[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/30/14

Tue Dec 30 17:39:44 PST 2014

    North Carolina Seeks Supreme Court Review in Voting Case
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69429>

Posted onDecember 30, 2014 5:13 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69429>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Regular ELB readers will recall that there is a major voting rights 
lawsuit against the State of North Carolina for controversial changes in 
voting rules passed by the Republican-dominated state legislature last 
year.  Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block some of the 
provisions, which the trial court denied. The 4th Circuit, however, on a 
2-1 vote, partially granted a preliminary injunction as to two aspects 
of the law. The Supreme Court then blocked the 4th Circuit's order.

That Supreme Court order was not a final ruling, and now the state of 
North Carolina has fileda petition for cert. 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/farr.nc_.pet_.final_.pdf>seeking 
Supreme Court review in the case. There's a pretty good chance that the 
Court grants review here, although it is possible that the Court takes a 
pass, given that there will be a trial on the merits this summer, 
followed by a likely appeal, meaning the full case on the merits could 
be before the Court before the 2016 elections.

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>,Voting Rights Act 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>Edit 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69429&action=edit>

    Public Citizen/Democracy 21 Brief in SCOTUS Judicial Campaign
    Solicitation Case <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69426>

Posted onDecember 30, 2014 8:58 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69426>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here 
<http://www.democracy21.org/inside-the-courts/press-releases-inside-the-courts/public-citizen-and-democracy-21-file-amicus-brief-in-the-supreme-court-defending-constitutionality-of-floridas-ban-on-solicitation-of-campaign-contributions-by-judges/>.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,judicial 
elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>,Supreme Court 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>Edit 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69426&action=edit>

    Petition for Rehearing Denied in Kobach v. EAC: Next Stop SCOTUS?
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69422>

Posted onDecember 30, 2014 8:56 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69422>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Yesterday [corrected] the 10th Circuit panel which decided the Kobach v. 
EAC case issued thisone line order 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/kobach.pdf>denying 
rehearing. Kansas and Arizona did not seek rehearing en banc, so the 
only place to go now is SCOTUS for further appeals.

If the Court takes the case it could be a major one about the scope of 
federal versus state power in setting election rules for federal elections.

A potential complication: a new EAC that could well deadlock on any 
decisions about how to litigate this case.

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Posted inElection Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>,Elections Clause 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>Edit 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69422&action=edit>

    "Potential Hillary Challenger Paid Nearly $100,000 In Campaign
    Donations To His Family" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69420>

Posted onDecember 30, 2014 8:02 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69420>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Business Insider 
<http://www.businessinsider.com/jim-webb-gave-nearly-100000-in-campaign-donations-to-his-family-2014-12>:

    Records show Webb's committee essentially ceased political
    activities once he revealed his decision to leave Congress. However,
    the Born Fighting PAC continued to contribute to Webb's family long
    after it had stopped giving to the candidates and groups it was
    ostensibly established to support.

    Campaign finance reports show the committee has not given any money
    to political candidates or groups since the end of 2010. Yet the PAC
    has continued to take donations. Over $100,000 from the final
    balance in Webb's Senate campaign account, now closed, was
    transferred to the committee after he left office at the start of
    last year.

    Most of the money Webb's wife and daughter received from the
    committee came after it had stopped giving money to politicians and
    political groups.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>Edit 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69420&action=edit>

    CCP Amicus Brief in SEC Campaign Restrictions Case
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69418>

Posted onDecember 30, 2014 7:56 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69418>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See here. 
<http://www.campaignfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/FSI-Amicus-Brief.pdf>

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<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69418&action=edit>

    "Bruce F. Freed and Charles E.M. Kolb: U.S. companies shine sunlight
    on 'dark money'" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69416>

Posted onDecember 30, 2014 7:55 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69416>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Wapo op-ed 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bruce-f-freed-and-charles-em-kolb-us-companies-shine-sunlight-on-dark-money/2014/12/29/f46da050-8d25-11e4-9e8d-0c687bc18da4_story.html>.

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<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69416&action=edit>

    "Michael Grimm, in a Reversal, Will Resign From Congress"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69414>

Posted onDecember 29, 2014 9:41 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69414>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT reports. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/nyregion/michael-grimm-in-a-reversal-will-resign-from-congress.html?ref=nyregion>

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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>Edit 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=69414&action=edit>

    "U.S. Said to Investigate Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker,
    Over Pay" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69412>

Posted onDecember 29, 2014 8:29 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69412>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/nyregion/us-said-to-investigate-new-york-assembly-speaker-over-pay-from-law-firm.html?_r=0>:

    Federal authorities are investigating substantial payments made to
    the State Assembly speaker,Sheldon Silver
    <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/sheldon_silver/index.html?inline=nyt-per>,
    by a small law firm that seeks real estate tax reductions for
    commercial and residential properties in New York City, according to
    people with knowledge of the matter.

    Prosecutors from the United States attorney's office for the
    Southern District of New York and agents of the Federal Bureau of
    Investigation have found that the law firm,Goldberg & Iryami, P.C.
    <http://goldberg-taxcert.weebly.com/>, has paid Mr. Silver the sums
    over roughly a decade, but that he did not list that income on his
    annual financial disclosure forms, as required, the people said.

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of interest laws <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>,ethics 
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    "Two Northern Colorado groups fined for electioneering"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69410>

Posted onDecember 29, 2014 8:26 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69410>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Coloradoan reports. 
<http://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2014/12/29/two-northern-colorado-groups-fined-electioneering/21014871/> "Two 
Northern Colorado groups have been ordered to pay $8,500 each for 
failing to disclose spending on mailers they sent to sway voters during 
the Republican primaries."

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    "FEC Deadlock on American Future Fund Continues Party-Line
    Enforcement Feud" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69406>

Posted onDecember 29, 2014 8:21 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=69406>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg BNA 
<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=60902466&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0g0v2n9e5&split=0>:

    The Federal Election Commission deadlocked on whether to investigate
    a long-pending case involving alleged violation of campaign finance
    rules by the American Future Fund (AFF), a nonprofit organization
    linked to the so-called Koch Network of politically active
    nonprofits, according to documents released by the FEC on Dec. 29.
    Republican and Democratic FEC commissioners voted along party lines
    regarding a staff recommendation to investigate whether the AFF was
    required to register with the FEC as a regulated political action
    committee and report its donors. The case was designated Matter
    Under Review (MUR) 6402.

Ravel and Weintraub statement. 
<http://eqs.fec.gov/eqsdocsMUR/14044364905.pdf>
Hunter and Peterson statement. <http://t.co/M2bYQAdWZa>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,federal 
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

-- 
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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