[EL] ELB News and Commentary 11/20/14

Thu Nov 20 07:32:20 PST 2014

    "The Solid South Will Rise Again" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68526>

Posted onNovember 20, 2014 7:15 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68526>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Important and concerning 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/opinion/charles-blow-the-solid-south-will-rise-again.html?ref=opinion&_r=0>Charles 
Blow NYT column. A snippet:

    I'm reminded of the story that one of my brothers told about being
    transferred along with a white co-worker to Mississippi. He and the
    co-worker were shopping for homes at the same time. The co-worker
    was aghast at what he saw as redlining on the part of the real
    estate agent, who never explicitly mentioned race. When the coworker
    had inquired about a neighborhood that included black homeowners,
    the agent responded, "You don't want to live there. That's where the
    Democrats live." The co-worker was convinced that "Democrats" was
    code for "black."

    He may well have been right. Mississippi is among the most racially
    bifurcated states politically, with one of the highest percentage of
    black voters in the country. In 2012, 96 percent of blacks voted for
    the Democratic presidential ticket, according to exit polling data
    <http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/state/MS/president#exit-polls>,
    while 89 percent of whites voted for the Republican ticket.

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Posted inpolitical polarization 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>,voting 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>,Voting Rights Act 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

    Anti-Regulation CCP Files Campaign Finance Complaint Against
    Lessig/Mayday <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68524>

Posted onNovember 20, 2014 7:07 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68524>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Embrace the Ironygoes off the rails. 
<http://www.campaignfreedom.org/2014/11/20/fec-complaint-mayday-pac-violated-campaign-finance-laws/>

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

    "Michael Sona, convicted in robocalls scandal, gets 9 months in
    jail" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68522>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 5:46 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68522>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Canadian Press: 
<https://ca.news.yahoo.com/michael-sona-convicted-robocalls-voter-fraud-scandal-faces-093008925.html>

    He's the first person convicted of wilfully preventing or
    endeavouring to prevent an elector from voting under the Canada
    Elections Act, said Hearn, who called his task "a difficult and
    troublesome sentencing."

    Hearn said he believes Sona did not act alone in the scheme, in
    which some 6,700 automated phone calls were placed on the morning of
    the 2011 federal election with misleading information on how to vote.

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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

    "There Is No 'Glitch' in Obamacare"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68520>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 4:44 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68520>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Simon Lazarus 
<http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120319/obamacares-glitch-why-liberals-need-stop-recycling-spin>for 
TNR.

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Posted instatutory interpretation 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=21>,Supreme Court 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    Myrna Perez Withdraws from EAC Consideration; President Nominates
    Matthew Butler <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68518>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 4:41 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68518>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The rumors turned out to be true. The Brennan Center's Myrna Perezhas 
withdrawn 
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/19/presidential-nominations-and-withdrawal-sent-senate>her 
nomination and one of the Democratic-appointed EAC commissiners. In her 
place, Matthew Butler.

Butler's current twitter bio<https://twitter.com/matthewsbutler>makes it 
sounds like he could be quite partisan in this position: "Political & 
Non-Profit Management Consultant. Current interim ED @FilmAid 
<https://twitter.com/FilmAid>. Fmr. CEO @MMFA 
<https://twitter.com/MMFA>. Opinions my own and probably not popular 
with many fans of Fox News."

As I explain in /The Voting Wars/ 
<http://www.amazon.com/The-Voting-Wars-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300198248>, 
there was a time when a few courageous EAC commissioners could have made 
the Commission something to get above the partisan sniping. But they 
were shut down and that moment regrettably has passed.

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    EAC Nominations Moving Forward? <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68515>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 2:08 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68515>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Rules hearing 
<http://www.rules.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=CommitteeHearings&ContentRecord_id=8f6d204c-7d25-44e5-bde9-3d0d2243c228>on 
nomination of two Republican-proposed nominees (viaKen Doyle 
<https://twitter.com/KenDoyle16/status/535191555486015488>, now on Twitter).

This, despite rumors that Myrna Perez is pulling out from consideration 
for Democrat-nominated spot. So far I have not been able to confirm such 
rumors.

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>

    "What's the Matter with West Virginia?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68513>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 1:21 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68513>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This Jeffrey Toobin 
piece<http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/whats-matter-west-virginia>discusses, 
among other things, Caperton v. Massey.

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Posted injudicial elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>

    "Should Judges Judge?: The Affordable Care Act, Subsidies, and
    Judicial Engagement" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68511>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 1:20 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68511>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bill Maurer on textualism 
<http://www.fed-soc.org/publications/detail/should-judges-judge-the-affordable-care-act-subsidies-and-judicial-engagement#>, 
responding in part to my Slate piece,Bad Readers 
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/07/d_c_circuit_and_4th_circuit_obamacare_rulings_the_perils_of_following_scalia.html>.

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Posted inlegislation and legislatures 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>,statutory interpretation 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=21>

    "Things Aren't Going That Well Over There Either: Party Polarization
    and Election Law in Comparative Perspective"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68508>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 1:14 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68508>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

David Schleicher has postedthis draft 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2526837>of SSRN 
(forthcoming, /University of Chicago Legal Forum/).  Here is the abstract:

    One of, if not the, most important change in American political life
    over the last 30 or so years has been the rise of extreme party
    polarization. Our two major parties are increasingly ideological
    distinct and distant from one another, and increasingly willing to
    abandon long-standing institutional norms and short-term policy
    compromise in the name of achieving long-run party goals. Efforts to
    understand why the parties have changed largely have been parochial,
    largely looking for explanations in American politics, history,
    media and institutional arrangements. This focus has a logic to it.
    Politics in most other advanced democracies does not feature the
    same type of polarization between parties, and therefore the answers
    for why American politics has gone in this direction seem to lie
    inward rather than abroad.

    But it is still a mistake. This short essay argues that a common
    shift in voter preferences towards more radical and fundamentalist
    opinion among even a small slice of the electorate can explain
    polarization in the United States and changes in politics abroad. In
    many European countries with proportional representation (PR), we
    have seen the rise of parties so radical that established parties
    refuse to form coalitions with them. In "Westminster" systems, which
    due to their use of first-past-the-post vote counting and
    single-member districts are supposed to tend towards having two
    parties, we have seen the rise in third-and fourth party voting.
    Notably, in most Westminster systems, there is little intra-party
    democracy, leading groups of voters with more radical opinions
    without the ability to influence mainstream parties, which makes
    those with radical opinions more willing to waste votes. A plausible
    story about American political development is that the same voters
    and interest groups who would form radical parties in PR systems and
    support spoilers in Westminster systems use intraparty democracy to
    influence our two-party system and create polarization. Election
    laws and institutional design shape the way radicalism influences
    politics.

    If this is right, several lessons follow. Any effort to understand
    why American parties have changed must look at factors that are
    common across many western democracies. Further, the rise of radical
    parties in PR systems and spoilers in Westminster systems have
    created governance problems that are of a type with the problems
    created by our extreme polarization. We should thus be skeptical
    that there are institutional design reforms that can make American
    governance work easily in the face of polarization.

It was a great presentation at the Forum and I look forward to reading 
the paper.

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Posted inlegislation and legislatures 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>,political parties 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,political polarization 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>

    "No Accountability for Crossroads GPS Grantee, Despite 'No Politics'
    Rule" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68506>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 1:12 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68506>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Open Secrets reports 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/11/atr-condensed/>.

And another: More Outside Spending, Earlier: Primaries, Special 
Elections Led to Higher Outlays at Cycle's Start 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/11/more-outside-spending-earlier-primaries-special-elections-led-to-higher-outlays-at-cycles-start/>

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

    "Why Voter ID Laws Don't Swing Many Elections"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68499>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 8:58 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68499>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Nate Cohn forNYT's The UpShot. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/upshot/why-voter-id-laws-dont-swing-many-elections.html?smid=tw-share&abt=0002&abg=0> He 
concludes: "Voter disenfranchisement is anti-democratic, regardless of 
whether it swings elections. But voter ID laws haven't been swinging 
elections."

As I told the NY Times ina different article r 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/us/voter-id-laws-midterm-elections.html?smid=tw-share>unning 
today:

    "Wholly apart from the question whether there's going to be any
    demonstrable effect on turnout or election outcomes, there's a real
    harm here," said Richard L. Hasen, an election law expert at the
    University of California, Irvine. "Nobody should be denied the right
    to vote who's eligible, absent good reason."

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    New Jersey Appellate Court Remands Case Arguing for Right to
    Election Day Registration <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68503>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 8:23 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68503>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The trial judge will need to makemore detailed factual findings 
<http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a2383-13.pdf>as to why New 
Jersey needs registration in advance of election day.

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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

    Get Your Election Results Poster Here
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68500>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 8:20 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68500>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Watch tomorrow's hard copy/Washington Post/or seethis 
flyer<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/ERP2014-Order-Form3.pdf> from 
Election Data Services. According to Kim Brace of EDS, "We did several 
new things this year that should be of interest to Election Law readers: 
1) county results from a number of different referendum issues, 
including a section on Voting Rights, and 2) a new map showing which 
party controls the highest State Election Office in each state (ie, 
Secretary of State, State Election Board, etc.) and how they are 
appointed or elected."

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Posted invoting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>

    "It Is What It Is: Poll Reveals Fundamental, Permanent National
    Divide on Voter ID" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68497>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 7:44 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68497>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Important Doug Chapin post. 
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/electionacademy/2014/11/it_is_what_it_is_poll_reveals.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HHHElections+%28The+Election+Aacdemy%29>

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    "A Citizen's Guide to Buying Political Access"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68495>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 7:39 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68495>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT reports. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/your-money/a-citizens-guide-to-buying-political-access-.html?_r=0>

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

    "Coordination Controversy in the Twitterverse"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68493>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 7:37 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68493>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bauer blogs. 
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2014/11/coordination-controversy-twitterverse/>

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

    "Ready for Hillary Begins to Wind Down"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68491>

Posted onNovember 19, 2014 7:35 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68491>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico reports 
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/ready-for-hillary-ready-to-end-113018.html#ixzz3JV4Xfi81>.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,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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