[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/24/15
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Mon Aug 24 07:26:45 PDT 2015
“Selfies in Voting Booths Raise Legal Questions on Speech and
Secrecy” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75538>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:25 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75538>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Erik Eckholm
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/us/legal-questions-arise-as-voting-booths-become-photo-shoots.html>for
the NYT:
On Aug. 11, in a42-page
opinion<http://aclu-nh.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Rideout-Decision.pdf>that
reviewed the history of ballot secrecy and voter intimidation, Judge
Paul Barbadoro of Federal District Court in Concord struck down the law.
The state provided no evidence of “an actual or imminent problem
with images of completed ballots being used to facilitate either
vote buying or voter coercion,” Judge Barbadoro said.
“The new law is invalid,” he said, “because it is a content-based
restriction on speech that cannot survive strict scrutiny,” the most
stringent standard for judging infringements on fundamental rights.
Many constitutional scholars praised the decision. So heads snapped
last week when Richard L. Hasen, a prominent elections expert at the
School of Law at the University of California, Irvine, called Judge
Barbadoro’s opinion misguided and said allowing voting-booth
photography posed a real risk.
In “Why the Selfie is a Threat to Democracy,”an
article<http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/08/17/why-the-selfie-is-a-threat-to-democracy/>posted
last Tuesday by Reuters and on theElection Law Blog
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75414>he edits, Mr. Hasen wrote that
the court decision “might seem like a victory for the American Way.”
“But the judge made a huge mistake,” he continued, “because without
the ballot-selfie ban, we could see the re-emergence of the buying
and selling of votes — and even potential coercion from employers,
union bosses and others.”
The author of the disputed law, Representative Timothy Horrigan, a
Democrat, noted that courts had upheld other restrictions on
activity inside polling places, like a ban on campaigning.
Still, in a Twitter comment on Mr. Hasen’s article, Michael
McDonald, a specialist in American elections at the University of
Florida, said that “reality is nowhere near your hysteria.”
Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Mr. Hasen’s law school, said in an
email that he disagreed with Mr. Hasen. The New Hampshire law, he
said, “is a content-based restriction on speech, and I don’t think
that there is sufficient evidence of harm to meet strict scrutiny.”
Support for Mr. Hasen’s position was voiced by Doug Chapin, the
director of the program for excellence in election administration at
the University of Minnesota. “I still think ballot selfies create a
vulnerability in the election process that vastly outweighs any
societal or personal benefit the selfie brings,” he wrote in an
email. “Perhaps that’s generational, but I think it’s something
worth thinking — and worrying — about going forward.”
Mr. Gardner, an ardent proponent of ballot-selfie controls, said he
expected New Hampshire to appeal the ruling.
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Posted invote buying <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=43>,voting
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>
“A Development Fight in the Catskills; Legal disputes between
developer and community have upended plans for townhouse project”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75536>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:22 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75536>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The latest
<http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-development-fight-in-the-catskills-1440378361>from
Bloomingburg.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“The GOP’s big-money plan to save the Senate Republicans face a
terrible Senate map in 2016. But they’re leveraging their cash
advantage to pound Democrats early”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75534>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:15 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75534>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico reports.
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/2016-republican-senate-map-campaign-finance-121622.html>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Move to let court draw maps could reshape Florida politics — again”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75532>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:10 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75532>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The /Tampa Bay Times/reports.
<http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/move-to-let-court-draw-maps-could-reshape-florida-politics-8212-again-/2242506>
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Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>
“Stealth Upgrade? PA Apparently Moving Toward OVR Implementation”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75530>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:08 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75530>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A ChapinBlog.
<http://editions.lib.umn.edu/electionacademy/2015/08/24/stealth-upgrade-pa-apparently-moving-toward-ovr-implementation/>
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,voting technology
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>
“Trump open to taking big and small campaign contributions”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75528>
Posted onAugust 23, 2015 8:57 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75528>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/23/trump-open-to-taking-big-and-small-campaign-contributions/>:
Business mogul Donald Trump said Sunday that although he can
self-finance his campaign, he is open to taking campaign
contributions big and small — but that the money he receives will
not come with expectations of political favors.
“I would even take big contributors as long as they don’t expect
anything. Because the only people that can expect something from me
is going to be the people that want to see our country be great
again,” Trump said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” in an interview
that aired Sunday.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Anonymous Plaintiff Seeks TRO in MS to Stop Investigation of
Anonymous Campaign Mailer <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75526>
Posted onAugust 23, 2015 8:48 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75526>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jackson Jambalaya reports
<http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2015/08/nobody-sues-over-mailer-investigtation.html>.
Thus Blogged Andersonhas more
<https://thusbloggedanderson.wordpress.com/2015/08/21/miss-responds-to-motion-for-tro-in-anonymous-campaign-speech-case/>on
MS’s response.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Announcing Broken Trust: Why I Wrote a Book on Dysfunctional
Government and Constitutional Reform”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75524>
Posted onAugust 23, 2015 8:44 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75524>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Stephen Griffin
<http://balkin.blogspot.com/2015/08/announcing-broken-trust-why-i-wrote.html>:
**
I can’t count the number of book reviews I’ve read of works
advocating constitutional and political reform which conclude along
these lines: “the author’s suggested remedies are interesting, but
unlikely to be enacted.” Well, that’s a downer! In a way, one of
my objectives in writing/Broken
Trust/<http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Trust-Dysfunctional-Government-Constitutional/dp/0700621229/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440196168&sr=8-1&keywords=Stephen+Griffin+Broken+Trust&pebp=1440196251732&perid=0C4AAZAFY9Z0QGMJR1AX>was
to deliberately get under the skin of people who write such
reviews. I wanted to approach the issue of fundamental
constitutional reform from these angles: how would you motivate
people toward reform in a country with an old and revered
Constitution? How could we make the possibility of reform more
persuasive and imaginable? What sort of reforms should we be
interested in, especially if we think the political system is
clotted and unlikely to change? And, as implied by the title, I put
the decline of trust in government at the center of these discussions.
I look forward to discussing Steve’s provocative book at anAPSA panel on
constitutional reform and dysfunction
<http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/apsa/apsa15/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Event&selected_box_id=192413&PHPSESSID=7nj88cqqu0228nl695426f2a61>.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Is a ballot-booth selfie free speech, or a threat to the sanctity
of the secret vote?” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75522>
Posted onAugust 23, 2015 8:39 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75522>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bob Barnes
reports<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/is-a-ballot-booth-selfie-free-speech-or-a-threat-to-the-sanctity-of-the-secret-vote/2015/08/23/89623272-4809-11e5-8ab4-c73967a143d3_story.html>for
WaPo:
Richard Hasen, a prolific election law expert at the University of
California at Irvine, wrote an op-ed for Reuters that called ballot
selfies a “threat to democracy
<http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/08/17/why-the-selfie-is-a-threat-to-democracy/>”
that could revitalize the practice of selling votes and encourage
“potential coercion from employers, union bosses and others.”
Others disagree, saying any kind of vote-selling scheme would be
much more easily accomplished with absentee ballots.
Michael McDonald, an election law expert at the University of
Florida, said verifying that someone voted a certain way by having
them post proof on social media “would be easily detected.”
“As a way of stealing an election, this doesn’t seem a very
effective method,” he said in an interview.
Moreover, anyone dumb enough to try it, McDonald said, would
probably add a message: “I just made 20 bucks.”
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Super PAC’s ‘Why Jeb’ mailer gives Bush one white hand and one
black hand due to photoshop fail “ <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75520>
Posted onAugust 22, 2015 8:35 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75520>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYDN reports.
<http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/super-pac-jeb-mailer-bush-black-left-hand-article-1.2334343>
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Ky. GOP rule change allows Paul to run for Senate amid his White
House bid” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75518>
Posted onAugust 22, 2015 6:24 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75518>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Weigel.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ky-gop-rule-change-allows-paul-to-run-for-senate-amid-his-white-house-bid/2015/08/22/86f6fc36-4901-11e5-8ab4-c73967a143d3_story.html>
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,political
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
“ACLU Of Indiana Challenges Law Prohibiting Sex Offeders from Voting
on School Property” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75516>
Posted onAugust 22, 2015 6:02 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75516>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Indiana Law Blog reports.
<http://indianalawblog.com/archives/2015/08/ind_courts_aclu_17.html>
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“DOJ to 5th Circuit: Texas voter ID law needs to be fixed ASAP”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75514>
Posted onAugust 22, 2015 6:00 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75514>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
San Antonio Express News:
<http://www.expressnews.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Voter-ID-6458062.php?t=3233539dc7&cmpid=twitter-premium>
The Obama administration and several civil rights groups are urging
a federal appeals court to fast track the process of temporarily
fixing Texas’ voter ID law in time for the upcoming Nov. 3 elections.
In court filings Thursday, the Justice Department and civil rights
groups asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow a lower
court to start getting to work immediately on an interim remedy to
the law passed in 2011 by the state’s Republican-led Legislature.
A three-judge panel at the 5th Circuit ruled in part earlier this
month that Texas’ strict voter ID measure violated Section 2 of the
Voting Rights Act.
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>,voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>,Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“Make Texas votes matter in presidential elections; Agreement among
states would shift emphasis to popular, not electoral, votes”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75512>
Posted onAugust 22, 2015 5:58 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75512>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Rob Richie oped.
<http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/Make-Texas-votes-matter-in-presidential-elections-6459692.php>
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Posted inelectoral college <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>
“Florida Legislature ends special session with no agreement on new
congressional districts” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75510>
Posted onAugust 21, 2015 3:05 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75510>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Miami Herald
<http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article31733703.html>:
A special legislative session to fix Florida’s flawed congressional
district lines ended in chaos Friday as senators staged a walkout
and the House rejected Senate requests to extend the session into a
third week.
Lawmakers ended the session on time but with no agreement on a new
map. As a result, legislators have turned over the job of redrawing
the 27 districts to a trial judge, who can choose a House or Senate
map, solicit other options or create his own to comply with a
Florida Supreme Court decision ordering lawmakers to fix eight
districts that it said were illegally gerrymandered.
“That should make everybody nervous,” said Senate President Andy
Gardiner, R-Orlando.
It’s the third session this year that has ended amid open feuding
between Republicans and it creates political uncertainty heading
into the 2016 elections. The latest hostility, prompted by Senate
demands to reshape congressional lines in Tampa’s suburbs, threatens
to disrupt an October special session to redraw Senate district
lines across the state.
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Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>
Dirty Tricks Against Clinton Campaign
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75508>
Posted onAugust 21, 2015 12:36 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75508>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
More despicable conduct:
<http://time.com/4006454/hillary-clinton-video-project-veritas/?xid=tcoshare>
A Clinton campaign official alleges that the women engaged in
several efforts to entrap supporters. In one scheme, described by
Clinton staff, a woman attempted to pass a cash donation to Clinton
volunteers and interns. In another, a woman approached the campaign
on Aug. 19 and said both her parents had donated to Clinton the
legal maximum of $2700 each and wanted to funnel an additional
donation through their daughter, a violation of federal law. On Aug.
13, a woman claiming to be Canadian approached another Clinton
fellow to ask how to falsify an address for a campaign donation.
In another instance, a woman volunteering with the Clinton campaign
on voter registration efforts in Iowa City returned to the
campaign’s office in Des Moines and asked whether it was okay that
she refuse to register people who don’t support Clinton, the
campaign official said. The Clinton campaign maintains that its
policy is to register all voters, regardless of their preference in
candidates.
The women presented themselves as Allison Holmes, Jess Koski, and
Jess Jones, according to the Clinton campaign, which collected
names, email addresses, and phone numbers for the women. All gave
the same phone number, which is listed on the website for the
University of Minnesota-based Students for a Conservative Voice.
Messages left at the number by TIME requesting comment were not
returned. The women did not identify themselves as part of O’Keefe’s
group, the campaign said.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
“Bill to exempt political crimes from John Doe investigations clears
Assembly committee” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75506>
Posted onAugust 21, 2015 10:40 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75506>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Cap Times (WI)reports.
<http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bill-to-exempt-political-crimes-from-john-doe-investigations-clears/article_340f5ff8-9313-518f-8f23-4c32e56d3139.html>
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
The Unwarranted Attacks on FEC Commissioner Ann Ravel Continue
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75504>
Posted onAugust 21, 2015 8:36 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75504>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Despicable.
<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/is-this-woman-the-new-lois-lerner/article/2570592>
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
--
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
hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org
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