[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/6/13

Tue Nov 5 21:37:28 PST 2013

    Five Election Law Issues Post Election Day
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56507>

Posted on November 5, 2013 9:35 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56507>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

---How did Texas's voter id go the first time through 
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/05/texas-voter-id-law-elections/3436047/>, 
in a low turnout election?

---What's going to happen in Pasadena, Texas controversial 
<http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/11/after-shelby-county/> redistricting 
measure, which on first count is squeaking by 
<https://twitter.com/mcpli/status/397939042890698753>?

---How well 
<http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_24462386/ranked-choice-voting-means-lots-candidates-but-not>did 
ranked choice voting work in Minneapolis?

---Will we have a recount in the VA AG's race 
<http://apps.washingtonpost.com/elections/guide/2013/VA/general/>?

--How did the presence of a third party candidate on the ballot in the 
Virginia election affect the outcome, and would it have been better or 
worse to have used ranked choice voting in this election? Robert Sarvis, 
the Libertarian candidate, currently shows 
<http://apps.washingtonpost.com/elections/guide/2013/VA/general/> 6.6% 
of the vote.

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

    "Texas holds 'em voteless with new ID law"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56505>

Posted on November 5, 2013 7:29 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56505>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo editorial 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/texas-holds-em-voteless-with-new-id-law/2013/11/05/0600b99c-462d-11e3-bf0c-cebf37c6f484_story.html?hpid=z6>.

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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>

    "Fixing Congress with Fair Representation Voting"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56502>

Posted on November 5, 2013 3:49 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56502>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

FairVote video 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS62N5b5L7Y&feature=youtu.be>.

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Posted in alternative voting systems <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

    "Federal trial challenging Wisconsin's voter ID law underway; String
    of people describes problems getting IDs"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56500>

Posted on November 5, 2013 3:40 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56500>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: 
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/federal-trial-challenging-wisconsin-voter-id-law-begins-b99134477z1-230511991.html>

    The trial began with a string of people describing the problems they
    had in trying to secure IDs for themselves or family members. Some
    of them have yet to be successful.

    "I cannot express the amount of time, energy and frustration it
    required" to get a license for her mother, Debra Crawford testified.

    Crawford's mother, Bettye Jones, was the lead plaintiff in one of
    the cases before the court Monday. Jones died in October 2012.

    Jones was born in Tennessee and lived much of her life in Cleveland,
    Ohio. She moved to Brookfield in 2011 to be closer to family after
    her husband died.

    She had to make multiple trips to a Wisconsin Division of Motor
    Vehicles office before she could get a driver's license last year
    because she did not have a birth certificate. Getting the license
    cost her more than $100 and took about 40 hours over several months,
    Crawford testified.

    Crawford and others who testified Monday were questioned only
    briefly during cross examination by attorneys for the state. But in
    opening statements, Kawski stressed state officials have made
    exceptions in unique circumstances to accommodate voters who had
    difficulty acquiring IDs.

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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>

    "Disagreement on whether trial in Texas voter ID case should be
    before or after the November 2014 election"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56498>

Posted on November 5, 2013 2:41 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56498>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Texas Redistricting reports 
<http://txredistricting.org/post/66123340534/disagreement-on-whether-trial-in-texas-voter-id-case>.

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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>

    "The influence of money in U.S. politics"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56495>

Posted on November 5, 2013 12:57 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56495>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Important Lynda Powell guest post 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2013/11/05/the-influence-of-money-in-u-s-politics/> 
on the Monkey Cage blog about the findings from "/her new book 'The 
Influence of Campaign Contributions in State Legislatures 
<http://www.press.umich.edu/2454352/influence_of_campaign_contributions_in_state_legislatures>,' 
which was awarded the American Political Science Association's 2013 
Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize 
<http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=6742> for the best book on 
legislative politics."/

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    "Humble blogger thwarted by Texas anti-voting dragnet"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56493>

Posted on November 5, 2013 12:51 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56493>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jonathan Bernstein 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/11/05/humble-blogger-thwarted-by-texas-anti-voting-dragnet/> 
(or is that Jonathan H. Bernstein?):

    The real point, of course, is to make it harder for people to vote
    so that they won't vote. Longer lines are a feature of voter ID
    measures and the exact-name-match requirement, not a bug.  The whole
    point of doing this is to increase the hurdles for voting, whether
    it's getting an acceptable photo ID for those who don't have one, or
    just creating confusion about the process. It won't keep anyone who
    really wants to vote from getting to the polls (and staying there no
    matter how long it takes). But for some voters, any steps to make it
    harder will make them less likely to vote.

    The United States already makes it harder to vote than almost any
    other comparable nation; Republicans --- and no question about it,
    this is a purely partisan effort --- are only increasing the gap.

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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>

    "Supreme Court won't hear challenge to Fla. political donor law"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56491>

Posted on November 5, 2013 12:49 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56491>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

/Washington Times/ 
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/4/supreme-court-wont-hear-challenge-to-fla-political/>:

    A Florida political activist is out of luck after the Supreme Court
    <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/supreme-court/> on Monday
    declined to hear his challenge to a state law that prohibited groups
    from donating small amounts of money without first forming a
    political action committee.

    The high court
    <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/11th-circuit-court/> has
    struck down a number of campaign giving restrictions and regulations
    in recent years, but its decision not to hear the case from
    plaintiff Andrew Worley
    <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/andrew-worley/> means that
    the 11th Circuit Court
    <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/11th-circuit-court/>'s
    decision in the case will stand and the Florida restrictions will
    remain in place.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    "Wiley Rein Seeks $2M in Fees in Voting Rights Case"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56489>

Posted on November 5, 2013 10:29 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56489>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

BLT 
<http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2013/11/wiley-rein-seeks-2m-in-fees-in-voting-rights-case.html>:

    The lawyers who successfully challenged the Voting Rights Act before
    the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year are seeking $2 million in
    legal fees from the federal government.

    U.S. Department of Justice lawyers and attorneys from Wiley Rein,
    who represented Shelby County, Ala., in the voting rights dispute,
    are expected to fight over two issues: whether the challengers are
    entitled to fees in the first place and whether $2 million is too much.

    The fee request
    <http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/shelby-county-motion-for-attorney-fees.pdf>
    "appears to present novel legal issues," the attorneys in the case
    said in a Nov. 4 court filing
    <http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/joint-motion-to-bifurcate-attorney-fee-issues.pdf>.
    The government and civil rights groups involved in the litigation
    plan to oppose the fee request. U.S. District Judge John Bates will
    first decide whether Shelby County's lawyers are entitled to fees
    before looking at how much compensation is appropriate.

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Posted in election law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting Rights Act 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

    "From Social Welfare Groups, A River Of Political Influence"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56487>

Posted on November 5, 2013 9:51 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56487>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Deep dive 
<http://www.npr.org/2013/11/05/242354030/from-social-welfare-groups-a-river-of-political-influence>from 
Peter Overby of NPR, and Viveca Novak and Robert McGuire of Open 
Secrets.  (Part II coming tomorrow).

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

-- 
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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