[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/18/14

Fri Jan 17 21:32:07 PST 2014

    House Majority Leader Eric Cantor "NonCommittal" on Voting Rights
    Act Amendment Bill <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58072>

Posted on January 17, 2014 9:23 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58072>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This is significant 
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/16/rep-sensenbrenner-pushes-bill-to-update-voting-rig/?page=all>, 
given that Cantor was the most vocal person in the House Republican 
leadership to come up with a bill in response to the Supreme Court's 
/Shelby County /decision gutting section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

MORE 
<http://www.salon.com/2014/01/17/gops_next_moral_disgrace_how_right_wing_crazies_may_kill_a_voting_rights_fix/> 
from Brian Beutler.

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Posted in Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, Voting 
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

    More Coverage of PA Voter ID Decision
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58070>

Posted on January 17, 2014 9:17 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58070>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/us/politics/pennsylvania-voter-id-law-struck-down.html?hp>

WaPo 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pennsylvania-judge-strikes-down-voter-id-law/2014/01/17/472d620e-7fa2-11e3-93c1-0e888170b723_story.html>

Philly.com 
<http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140118_Judge_strikes_down_Pa__voter_ID.html>

The Guardian 
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/pennsylvania-judge-strikes-down-voter-eligibility-law>

Reuters 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/17/us-usa-voterid-pennsylvania-idUSBREA0G1F620140117>

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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>

    "Four Years After Citizens United: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58068>

Posted on January 17, 2014 9:10 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58068>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs. 
<http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/four-years-after-citizens-united-good-bad-and-ugly>

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

    "FairVote's Brief on Fair Representation Voting in Palmdale Case"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58066>

Posted on January 17, 2014 9:08 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58066>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here. 
<http://www.fairvote.org/fairvote-s-brief-on-fair-representation-voting-in-palmdale-case#.UtoMJ_aIY_U>

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Posted in alternative voting systems <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

    Election Assistance Commission Issues Controversial Decision Without
    Commissioners and Approaching Midnight Deadline
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58063>

Posted on January 17, 2014 9:02 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=58063>by Rick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

In an ongoing dispute between the federal government and the states of 
Arizona and Kansas over voter registration (which already earlier made 
it to the Supreme Court), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission issued 
a decision only minutes before a court-imposed deadline to respond. What 
makes the order even more remarkable is that the EAC issued its decision 
without /any/ of its four commissioners (thanks to a stalemate in 
Congress over whether the EAC should exist at all.  You can find the 
EAC's decision at EAC Issues Decision on State Requests for NVRA 
Proof-of-Citizenship Instructions 
<http://idevmail.americaneagle.com/link.aspx?l=1&d=237&mid=336778&m=1120>.

At issue is whether the EAC would modify a universal voting form used 
throughout the U.S. for voter registration (as mandated by the 1993 
National Voter Registration Act---or "motor voter") to allow for the 
states of Kansas, Arizona, and Georgia to demand documentary proof of 
citizenship for voters who register for the first time by mail.  The EAC 
initially failed to act on Arizona's request. In the Supreme Court's 
/Arizona v. Intertribal Council/ 
<http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/arizona-v-the-inter-tribal-council-of-arizona-inc/>opinion 
from last term, the Supreme Court rejected Arizona's challenge but gave 
Arizona a roadmap to further challenge the issue. (See *The Supreme 
Court Gives States New Weapons in the Voting Wars 
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/17/the-supreme-court-gives-states-new-weapons-in-the-voting-wars.html>, 
/Daily Beast/, June 17, 2013*).

In the /Intertribal /opinion, Justice Scalia noted the odd issue of how 
the EAC might respond if it has no commissioners thanks to Senate 
deadlock. It is therefore not clear whether the EAC executive director 
has the authority to issue the memorandum issued tonight. Even if it 
does, it is unclear whether it is entitled to any deference in a 
judicial proceeding.  These are very complex administrative law issues 
and we will have to see how the question get resolved.

Even past the administrative law issues, there are then complex issues 
of statutory construction and deference to earlier agency determinations 
which will come up.  It is worth noting that the initial dispute over 
what do to about Arizona's request marked the beginning of a period of 
partisan discord at the EAC, as I describe in /The Voting Wars./

Stay tuned.  This is far from over.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
Elections Clause <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, NVRA (motor 
voter) <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>, The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, voter registration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>

    "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>

-- 
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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