[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/20/14

Mon May 19 22:32:58 PDT 2014

    "D'Souza Expected to Plead Guilty to Charge"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61606>

Posted on May 19, 2014 10:25 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61606>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/nyregion/dsouza-expected-to-plead-guilty-to-charge.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0>: 
"A federal court hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday morning in which 
the conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza is expected to 
plead guilty to a charge stemming from campaign finance violations, 
according to a notice sent out by the government."

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61606&title=%E2%80%9CD%E2%80%99Souza%20Expected%20to%20Plead%20Guilty%20to%20Charge%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 
chicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

    "Lip Service for NY FairElex" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61604>

Posted on May 19, 2014 7:25 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61604>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs. 
<http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/lip-service-ny-fairelex>

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61604&title=%E2%80%9CLip%20Service%20for%20NY%20FairElex%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    10th Circuit Grants Stay in Kobach v. EAC Case
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61601>

Posted on May 19, 2014 7:17 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61601>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

In this brief order 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/kobach-stay.pdf>, the 
10th Circuit has stayed the district court's order requiring the U.S. 
Election Assistance Commission to modify its federal voter registration 
form to require documentary proof of citizenship for AZ and KS residents.

The appellate court did not go into details as to the reasons for the 
stay, beyond noting that the government and intervenors (who oppose 
requiring the federal form to include a demand for this information) 
"made the requisite showing." However, the key factors here are both 
likelihood of a reversal on appeal and the relative hardship of the 
parties. So this is one indication, by no means certain, that the 10th 
Circuit could reverse.

This AP story 
<http://bismarcktribune.com/news/election/judge-refuses-to-halt-order-over-voter-citizenship/article_1eb24434-ea21-5b42-99e7-6bae79e1d4a1.html> 
has good background on the decision. My earlier analysis of the district 
court's order is: Big News from Federal Court: Republican States May 
Soon Demand Proof of Citizenship for Voting in Federal Elections 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=59556>.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61601&title=10th%20Circuit%20Grants%20Stay%20in%20Kobach%20v.%20EAC%20Case&description=>
Posted in Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>, Elections Clause 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=70>, NVRA (motor voter) 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>, The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    "Federal Judge Orders Minnesota to Stop Enforcing Restrictive
    Campaign Finance Law" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61599>

Posted on May 19, 2014 2:47 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61599>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Institute for Justice press release 
<http://ij.org/minnesota-campaign-speech-limits-release-5-19-14>: 
"Today, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank issued a dramatic ruling 
<http://ij.org/images/pdf_folder/minnesota/mn-campaign-speech_ruling-on-preliminary-injunction.pdf>that 
will greatly expand the freedom of political speech in Minnesota's 2014 
state elections. Judge Frank ordered state officials to cease 
enforcement of a long-standing Minnesota campaign finance law called the 
"special sources limit" as it applies to contributions from ordinary 
citizens. The lawsuit was filed by the Institute for Justice, a 
non-partisan, public-interest law firm."

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61599&title=%E2%80%9CFederal%20Judge%20Orders%20Minnesota%20to%20Stop%20Enforcing%20Restrictive%20Campaign%20Finance%20Law%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    "Republicans drag their feet on fixing the Voting Rights Act"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61597>

Posted on May 19, 2014 12:20 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61597>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

MSNBC <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/zero-hour-bid-fix-voting-rights-act>:

    The Republican lawmaker in a key position to help bolster the Voting
    Rights Act (VRA) isn't convinced new legislation is needed, and
    wants more evidence that current laws aren't strong enough to stop
    racial discrimination in voting, according to people involved in the
    discussions.

    Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte's go-slow approach---which comes as
    efforts to pass the bipartisan measure before this fall's midterm
    elections enter a critical phase---is causing frustration among
    voting-rights advocates....

    Rep. Eric Cantor, the House majority leader who played a key early
    role in discussions over the VRAA bill before it was unveiled, also
    remains non-committal.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61597&title=%E2%80%9CRepublicans%20drag%20their%20feet%20on%20fixing%20the%20Voting%20Rights%20Act%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in Voting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>, VRAA 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=81>

    "Challenge to FEC's PAC Disclosure Requirements Rejected by Supreme
    Court" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61595>

Posted on May 19, 2014 9:53 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61595>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg News alert: "The Supreme Court May 19 let stand lower court 
rulings upholding Federal Election Commission rules and procedures for 
determining when politically active organizations must register and 
report as federal political action committees ( Free Speech v. FEC, 
U.S., No. 13-772, cert. denied, 5/19/14 )."

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61595&title=%E2%80%9CChallenge%20to%20FEC%E2%80%99s%20PAC%20Disclosure%20Requirements%20Rejected%20by%20Supreme%20Court%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal 
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>, Supreme Court 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    "Backlog of nominees underlines DC dysfunction"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61593>

Posted on May 19, 2014 9:47 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61593>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Melissa Harris-Perry show 
<http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/backlog-of-nominees-underlines-dc-dysfunction-258572867958> 
discusses EAC nomination stall and more on nominations. with Stephen 
Spaulding.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61593&title=%E2%80%9CBacklog%20of%20nominees%20underlines%20DC%20dysfunction%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>

    "'Great and Extraordinary Occasions' for Constitutional Reform---and
    The Question of Evidence" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61591>

Posted on May 19, 2014 7:38 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61591>by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bauer 
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2014/05/great-extraordinary-occasions-constitutional-reform-question-evidence/>on 
Sunstein on Justice Stevens campaign finance reform amendment.

Share 
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61591&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Great%20and%20Extraordinary%20Occasions%E2%80%99%20for%20Constitutional%20Reform%E2%80%94and%20The%20Question%20of%20Evidence%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

-- 
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/20140519/0ac05b89/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/20140519/0ac05b89/attachment.png>