[EL] more news 4/9/14

Wed Apr 9 13:13:12 PDT 2014

    It Just Gets Worse for the IRS and Politics
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60282>

Posted on April 9, 2014 1:07 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60282>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/04/09/irs-employees-urged-taxpayers-to-vote-for-obama-disparaged-republicans-watchdog-says/>: 
"Internal Revenue Service employees urged callers to vote for President 
Obama, disparaged Republicans in conversations with taxpayers and wore 
pro-Obama swag to work during the 2012 election cycle, according to a 
federal ethics watchdog."

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Posted in tax law and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

    "Ballot Secrecy Concerns and Voter Mobilization"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60280>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:25 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60280>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Gerber, Huber, Biggers and Hendry have published this article 
<http://apr.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/03/24/1532673X14524269.abstract> 
in /American Politics Research. /Here is the abstract:

    Recent research finds that doubts about the integrity of the secret
    ballot as an institution persist among the American public. We build
    on this finding by providing novel field experimental evidence about
    how information about ballot secrecy protections can increase
    turnout among registered voters who had not previously voted. First,
    we show that a private group's mailing designed to address secrecy
    concerns modestly increased turnout in the highly contested 2012
    Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election. Second, we exploit this and
    an earlier field experiment conducted in Connecticut during the 2010
    congressional midterm election season to identify the persistent
    effects of such messages from both governmental and non-governmental
    sources. Together, these results provide new evidence about how
    message source and campaign context affect efforts to mobilize
    previous non-voters by addressing secrecy concerns, as well as show
    that attempting to address these beliefs increases long-term
    participation

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Posted in voting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>

    "Formulating Voting Rights Act Remedies to Address Current
    Conditions" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60278>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:23 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60278>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Barry Edwards <http://apr.sagepub.com/content/42/3/376.abstract>has 
written this article for /American Politics Research. /Here is the abstract:

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down a key
    component of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) closes one of the most
    successful chapters in the history of civil rights enforcement. Our
    country has changed since 1965 and it is an opportune time to
    examine current political conditions for minority voters. Based on
    analysis of congressional elections from 1960 to 2010, I assess the
    central holding of /Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder/, and other
    controversial areas of VRA enforcement. My results support the
    Court's finding that the Act's historic coverage formula does not
    accurately reflect current political conditions. However, my results
    challenge prevailing views on two points. I conclude that uniform
    standards are problematic because redistricting guidelines that
    improve opportunities for African American voters are likely to
    diminish opportunities for Latino voters (and vice versa). In
    addition, requiring majority African American districts appears to
    diminish aggregate African American voting opportunities relative to
    targeting 45% to 50% African American districts.

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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

    "Supreme Court McCutcheon ruling protects political speech"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60276>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:20 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60276>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Maurer 
<http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2023330907_williamrmaureropedmccutcheon09xml.html?cmpid=2628> 
on McCutcheon in the /Seattle Times./

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    "Did Chief Justice Roberts Dissemble or did the Chief Justice Have
    no Idea What He Was Talking About?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60274>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:18 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60274>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Wertheimer 
<http://www.democracy21.org/money-in-politics/press-releases-money-in-politics/fred-wertheimer-did-chief-justice-roberts-dissemble-or-did-the-chief-justice-have-no-idea-what-he-was-talking-about/>on 
McCutcheon.

My thoughts on this question at SCOTUSBlog 
<http://www.scotusblog.com/?p=207450>.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    "Who's driving North Carolina's latest voter fraud hysteria?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60272>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:16 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60272>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This item 
<http://www.southernstudies.org/2014/04/whos-driving-north-carolinas-latest-voter-fraud-hy.html>appears 
at Facing South. #Kobach

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
fraudulent fraud squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting 
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    "AFJ Urges the IRS to Retract Erroneous Statement on Judicial &
    Executive Nominees" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60270>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:14 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60270>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Release 
<http://bolderadvocacy.org/blog/afj-urges-the-irs-to-retract-erroneous-statement-on-judicial-executive-nominees>:

    In a March 27 letter to the IRS
    <http://bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AFJ_Letter_to_IRS_Regarding527f.pdf>,
    Alliance for Justice called on the Service to issue an immediate
    clarification about the treatment of activities to influence
    executive and judicial appointments and nominations made in the
    recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM"): Guidance for
    Tax-Exempt Social Welfare Organizations on Candidate-Related
    Political Activities
    <https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-28492.pdf>.

    The NPRM proposes to include executive and judicial appointees and
    nominees within the definition of "candidate." By defining executive
    and judicial nominations as candidates, 501(c)(4) organizations
    would have to treat their efforts to influence those nominations as
    "political" and count that work as partisan political activity.

    We vehemently oppose this proposal, as we indicated in the comments
    we submitted to the IRS on February 27
    <http://bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/AFJ_comments_NPRM_Guidance_for_Tax-Exempt_Social_Welfare_Organizations_on_Candidate-Related_Political_Activities.pdf>.

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Posted in tax law and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

    "Addressing Minority Vote Dilution Through State Voting Rights Acts"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60268>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:12 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60268>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Paige Epstein has posted this draft 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2422915> on SSRN.  
Here is the abstract:

    Passed largely to address the problem of vote dilution and racially
    polarized voting, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) bans racial
    discrimination in voting practices by federal, state, and local
    governments. While the VRA has been successful in many respects,
    several large gaps remain. In an effort to narrow some of the gaps
    left by the federal VRA, four states have enacted or proposed
    individual state-VRAs or functional equivalents (herein referred to
    as individual state-VRAs).
    In this paper, I seek to explore how these states have attempted to
    use individual VRAs---and how successful they have been---in closing
    the gaps in coverage existing under the federal VRA. For each of the
    four enacted or proposed VRAs, I explore the background of the
    legislation, followed by an analysis of how the legislation
    operates. For California, Illinois, and Florida---the three states
    with enacted individual state-VRAs---I then examine how successful
    the legislation has been in increasing minority representation, and
    how it can be strengthened to further the state's goals. Since
    Washington's VRA has yet to become law, I explore the background,
    followed by an analysis of the proposed legislation. I conclude by
    assessing which individual state-VRAs---or aspects thereof---are
    best suited to serve as models for the forty-six other states
    without such legislation.
    I find that all four state-VRAs are ultimately successful insofar as
    they expand protection against minority vote dilution beyond that
    which is afforded to minority voters under the federal VRA. However,
    the level of success varies by state plan.

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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

    "The Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act. What Happened Next
    in These 8 States Will Not Shock You."
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60266>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:11 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60266>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Great headline on this Mother Jones piece. 
<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/republican-voting-rights-supreme-court-id>

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

    "Mississippi Has the Worst Elections"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60264>

Posted on April 9, 2014 12:05 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60264>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WonkWire 
<http://wonkwire.rollcall.com/2014/04/09/mississippi-worst-elections/> 
on the Pew Report.

So now we'll get a chance to see if those at the bottom try to improve 
on the measures set by Pew, as Heather Gerken postulated in her book, 
/The Democracy Index 
<http://www.amazon.com/The-Democracy-Index-Election-Failing/dp/0691136947>. 
/

I explained my skepticism in this era of the Voting Wars, in this 
/California Law Review/ book review 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1392299> of 
Heather's book.

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

    Breaking: Democratic Nominees to EAC Clear Senate Rules Committee
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60262>

Posted on April 9, 2014 11:59 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60262>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Does this mean that Dems have lined up the votes on their side (no 
filibuster for these votes, remember) to get these nominations through?

Press release:

    *SCHUMER ANNOUNCES ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION NOMINEES THOMAS
    HICKS AND MYRNA PÉREZ CLEAR SENATE RULES COMMITTEE*

    **

    *WASHINGTON, DC-- *U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the
    Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, announced today that
    Thomas Hicks and Myrna Pérez, nominees to the Election Assistance
    Commission, have been reported out to the full Senate. Both nominees
    were reported out of the Rules Committee by voice vote on April 9,
    2014. The nominees will now be placed on the Senate's Executive
    Calendar. The Rules Committee held a hearing on the nominations of
    Thomas Hicks and Myrna Pérez on December 11, 2013.

    *Mr. Hicks *is the Senior Elections Counsel on the U.S. House of
    Representatives Committee on House Administration since 2003, where
    he oversees all Committee matters relating to Federal elections and
    campaign finance. Prior to that, he was a Policy Analyst for Common
    Cause, a non-profit, public advocacy organization working in support
    of election and campaign finance reform.  He also previously served
    as a Special Assistant in the Office of Congressional Relations at
    the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  He received his J.D. from
    the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and his
    B.A. in Government from Clark University (Worcester, MA).

    *Ms. **Pérez* is currently an adjunct professor and the Director of
    the Voting Rights and Elections Project at the Brennan Center for
    Justice at NYU School of Law, where she has worked and published on
    a variety of voting rights issues.  Previously, Ms. Pérez was the
    Civil Rights Fellow at Relman, Dane, and Colfax, a civil rights law
    firm in Washington, DC, and served as a policy analyst at the United
    States Government Accountability Office. Ms. Pérez is the recipient
    of several awards, including the Puerto Rican Bar Association Award
    for Excellence in Academia and the Robert F. Kennedy Award for
    Excellence in Public Service and is a past Chair of the Election Law
    Committee of the City of New York Bar Association.  She clerked for
    Judge Anita B. Brody of the United States District Court for the
    Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for Judge Julio M. Fuentes of
    the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Ms. Pérez
    holds a B.A. from Yale College, an M.P.P. from Harvard University's
    Kennedy School of Government, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

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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>

    "Deja Vu: Ohio Fighting About Absentee Ballots -- Again"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60260>

Posted on April 9, 2014 7:31 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60260>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A ChapinBlog 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2014/04/deja_vu_ohio_fighting_about_ab.php>.

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Posted in absentee ballots <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, 
election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting 
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    Two from Paul Blumenthal <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60257>

Posted on April 9, 2014 7:28 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60257>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Nothing Really Compares To The Koch Brothers' Political Empire 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/koch-brothers-liberal-counterpart_n_5113492.html?utm_hp_ref=politics>

RNC Chairman: Bring Back The Gilded Age 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/09/rnc-campaign-finance_n_5115266.html?utm_hp_ref=politics>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    "The Future of Campaign Finance Laws"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60255>

Posted on April 9, 2014 7:25 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60255>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Erwin Chemerinsky guest blogs 
<http://hamilton-griffin.com/the-future-of-campaign-finance-laws/> at 
Hamilton-Griffin.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    "Justice Stevens' Proposal to Amend the 1st Amendment"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60253>

Posted on April 9, 2014 7:19 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=60253>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ron Collins blogs 
<http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2014/04/fan-10-first-amendment-news-justice-stevens-proposal-to-amend-the-1st-amendment.html>.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

-- 
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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