[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/13/14
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Tue Aug 12 21:04:46 PDT 2014
Texas's Unusual Defense in Voter ID Case: DOJ is Too Partisan
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64248>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 5:46 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64248>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A reader alerted me tothis filing
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Veasey4481.pdf>of
the state of Texas in the voter id case (particularly pages 13-23),
raising an affirmative defense to DOJ's claims that Texas's voter id law
violates section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and that Texas's intentional
racial discrimination in voting gives the court discretion to cover
Texas again under a preclearance regime under section 3 of the Voting
Rights Act. Texas argues that section 3 is not appropriate because DOJ
is partisan and has applied the Voting Rights Act in an unfair and
unconstitutional manner, especially against Texas and other state
formerly covered by section 5. Texasattached as an exhib
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Veasey4482.pdf>it
the Inspector General's report finding some partisanship at the DOJ
under Holder.
DOJ's response is that what Texas is raising is not an appropriate
affirmative defense to liability. From theDOJ motion to strike
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/veasey4911.pdf>:
Defendants' "Affirmative Allegations and Defenses," however, do not
relate to any element of a Section 2 claim or remedy, do not in fact
assert any recognized affirmative defenses, and do not allege any
cognizable counterclaim. Instead, Defendants merely assert a litany
of immaterial, misleading, and inapt critiques of the Department of
Justice's Voting Rights Act enforcement and internal operations.
Because Defendants' "Affirmative Allegations and Defenses" are not
tied to any claim or potential remedy pending before this
Court---including the core issue of whether SB 14 violates Section
2---and because litigating such immaterial matters will unfairly
prejudice the United States at trial, the United States respectfully
moves to strike them pursuant to Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure.
Meanwhile, the parties are still fighting over whether Texas gets any
emails related to DOJ's investigation of any voter fraud allegations.
Seems like Texas believes that the best defense is a good offense. But
I don't expect this defense to fly, at least not before the trial court.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64248&title=Texas%E2%80%99s%20Unusual%20Defense%20in%20Voter%20ID%20Case%3A%20DOJ%20is%20Too%20Partisan&description=>
Posted inDepartment of Justice
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>,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>
"Could Prop. 49 be Prop. 140 redux?"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64246>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 4:27 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64246>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
David Ettinger
<http://www.atthelectern.com/could-prop-49-be-prop-140-redux/>:
Which raises the question of how the Supreme Court's order will
affect inter-branch relations and brings to mind the court's action
almost a quarter century ago on another ballot measure, Proposition
140. That measure was definitely /not/ placed on the ballot by the
Legislature. Instead, it was a citizens' initiative that imposed
term limits on legislators and cut the Legislature's budget. After
its approval
<https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/pdf/approval-percentages-initiatives.pdf> by
52 percent of the vote in 1990, the Legislature challenged its
validity. But the Supreme Court mostly upheld the measure
(/Legislature v. Eu/ (1991) 54 Cal.3d 492), which greatly displeased
the Legislature.
Former Chief Justice Ronald George, who had just joined the court as
an associate justice at the time of the Prop. 140 case, recounts in
his memoir
<http://www.atthelectern.com/former-chief-justice-georges-memoir-to-be-published-in-two-weeks/> how
the court's ruling soured relations between the legislative and
judicial branches. George says that the court's decision ---
especially the inclusion in the opinion of some inflammatory
language --- caused "damage that persisted for years." According to
George, "legislators view many court decisions . . . through a
political prism" and "their immediate reaction . . . was to view the
[Prop. 140] decision as something that would merit retribution on
their part, or, as they put it more succinctly, 'payback.' " He
also recounts a legislative leader saying to then-Chief Justice
Malcolm Lucas, " 'After what you guys just did to us, we would look
like a bunch of wimps if we didn't do anything to you.' "
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64246&title=%E2%80%9CCould%20Prop.%2049%20be%20Prop.%20140%20redux%3F%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted indirect democracy <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=62>
"'Stop Common Core' Ballot Line Picks Up Steam"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64244>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 1:36 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64244>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP
<http://www.wfuv.org/news/140812/stop-common-core-ballot-line-picks-steam>:
"More than 62,000 New York residents have signed on to an effort to
create a new "Stop Common Core" ballot line to allow voters to voice
their concerns about the state's new education standards."
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64244&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Stop%20Common%20Core%E2%80%99%20Ballot%20Line%20Picks%20Up%20Steam%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
"McDaniel lists own lawyer as irregular vote"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64242>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 1:05 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64242>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Oops.
<http://www.clarionledger.com/story/politicalledger/2014/08/12/mcdaniel-challenge-crossover-tyner/13962391/>
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64242&title=%E2%80%9CMcDaniel%20lists%20own%20lawyer%20as%20irregular%20vote%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,fraudulent fraud squad
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>,The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"'Electoral Integrity,' 'Dependence Corruption,' and What's New
Under the Sun" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64240>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 1:04 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64240>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I have postedthis very short
piece<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2479551>on SSRN
(forthcoming, /NYU Law Review Online/). Here is the abstract:
This short symposium piece is a response to Justin Levitt's comments
on Dean Robert Post's concept of "electoral integrity," which Dean
Post recently described in his book, Citizens Divided. It argues
that eminent constitutional scholars such as Dean Post and Professor
Lawrence Lessig have repackaged interests to support campaign
finance laws already rejected by the Supreme Court in an attempt to
circumvent those earlier Supreme Court precedents. Should a future
liberal Supreme Court rethink cases such as Citizens United, it
would be far better from the point of view of coherent doctrine and
sound policy for the Court to transparently and forthrightly relate
these new arguments to the old, and to explain where the Court went
wrong before and what path it should take going forward.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64240&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Electoral%20Integrity%2C%E2%80%99%20%E2%80%98Dependence%20Corruption%2C%E2%80%99%20and%20What%E2%80%99s%20New%20Under%20the%20Sun%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,Supreme
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
"McDonnell Case Shows Virginia is Not Above Corruption"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64238>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 11:58 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64238>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Meredith McGehee blogs
<http://www.clcblog.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=571:mcdonnell-case-shows-virginia-is-not-above-corruption>.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64238&title=%E2%80%9CMcDonnell%20Case%20Shows%20Virginia%20is%20Not%20Above%20Corruption%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inbribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>,campaign finance
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
"Voter Error in Top Two Primary Can Be Far Higher than in RCV Races"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64236>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 11:56 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64236>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
FairVote analysis
<http://www.fairvote.org/research-and-analysis/blog/voter-error-in-top-two-primary-can-be-far-higher-than-in-rcv-races/>.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64236&title=%E2%80%9CVoter%20Error%20in%20Top%20Two%20Primary%20Can%20Be%20Far%20Higher%20than%20in%20RCV%20Races%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inalternative voting systems
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>,primaries
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>
"U.S. District Court Refuses to Enjoin New Mexico's 3% Petition for
Independent Candidates" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64234>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 11:55 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64234>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
BAN
<http://www.ballot-access.org/2014/08/u-s-district-court-refuses-to-enjoin-new-mexicos-3-petition-for-independent-candidates/>:
"Judge Vazquez' 20-page opinion fails to mention any of the precedents
that say it is unconstitutional for a state to require more signatures
for an independent candidate than for an entire new party."
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64234&title=%E2%80%9CU.S.%20District%20Court%20Refuses%20to%20Enjoin%20New%20Mexico%E2%80%99s%203%25%20Petition%20for%20Independent%20Candidates%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>
#MSSEN Theater of the Absurd <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64232>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 10:34 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64232>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Clarion-Ledger:
<http://www.clarionledger.com/story/dailyledes/2014/08/12/stevie-fielder-says-he-did-not-lie/13950955/> Fielder:
I was paid, but not to lie like Hood said
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64232&title=%23MSSEN%20Theater%20of%20the%20Absurd&description=>
Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
"White House reverses part of lobbyist ban"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64229>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 9:18 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64229>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/lobbyist-ban-reversal-white-house-109951.html>:
"The White House is poised to reverse a key part of its ban on
registered lobbyists serving in government. The Office of Management and
Budget will release a new rule on Wednesday expected to allow registered
lobbyists to participate in policymaking deliberations in an advisory role."
This rule was part of an early Obama White House attempt to limit the
power of lobbyists in the White House. I discuss and critique those
rules inLobbying, Rent Seeking and the Constitution
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1734428>(/Stanford
Law Review/).
Craig Holman comments
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-holman/save-the-lobbyists_b_5671871.html>on
the OMB reversal.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64229&title=%E2%80%9CWhite%20House%20reverses%20part%20of%20lobbyist%20ban%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,conflict
of interest laws <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>,lobbying
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>
"Arguing Florida Failed Again, Dems Want Court-Drawn Map"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64227>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 7:26 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64227>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
McClatchy reports
<http://www.governing.com/news/headlines/mct-florida-redistricting-map-redrawn.html>.
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64227&title=%E2%80%9CArguing%20Florida%20Failed%20Again%2C%20Dems%20Want%20Court-Drawn%20Map%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>
"Where Voting Is Now Easier" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64225>
Posted onAugust 12, 2014 7:25 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=64225>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT editorial.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/opinion/where-voting-is-now-easier.html?ref=opinion&_r=0>
Share
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D64225&title=%E2%80%9CWhere%20Voting%20Is%20Now%20Easier%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20140812/a6e96e58/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: share_save_171_16.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1504 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20140812/a6e96e58/attachment.png>
View list directory