[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/17/14
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sat May 17 14:25:05 PDT 2014
AG Holder Comments on Voter ID Laws in Commencement Speech
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61562>
Posted on May 17, 2014 2:20 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61562>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/holder-confronting-issue-of-race-once-more-says-subtle-threats-to-equality-cut-deeper/2014/05/17/66e63482-dd57-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html>:
Similarly, Holder said that voter identification laws that have been
enacted in a number of states across the country threaten to make it
harder for minorities to exercise their rights at the polls.
Proponents of the measures say they are intended to combat voter
fraud, a problem that Holder has dismissed as virtually nonexistent.
"Rather than addressing a supposedly widespread problem, these
policies disproportionately disenfranchise African Americans,
Hispanics and other communities of color," he said.
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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>
"Watch the Democrats Engage in Constitutional Mischief"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61560>
Posted on May 17, 2014 2:14 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61560>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jonathan Bernstein
<http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-16/watch-the-democrats-engage-in-constitutional-mischief>
on Sen. Reid's Koch Amendment.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
"Quixotic '80 Campaign Gave Birth to Kochs' Powerful Network"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61558>
Posted on May 17, 2014 2:11 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61558>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Sunday NYT A1 deep dive
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/politics/quixotic-80-campaign-gave-birth-to-kochs-powerful-network.html?hp&_r=0>by
Nick Confessore
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, political parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>
"Rethinking Campaign Finance" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61556>
Posted on May 16, 2014 8:59 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61556>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Joe Nocera
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/17/opinion/nocera-rethinking-campaign-finance.html?hp&rref=opinion>likes
Rep. Sarbanes campaign finance bill.
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Another Walk for Campaign Finance Reform: This One with #SCOTUS
Disrupter in Scorching California <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61553>
Posted on May 16, 2014 4:28 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61553>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Press release via email:
*Californians Begin 480-Mile March for Democracy from L.A. To
Sacramento***
/Marchers demand "one person, one vote" political equality, an end
to Big money corruption in politics/
//
//
*Los Angeles, CA *-- On May 17^th , dozens of activists led by the
grassroots organization 99Rise will depart Los Angeles City Hall to
embark on a 480-mile "March for Democracy" across the state of
California to raise awareness and mobilize the public around the
issue of big money in politics. They plan to complete their march at
the state capitol building in Sacramento on June 22^nd , where they
will demand that the state legislature publicly acknowledge what
they are calling "the crisis of corruption" and take immediate
action to end it.
"This nation was founded on the principle of one person, one vote,"
said Kai Newkirk, co-founder and organizer of 99Rise. "Generations
of Americans have shed blood, sweat, and tears to make that
principle a reality, from the abolitionists to women's suffragists,
to supporters of The Civil Rights Movement. But now their hard work
and sacrifice is being systematically undermined by the
out-of-control political spending of a small wealthy elite. It's
time for our generation to step up and do whatever it takes to
reclaim democracy for the people of this country. That's why we're
marching to Sacramento," Newkirk explained.
The statewide march comes on the heels of two Supreme Court
decisions---/Citizens United vs. FEC /and /McCutcheon vs.
FEC/---that have further enabled wealthy donors to contribute even
larger sums to candidates running for political office. 2012 was the
most expensive election in the country's history, with a price tag
exceeding 6 billion dollars, but with only 0.04% of Americans
contributing more than $200 to political candidates, according to
the Center for Responsive Politics. Newkirk recently made headlines
for his interruption of Supreme Court proceedings and his subsequent
arrest, the first time such an act of civil disobedience has been
caught on video
<http://www.99rise.org/activists_disrupt_proceedings_at_scotus_demand_free_and_fair_elections_end_to_corruption?e=0f73c13274572041ad4c57d1911387e9232a9d04&utm_source=99rise&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=national_pr_2&n=3>.
The 480-mile march dubbed the "California March for Democracy" is
endorsed by a number of prominent political organizations and
activists including WolfPAC, Rootstrikers, Money Out Voters In, the
Dream Defenders, and Noam Chomsky. Harvard University Professor of
Law and political activist Lawrence Lessig will be walking a section
of the march, as will long time labor and civil rights leader,
Dolores Huerta.
"The fight against political corruption is one that must be taken up
by a movement of citizens," remarked Lessig. "It will take an army
of ordinary people, from both the left and the right, doing the hard
work that is needed to fundamentally reform our government and
restore our democracy. No matter how difficult, how impossible it
may appear, we must have hope. We have to fight."
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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Election Law Blog Search Function <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61551>
Posted on May 16, 2014 4:15 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61551>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Since a recent upgrade to the Election Law Blog's WordPress platform,
the search function on ELB did not work well. Some relevant items would
not come up in searches, and the searches would appear in random
(instead of reverse chronological order). The good IT folks at UCI have
incorporated a different search engine, and it seems to be working much
better. (I use the search function often when I'm writing something and
want to find an old story or link.)
If you have any issues or comments about search (or anything else
ELB-related), please drop me a note at the email address listed on the
top right side of the blog.
Thanks for reading!
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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
"An Incumbent Falls Afoul of Election Laws Designed to Protect
Incumbents" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61549>
Posted on May 16, 2014 4:03 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61549>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT"s "Taking Note"
<http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/16/an-incumbent-falls-afoul-of-election-laws-designed-to-protect-incumbents/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&rref=opinion&_r=0>
on Rep. Conyers.
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Posted in ballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, petition
signature gathering <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=39>
"The Case for Nonpartisan Election Overseers"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61547>
Posted on May 16, 2014 4:02 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61547>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Linda Killian
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/05/16/the-case-for-nonpartisan-election-overseers/>
touts Dan Schnur at WSJ's /Washington Wire./
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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
"VoteRiders Helping Right a Wrong"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61545>
Posted on May 16, 2014 2:56 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61545>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
O. Ricardo Pimentel
<http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/opinion_columnists/o_ricardo_pimentel/article/VoteRiders-helping-right-a-wrong-5481606.php>
in /San Antonio Express-News/:
There are an estimated 84,511 in Harris County without the IDs, home
to Houston, the state's most populous city. Statewide, the Justice
Department
<http://www.mysanantonio.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=opinion%2Fopinion_columnists%2Fo_ricardo_pimentel&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Justice+Department%22>
in 2012 said some 1.4 million Texans, disproportionately minority,
would be affected.
But, the state is going through non-extraordinary extraordinary
lengths to accommodate these folks. You know, "free" IDs. IFs are
more like it --- /if/ you can get to a DPS office even /if/ it
expands its hours; /if /your county, among the state's 254, even has
a DPS office; /if/ a mobile DPS office manages to get to your town
and /if/ you can pay for the documents to get this document.
Those are a lot of ifs and a lot of effort involved, which is the
point --- folks sitting out elections. No one should. This is why
VoteRiders exist.
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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>
"Iowa Supreme Court dismisses state senator's defamation suit"
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61541>
Posted on May 16, 2014 9:31 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61541>by
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The /Des Moines Register /reports.
<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2014/05/16/iowa-supreme-court-dismisses-state-senators-defamation-suit/9167253/>
You can find the opinion of the court here
<http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Supreme_Court_Opinions/Recent_Opinions/20140516/12-0649.pdf>.
As with many cases brought by candidates involving defamation in
campaign advertising, the case fails upon proof of "actual malice"
(proof that the person making the statement knew it was false or acted
in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity)----a constitutionally
required standard for speech made about public figures.
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Posted in campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
--
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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