[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/19/13
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Fri Oct 18 20:21:48 PDT 2013
"Preview: Washington's Open Secret"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56105>
Posted on October 18, 2013 8:19 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56105>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Watch <http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50157415n> 60 Minutes
preview: "Leadership PAC money has become just another slush fund for
Congress, says former Federal Election Commission Chair Trevor Potter.
Watch Steve Kroft's report on Sunday Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"For post-shutdown reform ideas, many look to California"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56099>
Posted on October 18, 2013 7:40 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56099>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The /Los Angeles Times /reports
<http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-shutdown-reform-20131019,0,2567559,full.story>.
Regardless of who draws the lines, the electorate remains polarized
politically and geographically, with liberal Democrats concentrated
in parts of the state and conservative Republicans
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/parties-movements/republican-party-ORGOV0000004.topic>
in others. The number of districts actually open to a centrist
candidate is small.
Legislative gridlock did end in California, but not because
moderates flooded into the statehouse. Instead, Democrats picked up
a supermajority of seats, giving them unbridled control of Sacramento.
"A strong debate is raging over whether any of these things make a
difference," said Rick Hasen, an elections expert at UC Irvine
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/education/colleges-universities/university-of-california-irvine-OREDU00000198.topic>
School of Law. "Do they lead to centrists more willing to
compromise? The early evidence from California is no."
Still, supporters of election changes remain optimistic about the
state's moves and the chances of similar ideas taking root elsewhere.
Seth Masket's right: It's Top-Two Friday!
<http://mischiefsoffaction.blogspot.com/2013/10/its-top-two-friday.html>
See also my coverage <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56093> of the NYT
article.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
"Disappearing 'Crossover Legislators' Key to Resolving the Shutdown"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56097>
Posted on October 18, 2013 4:40 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56097>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
FairVote
<http://www.fairvote.org/disappearing-crossover-legislators-key-to-resolving-the-shutdown#.UmHGNiQd7h1>:
Amid the shutdown-inspired talk of polarization and dysfunction in
Congress, it is encouraging to see examples of real bipartisan
cooperation. A group of twelve senators -- six Republicans and six
senators who caucus with Democrats -- played a critical role
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/self-cast-group-of-senate-moderates-wants-to-make-a-deal-from-the-middle-for-the-middle/2013/10/14/74aac8d6-34f0-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html>
in the last week, working to find a compromise to reopen the
government and avert a default on the national debt. As the dust of
the shutdown settles, it is worth asking why, even in today's
contentious political climate, moderates are able to drive the
debate and be a force for compromise in the Senate, while the House
remains mired in polarized dysfunction.
The explanation becomes apparent when looking at the states that the
members of the group of twelve represent. Seven of the twelve,
including the group's leaders, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe
Manchin (D-WV), represent states that were won by the opposing
party's candidate in the 2012 presidential election. "Crossover
legislators" like these have electoral incentives to work across
party lines and engage in crossover voting
<http://www.fairvote.org/house-abortion-vote-reflects-anti-crossover-trend/#.Ul_8VFCKJ21>,
as their reelection is dependent on gaining the support of voters of
both parties. It is no wonder that many of the 22 Senators who fall
into this category are among the most consistently moderate voices
in the chamber.
Crossover representatives are much rarer in the House. Just 26 (6%)
of current representatives come from a district where the opposing
party's presidential candidate performed better than he did
nationwide in 2012, down from 116 (27%) in 1992.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
"It's Top-Two Friday!" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56095>
Posted on October 18, 2013 4:15 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56095>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Seth Masket
<http://mischiefsoffaction.blogspot.com/2013/10/its-top-two-friday.html>:
Thanks to Richard Skinner
<https://twitter.com/richardmskinner/status/391309384275357696> and
Rick Hasen <https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/391294827645530112>
for pointing out that the reformers are out in force today. The /New
York Times/' Adam Nagourney
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/us/california-upends-its-image-of-legislative-dysfunction.html?hp&_r=1&> and
the /Washington Post/'s Reid Wilson
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/10/18/the-solution-to-hyper-partisanship-already-exists-and-it-doesnt-involve-gerrymandering/> both
have articles up today talking up California's top two primary
system as a solution to hyper-partisanship in our country. This
comes just two days after Amy Walter
<http://cookpolitical.com/story/6309> wrote a similar piece for the
Cook Political Report.
I've written a good deal on this topic, so let me try to sum up my
answer to the question of whether the top two primary system will
reduce partisanship:
Probably not.
Why not?...
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>, primaries
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>
NYT Top Story Says CA Dysfunction Getting Better Because of Top Two
Primary and Redistricting Reform <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56093>
Posted on October 18, 2013 1:08 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56093>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Article here
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/us/california-upends-its-image-of-legislative-dysfunction.html?hp&_r=0>.
I was surprised to see that the article did not quote from more
skeptical political scientists who have looked at the question.
Screen Shot 2013-10-18 at 7.48.49 PM
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2013-10-18-at-7.48.49-PM.png>
Some of that literature
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2013/10/18/reforming-primary-elections-wont-make-government-better/>
summarized in this post at The Monkey Cage.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>, primaries
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>
"Watchdogs Urge FEC to Reject Tea Party Group Request for Donor
Disclosure Exemption Originally Granted to NAACP in Jim Crow South"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56091>
Posted on October 18, 2013 1:00 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56091>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2271:october-18-2013-watchdogs-urge-fec-to-reject-tea-party-group-request-for-donor-disclosure-exemption-originally-granted-to-naacp-in-jim-crow-south-&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Judge Posner's Weak Mea Culpa" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56088>
Posted on October 18, 2013 11:04 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56088>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ed Whelan
<http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/361613/judge-posners-weak-mea-culpa-ed-whelan>:
By contrast, one has to wonder what underlies his assertion in his
book some six years later that he got it wrong. The few words he
writes---that the law "was a type of law now widely regarded as a
means of voter suppression rather than of fraud prevention"---seem
sloppy and ill-considered. In a book replete with footnotes, he
doesn't bother to cite any support for his proposition. Nor does the
stark dichotomy he posits seem a sound one: As his opinion
recognized, any fraud-prevention measure will have the incidental
effect of deterring some people from voting.
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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>
"The solution to hyper-partisanship already exists, and it doesn't
involve gerrymandering" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56086>
Posted on October 18, 2013 11:01 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56086>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Reid Wilson
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/10/18/the-solution-to-hyper-partisanship-already-exists-and-it-doesnt-involve-gerrymandering/>
wants open primaries.
I'm skeptical
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2243798>of this too
as a solution to polarization.
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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
"Judge denies injunction in voter lawsuit brought by Democrats"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56084>
Posted on October 18, 2013 10:56 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56084>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Times-Dispatch
<http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/judge-denies-injunction-in-voter-lawsuit-brought-by-democrats/article_c78b1904-380e-11e3-9a05-0019bb30f31a.html>:
"A federal judge has rejected a request from Virginia Democrats who want
the State Board of Elections to reinstate nearly 40,000 voters who were
recently purged from the voter rolls."
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter registration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>
"County Pulse: Stanislaus County leaders settle dispute over charges
for recounting ballots of Riverbank election"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56082>
Posted on October 18, 2013 7:29 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56082>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Modesto Bee reports
<http://www.modbee.com/2013/10/17/2980440/county-leaders-settle-dispute.html>.
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Posted in recounts <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=50>
"Guest Blog: The perils of two-tiered voter registration systems"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56080>
Posted on October 18, 2013 7:28 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56080>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Franita Tolson blogs
<http://www.afj.org/blog/the-perils-of-two-tiered-voter-registration-systems>.
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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>, voter registration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>
"Don't Blame Safe Seats for the Tea Party"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56078>
Posted on October 18, 2013 7:26 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56078>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Frank Wilkinson writes
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-18/don-t-blame-safe-seats-for-the-tea-party-.html>
for Bloomberg View.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>,
redistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>
"A ranked-choice voting system for Congress"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56076>
Posted on October 17, 2013 8:07 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56076>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Rob Richie and Devin McCarthy
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-ranked-choice-voting-system-for-congress/2013/10/17/0e40ea2a-35c8-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_story.html>
writing in WaPo: "It's easy to blame politicians for the federal
government shutdown
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/government-reopens-thursday-after-congress-passes-budget-deal-raises-debt-limit/2013/10/17/dbe7889a-371b-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html>,
but the dysfunction will continue until Americans understand how our
voting laws reward confrontation
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/02/the-shutdown-is-the-constitutions-fault/>
and realize which steps are necessary for real reform."
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Posted in alternative voting systems
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>, political parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
--
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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