[EL] more news 1/17/14
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Fri Jan 17 10:40:38 PST 2014
"Can the Government Exclude Lobbyists from Advisory Committees?"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58061>
Posted on January 17, 2014 10:39 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58061>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jonathan Adler blogs
<http://www.volokh.com/2014/01/17/can-government-exclude-lobbyists-advisory-committees/>
on today's U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit opinion in /Autor
v. Pritzker
<http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/96D9F699021B6F7B85257C630054C692/$file/12-5379-1475666.pdf>.
/
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Posted in lobbying <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>
Early Coverage and Commentary on PA Voter ID Decision
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58059>
Posted on January 17, 2014 10:36 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58059>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ari Berman
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/177976/pennsylvania-ruling-shows-problem-voter-id-laws#>
AP
<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOTER_ID_PENNSYLVANIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>
HuffPo
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/17/pennsylvania-voter-id-struck-down_n_4617304.html>
Weigel
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/01/17/pennsylvania_s_voter_id_law_loses_in_court.html>
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
<http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2014/01/17/AP-Pennsylvania-judge-strikes-down-state-s-voter-ID-law/stories/201401170131>
Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/pennsylvania-voter-id-law-102312.html>
MSNBC <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/pennsylvania-voter-id-law-struck-down>
More links to come
Here <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58044> is my initial analysis.
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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>
"Lawmakers want to repeal, then reenact, recent voting law changes"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58057>
Posted on January 17, 2014 10:21 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58057>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News
<http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/capitol_media_services/article_8a05991e-7f04-11e3-8a04-001a4bcf887a.html>
from Arizona: "State lawmakers are moving to repeal major changes in
voting laws made last year --- and then reenacting at least some of them
in a way to thwart a referendum drive."
I don't know anything about Arizona law on this point, but if the
legislature could make this end run around the referendum power, it
seems it would render it a nullity.
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Posted in direct democracy <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=62>
"Activists pushing for Voters Bill of Rights"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58055>
Posted on January 17, 2014 10:19 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58055>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News from Ohio
<http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201401162308/NEWS010801/301160082&nclick_check=1>.
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"The Excesses of Giving and Of Argument"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58052>
Posted on January 17, 2014 10:08 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58052>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bauer blogs
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2014/01/excesses-giving-argument/>on CRP/Sunlight
/McCutcheon /analysis
<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/01/15/most-likely-to-exceed-whos-poised-to-double-down-post-mccutcheon/>.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"'Watchdogs' Try to Commandeer FEC"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58050>
Posted on January 17, 2014 10:03 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58050>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Wyoming Liberty Group opposes
<http://wyliberty.org/feature/watchdogs-try-to-commandeer-fec/> suit
against FEC on Crossroads GPS.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
"Voting Rights Institute to Train New Generation of Voting Rights
Lawyers Expanding Nationally" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58048>
Posted on January 17, 2014 9:58 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58048>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Press release
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2336:january-17-2014-voting-rights-institute-to-train-new-generation-of-voting-rights-lawyers-expanding-nationally&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>.
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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
"Koch Network Backed Mysterious Group Pushing to Shift Allocation of
PA Electoral Votes" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58046>
Posted on January 17, 2014 9:57 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58046>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CREW
<http://www.citizensforethics.org/blog/entry/koch-network-mysterious-group-pushing-shift-pennsylvania-electoral-votes>on
the case.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
electoral college <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>, tax law and
election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
Initial Thoughts on Today's Ruling Striking Down Pa's Voter ID Law
on State Grounds <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58044>
Posted on January 17, 2014 7:28 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58044>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I have now had a chance to skim the 103-page Pa. trial court ruling
<http://www.pacourts.us/assets/files/setting-647/file-3490.pdf?cb=a5ec29> striking
down Pa's voter id law---I will have to give a closer reading later in
the day when I have the time. But here are a few initial thoughts.
1. This is a clear victory for opponents of voter id laws, with a
finding that the implementation of the voter id law violated the law's
own promise of liberal access to voter id, that the implementation
exceeded the agency's authority to administer the program, that the
voter education efforts were woefully inadequate, and that as a whole
the Pa. voter id program violated the Pa. constitutional's fundamental
right to vote. In this regard, it is important to note that the court
rejected Pa's argument that the law was aimed at preventing voter fraud.
The judge found that the state presented no evidence the law was
necessary either to prevent fraud or to keep public confidence in the
fairness of the election process.
2. Despite the victory, there are some things in here that will be
troubling for voter id opponents (and heartening for their supporters).
The judge said that Pa's equal protection clause is read as equivalent
to the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause, and the Court found
there was no equal protection violation by the law. The judge
specifically found, in footnote 33 (p. 48), that the law was NOT
motivated by an attempt to disenfranchise minorities or Democratic
voters---the judge said he found this notwithstanding the comments
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=36197>of House Majority Leader Mike
Turzai. From my quick look at the statement of facts, I did not see more
of the basis for the judge's opinion on this point, but it undercuts one
of the main motivation arguments of opponents.
3. It is not clear to me whether the Pa. Supreme Court will ultimately
affirm this decision or not. Readers may remember that when this case
came up on a preliminary injunction before a different judge, the case
went to the state Supreme Court which stayed implementation out of fear
that the law would not be implemented in time for the 2012 elections.
But ALL the justices on the Court then expressed the opinion that an
efficient, fairly applied voter identification law would be
constitutional under the PA state constitution. So the real question
that is likely to be before the PA Supreme Court is whether this law is
so hopelessly drafted and implemented that it amounts to a denial to the
right to vote under the PA constitution (or a statutory or
administrative violation), which would give the state supreme court a
way to reject /this /voter id law but not /all/ voter id laws. That
result certainly seems possible on this record.
4. Finally, the relevance of this ruling to other voter id challenges is
somewhat limited. The findings on implementation are state specific and
don't really carry over to other states. The analysis of the right to
vote under the PA state constitution is also state specific, and says
little about how, say, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will read its right
to vote. Further, on the U.S. constitutional issues, the equal
protection holding (and the rejection of the bad motivation argument)
helps opponents of the laws. Finally, there is nothing in this opinion
that sheds light on Voting Rights Act challenges. So in the end, this
ruling says little about how other states will approach these questions,
and the little that is there could help supporters of such laws.
Nonetheless, this kind of technical legal analysis will stand in tension
with the PR value of a victory in a case like this---the public does not
split hairs like lawyers do. It will hear that yet another voter id law
was struck down as disenfranchising.
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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>
"Why Representative Democracies Can't Write Off Transparency"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58042>
Posted on January 16, 2014 9:05 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58042>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Alexander Furnas writes
<http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-representative-democracies-cant-write-off-transparency/283143/>
for /The Atlantic./
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Watchdogs to Sue FEC for Dismissal of Crossroads GPS Complaint"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58040>
Posted on January 16, 2014 8:58 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58040>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Press release
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2332:january-16-2014-watchdogs-to-sue-fec-for-dismissal-of-crossroads-gps-complaint&catid=63:legal-center-press-releases&Itemid=61>:
/Th/e Campaign Legal Center and Public Citizen today announced plans
to file suit against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for its
dismissal of a complaint against Crossroads GPS. The complaint
stemmed from the group's failure to register as a political
committee and disclose its donors despite huge expenditures on
political advertising in the 2010 election cycle.
Public Citizen, ProtectOurDemocracy.org and others filed a complaint
with the FEC in October 2010 alleging that the group's campaign
expenditures and organizational objectives made it a political
committee that must disclose its donors under federal campaign
laws. Despite the strong case made by the FEC's General Counsel
that the 501(c)(4) group violated federal law, the Commission
deadlocked along party lines over whether to investigate further,
preventing any action. While the Democratic commissioners agreed
there was enough evidence to proceed, the three Republican
commissioners voted against looking into the case further.
The suit will argue that the FEC's dismissal of the case following
the 3-3 deadlock was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion
and contrary to the law.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>
"Outside Influence" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58038>
Posted on January 16, 2014 8:44 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58038>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Anthony Johnstone has posted this draft
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2379171>on SSRN
(forthcoming, /Election Law Journal/). Here is the abstract:
By what rights do outsiders influence state or local politics?
"Outsiders" include an array of persons other than the citizens of
the community, including non-resident individuals, corporations, and
various other organizations that channel the influence of those
outsiders into a state or local political process. "State or local
politics" include all politics, including elections held by states
for federal officials. The question recurs in voting, petitioning,
campaign finance regulation, and lobbying, as well as other areas
related to political activity such as corporate governance.
Relatively recent developments have accelerated the nationalization
of American politics. These nationalizing forces, including the
strengthening of non-party national political interest groups by
federal legislation and judicial decisions, and national efforts to
counter those groups' interests, pose the question more urgently now.
This article considers how much outside influence matters to the
constitutional analysis of state politics. It defends the principle
applied in Bluman v. FEC as an exception to the otherwise universal
speaker-neutrality rule of Citizens United, applicable at the state
as well as the national level, and to out-of-state as well as
foreign outside interests. It does so by drawing parallels between
legal efforts to police national and state boundaries in politics,
and assessing the competing rights claims of outsiders to cross
those boundaries and participate fully in domestic politics. The
article suggests that the structural constitutional principle of
political community supports certain state regulations, but not
prohibitions, of outside influence across a range of political
activities.
Looking forward to reading this!
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Congress, FEC meet about security breakdowns"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58036>
Posted on January 16, 2014 8:39 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58036>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CPI reports.
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/01/16/14132/congress-fec-meet-about-security-breakdowns>
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
"Two groups that used secret political donations haven't paid
penalties" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58034>
Posted on January 16, 2014 8:32 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58034>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
LA Times
<http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-secret-money-20140117,0,2843167.story#axzz2qcdgm2gU>:
"State authorities have yet to receive $15 million in penalties they
imposed on campaign groups after a headline-making investigation into
secret political donations."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Additional Coverage and Reactions to Voting Rights Act Amendment
(VRAA) Bill <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58031>
Posted on January 16, 2014 7:50 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58031>by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
McClatchy
<http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/16/3875659/bipartisan-group-in-congress-unveils.html>
NAACP
<http://www.naacp.org/press/entry/naacp-statement-on-proposed-voting-rights-act-update>
(with a lukewarm response)
Roll Call
<http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/lawmakers-to-introduce-bipartisan-voting-rights-act-fix/>
MSNBC <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/fix-voting-rights-act-exempts-voter-id>
Gannett
<http://triblive.com/usworld/nation/5432867-74/voting-states-rights#axzz2qcgraQpW>
NPR
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/01/16/263113258/lawmakers-roll-out-voting-rights-act-fix>
National Journal
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/new-voting-rights-act-rewrite-would-revive-federal-oversight-for-only-4-states-20140116>
TPM
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/congress-actually-gets-bipartisan-bill-to-fix-voting-rights-act>
LA Times
<http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-bipartisan-group-voting-rights-act-20140116,0,6411642.story?track=rss#axzz2qchrJ6HO>
The Guardian
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/congress-makes-bipartisan-push-to-restore-parts-of-voting-rights-act>
AP
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lawmakers-move-to-restore-voting-rights-act/2014/01/16/1e53d9c6-7eee-11e3-97d3-b9925ce2c57b_story.htm>
Sen. Leahy press release
<http://news.yahoo.com/leahy-sensenbrenner-conyers-lead-bipartisan-bicameral-introduction-bill-205600506.html>
Washington Times
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/16/rep-sensenbrenner-pushes-bill-to-update-voting-rig/>
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/sensenbrenner-joins-democrats-in-writing-new-version-of-voting-rights-act-b99185903z1-240623741.html>
TIME
<http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/16/bipartisan-group-introduces-new-voting-rights-bill/>
Think Progress
<http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/16/3174831/good-bad-ugly-bipartisan-restore-voting-rights-act/>
Roger Clegg
<http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/368625/congressional-dems-terrible-legislative-fix-voting-rights-act-roger-clegg>
CBS
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawmakers-aim-to-restore-voting-rights-act/>
NBC
<http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/16/22328058-almost-unreal-bipartisan-lawmakers-unveil-new-voting-rights-act-fix>
Brennan Center
<http://www.brennancenter.org/press-release/voting-rights-act-bill-critical-first-step-improve-elections>
CLC
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/index.php?view=article&catid=63%3Alegal-center-press-releases&id=2331%3Ajanuary-16-2014-bipartisan-voting-rights-bill-an-important-first-step-in-undoing-damage-done-by-supreme-court-in-shelby-county-statement-of-j-gerald-hebert-campaign-legal-center-executive-director&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=61>
AFJ
<http://www.afj.org/blog/a-good-day-for-the-first-branch-bipartisan-bicameral-group-introduces-bill-to-restore-the-voting-rights-act>
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Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>, VRAA
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=81>
--
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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