[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/21/13
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sun Oct 20 22:08:13 PDT 2013
"Motives for Chief Justice Castille's retention run scrutinized"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56138>
Posted on October 20, 2013 10:01 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56138>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
<http://triblive.com/politics/politicalheadlines/4880949-74/castille-justice-court#axzz2iKU7G4IZ>:
Chief Justice Ron Castille wants voters to give him one more 10-year
term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, even though he will serve
only a year because of the mandatory retirement law for judges.
Castille is running for retention --- a "yes" or "no" choice by
voters on Nov. 5 --- but he will turn 70 in March and must retire by
Dec. 31, 2014. His campaign is fueled by a $50,000 contribution from
the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, records show.
(H/T How Appealin <http://howappealing.law.com/102013.html#053183>g).
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, judicial elections
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>
"Attorney General: Asks court to rule NH can regulate 'push polls'
in federal elections" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56136>
Posted on October 20, 2013 9:55 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56136>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The /Union Leader/ reports.
<http://www.unionleader.com/article/20131021/NEWS06/131029930>
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
"In North Carolina, a Democratic state official speaks out"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56134>
Posted on October 20, 2013 9:54 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56134>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
LA Times:
<http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nc-attorney-general-20131021,0,2375441.story>
Roy Cooper is in a very lonely place. He's a Democratic state
attorney general surrounded by conservative Republicans who control
North Carolina state government.
Now those Republicans have put Cooper in an awkward spot. He has
publicly condemned GOP-sponsored laws on voter identification and
gay marriage, yet must defend those same laws in court.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"Former judge provides 'cold comfort' on voter ID law"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56132>
Posted on October 20, 2013 9:37 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56132>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
IndyStar
<http://www.indystar.com/article/20131019/NEWS/310190018/Former-judge-provides-cold-comfort-voter-ID-law?nclick_check=1>on
Judge Posner (who, despite the title, is still a judge)
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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>
Jessica Levinson Named as LA City Ethics Commissioner
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56129>
Posted on October 20, 2013 9:33 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56129>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Congratulations
<http://electionlawblog.org/ens.lacity.org/clk/committeeagend/clkcommitteeagend2984526_10182013.pdf>
Jessica
<http://lls.edu/aboutus/facultyadministration/faculty/facultylistl-r/levinsonjessica/>!
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Posted in election law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>
"Lobbyists Ready for a New Fight on U.S. Spending"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56127>
Posted on October 20, 2013 4:39 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56127>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/us/lobbyists-ready-for-a-new-fight-on-us-spending.html?hp&_r=1&>:
Throughout the tense fiscal deadlock in recent weeks, some of the
most powerful forces in Washington, including retirees and defense
contractors, largely sat on the sidelines. Now they are preparing
for a political fight with billions of federal dollars at stake.
With automatic cuts to the military
<http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=120825> set to take
effect by January and a separate round of cuts scheduled for
Medicare <http://www.bna.com/medicare-doc-fix-b17179878770/>,
lawmakers will have to decide who gets hit the hardest. Washington's
lobbying machine --- representing older citizens, doctors,
educators, military contractors and a wide range of corporate
interests --- is gearing up to ensure that the slices of federal
money for those groups are spared in new negotiations over
government spending.
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Posted in legislation and legislatures
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>, lobbying
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>
"Wisconsin Supreme Court justices tend to favor attorney donors"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56124>
Posted on October 20, 2013 4:38 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56124>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
<http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/10/20/wisconsin-supreme-court-justices-tend-to-favor-attorney-donors/>:
In January 2009, Milwaukee area attorney Mark Thomsen donated $5,000
to a Wisconsin official's political campaign. Thomsen soon sent an
additional $500 just eight days before the official cast a key vote
on an insurance issue that greatly affected Thomsen and his clients.
The public official's vote was not in the state Assembly, or the
state Senate. It was in the state's highest court.
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision came down in Thomsen's
favor, the majority included the recipient of Thomsen's money: Chief
Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
Abrahamson, in fact, is the top recipient of support from attorneys
whose cases reach the Supreme Court, pulling in $188,650 over the
past 11 years, a Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
analysis shows.
Those attorneys contributed a total of $210,750 to current justices,
either before or after their cases were heard, from July 2002
through June 2013. Fifty-six percent of these contributions came in
before the court's rulings.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, judicial elections
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>
"This Voting Reform Could Save the Republican Party from Itself"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56122>
Posted on October 20, 2013 4:33 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56122>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Reihan Salam
<http://www.businessinsider.com/this-voting-reform-could-save-the-republican-party-from-itself-2013-10>:
Rather than an outright divorce, Republicans ought to consider a
different approach. Right now, Tea Party activists are pledging to
launch a new round of primary challenges against Republicans deemed
"squishy." The big problem with primary elections, however, is that
they attract relatively few voters, and even fairly well-informed
party members often know little about the candidates on primary
ballots. Knowing a candidate's party is tremendously useful --- it
offers a quick shorthand as to what candidates believe. Primary
ballots are bereft of this kind of useful information. Yes, you can
generally be assured that the candidates running in a GOP primary
are Republicans. But which kind of Republican?
In "Informing Consent: Voter Ignorance, Political Parties, and
Election Law," Christopher Elmendorf of the UC Davis School of Law
and David Schleicher of the George Mason University School of Law
propose providing primary voters with on-ballot guides to
candidates' issue stances, as well as endorsements. For example, if
a Tea Party candidate runs against a regular Republican, she can
include endorsements by current officeholders (like Ted Cruz or Rand
Paul) or widely-recognized political groups (like Tea Party
Express). Republican primary voters would have a much easier time
making a meaningful choice between candidates if they knew that one
had been endorsed by the Tea Party Express while the other had been
endorsed by the centrist Main Street Partnership. This wouldn't make
the GOP's warring factions fall in love all over again. Indeed, it
could intensify intra-party conflict by encouraging the formation of
new pressure groups. But it would help settle the question of
whether Republicans want to be the party of Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz
or of Chris Christie and Jeb Bush. And that's not nothing.
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, political
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>, primaries
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>
"Voting fight: Is it race or is it politics?"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56118>
Posted on October 19, 2013 4:21 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56118>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Charlotte Observer
<http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/19/4399850/voting-fight-is-it-race-or-is.html#.UmMAByQd7h0>:
North Carolina's new restrictions on voting may favor the Republican
Party, but Democrats must prove more than that to beat them in court.
GOP legislators who passed the rules last summer say they are
designed to streamline and modernize the state's voting while also
blocking election fraud, a problem they describe as rampant and
undetected.
Opponents -- including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder -- say the
claims of fraud are a ruse and that the laws are part of a national
campaign by conservatives to suppress voting by minorities, the poor
and the young. Those groups are part of an emerging Democratic
coalition that swung North Carolina to President Barack Obama in
2008 and came close again four years later.
Who wins in court may hinge on whether judges believe Republicans
were motivated by politics or race. In other words, have black
voters been discriminated against? Or were they legal targets of
hard-ball GOP politics?
"Race or Party?" is the theme of the 2013 American Values Public
Lecture <http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/HasenTalk.pdf>
I'll be giving at NC State on October 24 and my keynote address at this
conference on October 25
<https://www.eventbrite.com/event/8662677301/?ref=enivtefor001&invite=NDQzNjY2NS9yaGFzZW5AbGF3LnVjaS5lZHUvMA%3D%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inviteformalv2&utm_term=attend&ref=enivtefor001>.
I will also post soon on SSRN a draft, /Race or Party?: How Courts
Should Think About Republican Efforts to Make It Harder to Vote in North
Carolina and Elsewhere./
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
About FairVote's "Crossover Districts"....
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56116>
Posted on October 19, 2013 4:02 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56116>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A reader from Texas writes:
Fair Vote
<http://www.fairvote.org/disappearing-crossover-legislators-key-to-resolving-the-shutdown#.UmHGNiQd7h1>cites
116 "crossover" representatives in 1992 representing 27% of the
House. To the extent that figure represents some sort of idealistic
"good ol' days" for Congress, it is terribly misleading. The
overwhelming reason that those districts existed was because the
South was still sending conservative Democrats to Congress in huge
numbers. And those conservative Democrats were getting elected in
spite of the fact that the South overwhelmingly rejected national
Democrat policies. The reality is...those conservative southern
Democrats in 1992 were the residual "momentum" of the long term
racism that existed throughout the South that had been vested in the
Democratic Party. As Democrat politicians began to jump ship (...as
a Texan, John Connally, Phil Gramm, Rick Perry come to mind...),
Southerners began to elect Republicans in larger numbers, and House
elections in the South slowly began to reflect consistency with
national politics.
UPDATE: Rob Richie of FairVote replies:
Your Texas reader has a narrow view of both the changing patterns of
"crossover" representatives and southern politics. More rural, blue
dog Democrats were able to win in many states outside the South as
well, while more liberal Republicans were able to win in regions
like New England where today they are entirely shut out.
Furthermore, most of those disparaged southern white Democrats
practiced cross-racial politics --- both in how they got elected and
in how they served. Indeed, two decades ago, every single southern
state legislative chamber was run by a coalition of white and black
Democrats (and Latinos in Texas), as was the U.S. House. Today, the
U.S. House and nearly every chamber is run by white Republicans
without almost any racial minority support, which translates into a
massive loss of political power of racial minorities --- and there
is no chance of change in most southern states for at least two
decades. With restoration of "crossover" representation, a change to
ranked choice voting in multi-seat districts in the region is the
best chance to reduce both partisan and racial polarization in
legislative elections.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
New Issue of "The Forum" Focused on Campaign Finance
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56113>
Posted on October 19, 2013 4:00 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56113>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This issue focuses on a research agenda for campaign finance. These
articles are the product of 2 conferences sponsored by the Campaign
Finance Institute and the Bipartisan Policy Center. More information
about the working group here
<http://cfinst.org/MoneyandPolitics_ScholarsAgenda.aspx> (and full
report
<http://www.cfinst.org/pdf/books-reports/scholarworkinggroup/CFI-BPC_Research-Agenda_Report_Webversion.pdf>).
*The Forum Volume 11, Issue 3
<http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/issue-files/for.2013.11.issue-3.xml>*
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*Masthead <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-masthead3/for-2013-masthead3.xml>*
Page i
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*Introduction <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0045/for-2013-0045.xml>*
Shafer, Byron E. / DiSalvo, DanielPage 311
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*Richer Parties, Better Politics? Party-Centered Campaign Finance Laws and American Democracy <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0046/for-2013-0046.xml>*
La Raja, Raymond J.Page 313
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*The Influence of Campaign Contributions on Legislative Policy <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0047/for-2013-0047.xml>*
Powell, Lynda W.Page 339
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*Following Powell's Lead and Expanding the Agenda <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0048/for-2013-0048.xml>*
Jones, Ruth S.Page 357
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*Public Election Funding: An Assessment of What We Would Like to Know <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0049/for-2013-0049.xml>*
Mayer, Kenneth R.Page 365
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*Small Donors: Incentives, Economies of Scale, and Effects <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0050/for-2013-0050.xml>*
Malbin, Michael J.Page 385
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*The Internet and American Political Campaigns <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0051/for-2013-0051.xml>*
Karpf, DavidPage 413
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*Messages, Micro-targeting, and New Media Technologies <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0052/for-2013-0052.xml>*
Jamieson, Kathleen HallPage 429
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*Campaign Spending and Electoral Competition: Towards More Policy Relevant Research1 <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0053/for-2013-0053.xml>*
Milyo, JeffPage 437
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*An Agenda for Future Research on Money in Politics in the United States <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0054/for-2013-0054.xml>*
Fortier, John C. / Malbin, Michael J.Page 455
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*Money and Influence in the Chicago City Council <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0055/for-2013-0055.xml>*
Hennessy, Cari LynnPage 481
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*Making the Affordable Care Act Work: High-Risk Pools and Health Insurance Marketplaces <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0056/for-2013-0056.xml>*
Haeder, Simon F.Page 499
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*Book review <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0057/for-2013-0057.xml>*
Johnston, RichardPage 513
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*Book review <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0058/for-2013-0058.xml>*
Schnidman, Evan A.Page 517
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*Book review <http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2013.11.issue-3/for-2013-0059/for-2013-0059.xml>*
Glenn, Brian J.Page 523
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers
and The Business Roundtable Attack Center for Public Accountability
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56109>
Posted on October 19, 2013 3:55 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56109>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers
and The Business Roundtable -- the Big 3 business trade associations ---
have written this letter
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Joint-BRT_NAM_USCC-letter.pdf>
attacking the Center for Political Accountability and the CPA-Zicklin
Index. See also this fact sheet.
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/5-Facts-CPA-.pdf>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Political Polarization at Its Peak? Not All Agree"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56107>
Posted on October 19, 2013 3:48 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=56107>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WSJ's "The Numbers Guy" reports
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304384104579141884050712874>.
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Posted in political parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,
political polarization <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
"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."
Share
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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.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D56097&title=%E2%80%9CDisappearing%20%E2%80%98Crossover%20Legislators%E2%80%99%20Key%20to%20Resolving%20the%20Shutdown%E2%80%9D&description=>
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?...
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D56095&title=%E2%80%9CIt%E2%80%99s%20Top-Two%20Friday%21%E2%80%9D&description=>
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.
Share
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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>
--
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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