declaring certain statutes unconstitutional." The State's
admission that the statutes were unconstitutional had been made
almost two years after the case was filed. The Court ruled on page
3: "Barta will prevail on his declaratory relief cause of action
seeking a determination that Elections Code §§ 7210, 7408 and 7655
are unconstitutional and void on their face." Another section,
which the Court decided did not apply to county political party
central committees, was not stricken.
In the eight page ruling, the Court declined to issue injunction.
The essence of the Court's reasoning (summarized on page 5) was that
injunction or mandatory remedial orders were premature, but could
follow if the Secretary of State or California Attorney General took
action to enforce those unconstitutional previsions after the
Court's issuance of its order declared for the first time in
California that these sections violated the U.S. and California
Constitutions.
The Court reasoned, on page 5 of its ruling, that issuance of an
injunction would not be necessary "in this case because it [the
State] has conceded the unconstitutionality of the statutes, thereby
removing the threat of any potential enforcement of these statutes
by the State ... [and] the County Clerk-Recorder allowed a default
to be taken rather than contest the allegations." On page 8 of its
ruling, the Court repeated in stronger terms its reason for not
issuing injunction at this time because "Defendants have conceded
the unconstitutionality of the statutes challenged in this case,
/and have asserted that no injunctive relief is necessary because
they will not attempt to enforce an admittedly unconstitutional
statute/" [Emphasis added].
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
"What Ending Pay-to-Play Would Do for DC"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56479>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:26 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56479>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Craig Holman WaPo oped
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-ending-pay-to-play-would-do-for-dc/2013/11/01/9fea0bba-40da-11e3-a751-f032898f2dbc_story.html>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
"FEC Says Attempted Hacking of Website Impedes Public Access to
Campaign Data" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56477>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:24 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56477>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bloomberg BNA
<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=37945057&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0e2z9k4d5&split=0>:
"Attempts to hack the Federal Election Commission website have caused
ongoing problems with the website, the main source for public access to
campaign finance data."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, federal election
commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
Briffault on McCutcheon <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56475>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:22 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56475>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jurist:
<http://jurist.org/forum/2013/11/richard-briffault-mccutcheon-campaign.php>
With contribution limits effectively sidestepped by the unlimited
spending of Super PACs, political nonprofits, and other campaign
finance vehicles, the old reform strategy of using dollar limits to
curb the influence of big money is unlikely to succeed. Even if the
court rediscovers judicial modesty, decides to check its tendency to
second-guess Congress, and instead reaffirms Buckley's validation of
both contribution limits and aggregate caps, such a decision will
have at best a modest effect in constraining the role of great
private wealth in our elections. That goal is more likely to be
achieved by mechanisms that dilute the role of great private wealth
by increasing the share of campaign money coming from small donors.
As a number of states and cities have demonstrated, small-donor
matching systems, in which small contributions are matched by public
funds, often at a greater than one-to-one ratio, are one way to do this.
In other words, whatever the outcome in McCutcheon, the future of
campaign finance reform, if it is to succeed, is likely to depend
more on the adoption of public subsidies and other measures that
empower small donors, and inspire candidates to pursue their
donations, than on the limits at issue in the case.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"California donor disclosure case exposes how nonprofits can play in
politics" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56473>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:21 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56473>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo reports.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/california-donor-disclosure-case-exposes-how-nonprofits-play-in-politics/2013/11/04/70e0b7ac-4246-11e3-a624-41d661b0bb78_story.html?hpid=z1>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Big Money Flows in New Jersey Races to Thwart Christie Agenda"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56471>
Posted on November 5, 2013 7:17 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56471>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/nyregion/in-new-jersey-big-money-flows-to-foil-christie.html?hp&_r=0>:
"In this new world of Citizens United, you want to take advantage of
all the opportunities you can to advance the candidates you want to
support," said Ginger Gold Schnitzer, director of government
relations at the New Jersey Education Association. "We wanted to
broaden our participation in the electoral world, using our
resources to leverage the energy of other groups."
If successful, that model is likely to be exported to other state
and federal races next year.
"These groups are now operating as surrogate parties," said Jeffrey
M. Brindle, executive director of the New Jersey Election Law
Enforcement Commission. "They are assuming all of the roles that
parties have performed in our past."
Indeed, Republican and Democratic Party
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/democratic_party/index.html?inline=nyt-org>
committees have spent just $6 million on the election this year,
according to public records, less than a sixth of what independent
groups have spent.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"After Shelby County" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56469>
Posted on November 4, 2013 3:01 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56469>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Kali Borkoski reports
<http://www.scotusblog.com/media/after-shelby-county/> for SCOTUSBlog on
Pasadena, TX after Shelby County. Watch!
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Posted in Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
"Walker withdraws elections board nomination"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56467>
Posted on November 4, 2013 2:55 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56467>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP
<http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/state-and-regional/walker-withdraws-nomination-to-elections-board/article_1b56b9c4-458b-11e3-8532-001a4bcf887a.html>:
"Gov. Scott Walker wants to replace, without explanation, the former
judge who led the nonpartisan elections board during Walker's recall in
2012, raising questions about his motives for the unusual move."
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"38,000 Voters Removed from Virginia's Voter Rolls"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56465>
Posted on November 4, 2013 11:32 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56465>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This item <http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2013/11/04/1694/>appears at State
of Elections
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
"Texas Voter ID Law Ensnares Former Speaker of the House, Candidates
for Governor, State Judge" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56463>
Posted on November 4, 2013 11:26 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56463>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ari Berman writes
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/176977/texas-voter-id-law-ensnares-former-speaker-house-candidates-governor-state-judge#>
for The Nation.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>
"California probe of campaign donations sheds light on 'dark money'"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56461>
Posted on November 4, 2013 9:11 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56461>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
LA Times
<http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-secret-money-20131104,0,2449947.story?page=1#axzz2jhJl1cpX>:
"Russo, sitting in his lawyer's Sacramento office in July, told
authorities he still wasn't sure what happened to the $10 million that
never came back to California."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
John Pomerantz on Judicial Watch Claims on Illegal IRS-FEC
Coordination <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56459>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:53 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56459>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
John Pomerantz has written this post to the Election Law Listserv, which
I am reprinting with permission:
The facts so far don't seem to support the allegations by Judicial
Watch that the IRS disclosed confidential information about American
Future Fund, American Issues Project, and AIP's predecessor
organizations.
Here's what I found and provided to Paul Streckfus for his Exempt
Organizations Tax Journal:
The documents Judicial Watch received in response to its FOIA
request and released [at
http://www.judicialwatch.org/document-archive/fec-documents-emails-between-lois-lerner-and-fec/]
indicate that:
In July of 2008, Lois Lerner (then head of IRS Exempt Organizations
and formerly of the FEC) told an unnamed FEC enforcement attorney
that American Futures Fund hadn't been recognized as a 501(c)(4) by
the IRS and that she couldn't disclose information about pending
applications. It also appears that she explained the EO application
process to the FEC attorney.
In February of 2009, the FEC enforcement attorney again contacted
Lois regarding both American Futures Fund and the organization
American Issue Project (formerly Citizens for the Republic),
In March of 2009, someone on Lois' staff sent the FEC attorney
application documents for both organizations and the 2007 990 for AIP.
According to the Judicial Watch FOIA documents, Citizens for the
Republic was granted IRS recognition of the organization's 501(c)(4)
status in November 2007 (a month after submitting its application).
Based on the documents that I found on the Pro Publica website [at
http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/326775-1024-american-future-fund-part-1],
it appears that American Future Fund was recognized by the IRS as a
501(c)(4) on October 24, 2008 (7 months and several rounds of
additional questions after it applied).
Thus, it appears that in sharing application materials and
information returns for the two organizations in March of 2009, Lois
was disclosing documents that she was allowed to disclose.
(There is one potential issue: It is not clear if the redactions to
Schedule B of the 2007 AIP Form 990 were done when the IRS provided
the information to the FEC or whether they were done later. As shown
the redactions are done properly, but it would have been an improper
disclosure for the IRS to provide the unredacted Schedule B outside
the agency. I assume that if Judicial Watch had any reason to think
that Lois had provided an unredacted Schedule B to the FEC, we would
have heard about it.)
I think there's a legitimate question to be asked about whether the
FEC attorney got a more helpful (as in timely or fulsome) response
than someone else might have and, if so, what the motivation for
that might have been. I'll note that many of us whose work involves
the IRS rely on personal connections in the agency to more quickly
get information or resolve issues than would be possible through
normal channels. Indeed, IRS officials have spoken at ABA meetings,
urging practitioners to elevate issues when we encounter problems
getting matters resolved by front-line staff.
I think that those inclined to believe that the recent IRS scandal
was the result of IRS or administration bias against conservative
groups are likely to believe that Lois expedited the process of
getting this information to the FEC out of animus to these
conservative groups. Those of us who tend to favor a less partisan
explanation for recent IRS failings are apt to see what Lois and her
staff did for the FEC as typical of the type of informal assistance
that goes on all the time.
P.S. The link to the original Daily Caller piece didn't work for
me. Here's a working one:
http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/31/report-irs-provided-conservative-groups-confidential-tax-information-to-fec/
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"Book: Obama Attended Super PAC Fundraiser, Violating 2012 Campaign
Pledge" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56457>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:42 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56457>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
TIME reports
<http://swampland.time.com/2013/11/04/book-obama-attended-super-pac-fundraiser-violating-2012-campaign-pledge/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fswampland+%28TIME%3A+Swampland%29>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Wisconsin Voter ID Trial Begins" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56453>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:25 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56453>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/wisconsin-voter-id-99302.html>:
Voter ID advocates and opponents alike will be watching Wisconsin on
Monday as a new federal trial on the state's photo ID law begins.
The case is the first federal trial under the Voting Rights Act
since the Supreme Court struck down part of the law in June, and
it's one of the first cases to challenge voter ID under what's known
as Section 2 of the VRA. Section 2, which was unaffected by the
Supreme Court's decision, prohibits procedures that discriminate
based on race and other protected groups.
UPDATE: More
<http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9A30CB20131104?irpc=932> from
Reuters.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
"Old and New Local Independent Spending in Elections"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56451>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:18 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56451>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This item
<http://www.cityethics.org/content/old-and-new-local-independent-spending-elections>appears
at City Ethics.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"ERIC: Ensuring the Efficiency and Integrity of America's Voter
Rolls" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56449>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:17 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56449>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Pew video
<http://www.pewstates.org/news-room/video-library/eric-ensuring-the-efficiency-and-integrity-of-americas-voter-rolls-85899516073>
on ERIC.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
voter registration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>
"Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the
polls" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56447>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:15 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56447>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo reports
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/takoma-park-16-year-old-savors-his-history-making-moment-at-the-polls/2013/11/03/89f00962-425c-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html?tid=hpModule_99d5f542-86a2-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Can Adopting Ranked-Choice Voting Make Politics Civil?"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56445>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:14 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56445>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Governing reports
<http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-adopting-ranked-choice-voting-make-politics-civil.html>.
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Posted in alternative voting systems <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>
"A Victory Against Dark Money" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56443>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:12 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56443>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT editorial.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/a-victory-against-dark-money.html?ref=sunday&_r=0>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
True the Vote Calls Those Supporting Expansion of Voter Registration
Opportunities Through NVRA "Super Bullies"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56441>
Posted on November 4, 2013 8:12 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56441>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
See third item here
<http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=9t8ptdjab&v=001lAJKb32DnbiLSMyAAeLrJ5zKcZ_d1G7kmbtelEVHlANWDSCwl1gvYvDst3S2bORregHebCRhdCNQYhu-UJBgsulwkFb_KVzp6SH-lBE-5FCuXM0wAUj6GMpO3osAdRo_WmmmXd1q9JLhLu7DbxKxuRNbtijSISXyey0j8ra2b6cBhYSv14WxkrEwqR04sbsmHT-ipHub-O67EczhxHHedhoDHCeXpfGR54F89uMqiNWLhPhWFf_T8b2rqmGno8DzcR35Has7PQBo6qLYTEo0KGDv0CbgKT1DFl-B4PuGvtIeaNPVAQlvkubdeaP4jIpj>:
*Bullies in the Courthouse*
*By Anita MonCrief*
Anyone who ever spent time in a children's schoolyard can spot a
bully a mile away; their aggressive swagger, their entourage of
enablers, and of course, their brutish intimidation of vulnerable
targets. The schoolyard bully complex is an archetype as old as
time, endured by societies throughout the ages, but usually kept in
check through the bully's own recognition of his limited power. He
knows he can push only so far before society pushes back.
However, there are some bullies whose appetite for tyranny extends
well beyond the schoolyard. They do not alter behavior based on
social limits, because they do not believe that society's limits
apply to them. Given the right circumstances, these "super bullies"
can destroy whatever they set their sights on. Unfortunately for
America, a group of "super bullies" has not just emerged, but
united, and their sights are set on our nation's electoral system.
From the hallowed halls of Yale, Harvard and other Ivy League
institutions, elitist lawyers have teamed up with activist
organizers and self-appointed "community leaders" to engage in
targeted election litigation that exploits emotionally dependent
arguments from a bygone era.
ACORN's Project Vote, the Brennan Center for Justice, the
Advancement Project, and groups like the NAACP are quick to join in
this contrived legal firestorm, targeting state election codes to
extract settlements that alter those election codes just enough to
assure future "super bully" behavior can be applied to state
election processes and leveraged to partisan advantage -- all done,
by the way, with the assistance of our country's own Department of
Justice.
In 2011, Judicial Watch used FOIA requests to successfully prove
coordination between "super bullies", but this type of aggressive
litigation has roots that reach back to the Clinton administration.
The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) was the first bill signed
into law by then-President Bill Clinton, who enjoyed a long career
alongside ACORN, which was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas. Under
Section 7 of the NVRA law, state social welfare agencies are
required to offer voter registration forms to anyone seeking
government services, including drivers' licenses. This law is
commonly known as "Motor Voter."
A lack of knowledge regarding the implications of NVRA's Section 7,
coupled with low public scrutiny, allowed Project Vote and other
groups to operate on the edges of society - and they liked it that
way. Quietly, all across America, the DOJ has been a willing
accomplice to the "super bullies' " assault on the states,
increasingly serving as far more than just an accomplice by
facilitating its own frivolous litigation to generate binding
consent agreements against state election administrations.
*A list of recent bully-tactics litigation:*
* National Council of La Raza v. Miller (Nevada)
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001uxTMyDljPgVgtXMQGxrt-xWYLGbwQ4A7bEXVrEWRwTAb7FvRc8zN3yqmBKC4KG6xh78ckqn63EWzFbZtJmOvT9KjrVwFKkQPBQRkLP20oXJRTR9Mwv8jQOZapDawjAwTVXOfr3a7_OWsgdM9XTWKn9hiB5Vl4WwOcRtKQcDlvlHr2lpwO7DS6dT0NGq2ztgWdRAmnxRUZ6c=>
* Fair Elections Ohio v. Husted (Ohio)
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001uxTMyDljPgU868wOcUYP5uYmAKFEnAmMtFa39vv2spDy6FvRqUZ_tYo_o1PT99CWqpEe3W2k0lNZLIM2pIkAgeW6iSe1DOXi8-qah3_fiAsQYnIQDLXYPhW-hZAdatYiBN8l0d0ZtL4cF85gimhqQ9hfZqlFmJUMtHbjZbrZcRrc0ktHl-zi-q_MGhm1bfRRLmeHTuGfa300gfyyRUlR1Q==>
* Scott, Project Vote, NAACP v. Schedler (Louisiana)
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001uxTMyDljPgUOqAL4wi0kqAAy3hg8XL--mhe5s5M9BKHZChkd7HJm1bkybJmIwVo4HYrHDJWdQXD2Obk9Uz0rsWCB0aoVRHRstjgeTxV9SdaUy2f6squLZDZU3_VLEuUBWjsnIDWlyHVC6vq_JyR-MA==>
* Project Vote v. Texas
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001uxTMyDljPgWp9DcdYGHAJ4nsZLpkXnbc2ZOc1jVOdRU_0DXYc39qaMdNz0kvPUbSDi5XNCkj4cjhYjbiZeomq3IwDyDmhw-A-NMHNw-v1-V0Ium2rJe4w8X1M9ino0P1edRFxyh1M1vf6riKgKkU8fIvux-IRKdHcbSkAGu5pM0_WZnpebdzhQPl4pt1PO6BoROosdA24ZOYwOE-FdJx0_alBXaPdFyy>
Often, it only takes one person to stand up to a bully, but what
about a bully backed by billions, with the best lawyers in the
country and tremendous (albeit, misplaced) public support?
Litigation that will challenge the narrative of voter suppression is
crucial at this juncture in history. When the DOJ files a lawsuit
against a state they assume no one will stand up and fight back. The
states are afraid of the stigma that those allegations bring and of
getting on the wrong side of the federal government.
True the Vote is fighting for those states who are being bullied and
intimidated by this increasingly out of control pack of "super
bullies", including the DOJ. However, the bully pack's entourage of
enablers is legion; mainstream media, so-called "community leaders",
and countless radical activist groups, are ever ready to attempt to
silence critics by manufacturing outrage.
The "super bullies" failed attempts to silence True the Vote and
other supporting organizations will over time encourage others to
speak out and stand up against this orchestrated effort to use
baseless litigation to destroy the integrity of the American
electoral system. Thankfully, American society is still strong
enough to assure that fair rule of law, not the schoolyard bully,
will prevail.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
NVRA (motor voter) <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>, 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
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