[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/25/15
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Tue Aug 25 07:27:04 PDT 2015
State Parties Sign Fund-Raising Pacts With Clinton Campaign”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75574>
Posted onAugust 25, 2015 7:24 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75574>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/08/25/4-state-parties-sign-victory-fund-pacts-with-clinton-campaign/?ref=politics>:
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign has received commitments from four
Democratic state parties, including in the crucial proving ground of
New Hampshire, to enter joint fund-raising agreements with the
campaign just as the nomination battle is beginning.
The four are a small fraction of the dozens of state parties that
the Hillary for America campaign has asked to join such agreements.
Many are still considering the request; some officials said they are
working through how the arrangement would be put into effect while
the nominating fight is underway.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Sam Youngman: In caucus debate, McConnell snatches Rand Paul from
brink of certain defeat” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75572>
Posted onAugust 25, 2015 7:19 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75572>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Kentucky.com
<http://www.kentucky.com/2015/08/23/4001887_sam-youngman-in-caucus-debate.html?rh=1>:
Sunday’s headlines about Kentucky’s Republican presidential caucus
almost looked very different.
And, the truth is, were it not for the efforts of U.S. Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies, Sunday’s
conversation probably would have been about the rebuke Rand Paul
received from in-state Republicans and the death blow they dealt to
his struggling presidential campaign.
Because Paul was going to lose Saturday’s vote.
The 147 members of the Republican Party of Kentucky’s state central
committee wanted to help Paul bypass a state law that prevents him
from running for two offices on the same ballot, but they were not
prepared to do so without some reassurances about the cost of
holding a special presidential preference caucus.
And Paul had no plan to ease their concerns beyond a tone-deaf plea
for Republicans to simply trust him.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“What is Abridgment?: A Critique of Two Section Twos”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75570>
Posted onAugust 25, 2015 7:15 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75570>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Franita Tolson has postedthis
draft<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2644320>on SSRN
(forthcoming, /Alabama Law Review/). Here is the abstract:
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which allows Congress to
reduce a state’s delegation in the House of Representatives if the
state abridges the right to vote, has been ignored by both the
courts and much of the scholarly literature. However, section 2,
with its broad language unencumbered by references to race or color,
allows Congress to legislatively address virtually any abridgment of
the ballot through its section 5 enforcement power.
This Article contends that section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment
provides constitutional justification for section 2 of the Voting
Rights Act, the validity of which has come under fire in recent
years. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act forbids any voting
“standard, practice, or procedure” that “results in a denial or
abridgment of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote
on account of race or color.” Critics argue that the statute’s use
of race-conscious remedies and its focus on the discriminatory
effect of various state laws unduly infringes the states’
sovereignty over elections. To avoid potential constitutional
problems, these critics contend that the statute should be limited
to only those instances in which states act with discriminatory intent.
The search for intent is not only futile in this context, but it is
unnecessary. Section 2 is constitutionally sound because section 2
of the Fourteenth Amendment validates any statutory scheme that
prevents abridgment of the right to vote, regardless of the presence
or absence of discriminatory intent. This Article concludes that an
effects only interpretation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is
consistent with the broad authority that section 2 of the Fourteenth
Amendment grants Congress to regulate and protect the right to vote.
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Posted inThe Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>,Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“A Response to Michael B. Mukasey and Cause of Action”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75568>
Posted onAugust 25, 2015 7:13 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75568>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Seth Barrett Tillman:
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2650328.>
Michael B. Mukasey, a former Attorney General of the United States
(and former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York), has stated that if former Secretary
of State (and former Senator) Hillary Clinton is convicted under 18
U.S.C. § 2071, then she is disqualified from holding the presidency.
See Transcript, MSNBC MORNING JOE (Aug. 24, 2015, 06:45:25 AM),
http://goo.gl/na0GM4. Likewise, a Washington, DC think tank has just
published a white paper taking the same position. See Legal Analysis
of Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Use of a Private
Server to Store Email Records, CAUSE OF ACTION: ADVOCATES FOR
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY (Aug. 24, 2015), available at
http://causeofaction.org/assets/uploads/2015/08/Hillary-Clinton-Email-Memo-8.24.15.pdf.
Mukasey’s and Cause of Action’s position is fundamentally
misconceived; indeed, neither puts forward any authority for the
position that Section 2071 or any other federal statute creates or
could create a disqualification in regard to any elected federal
position, including the presidency.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Democratic group accuses GOP candidates of illegally coordinating
with Koch political network” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75566>
Posted onAugust 25, 2015 7:11 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75566>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Matea Gold
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/25/democratic-group-accuses-gop-candidates-of-illegally-coordinating-with-koch-political-network/>for
WaPo:
A Democratic legal watchdog group has filed a new Federal Election
Commission complaint against 11 GOP presidential candidates, the
Republican National Committee and several groups in the Koch
political network, saying their participation in a data-sharing
arrangement violates coordination rules.
In
acomplaint<http://americandemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/ADLF-FEC-complaint-data-trust.pdf>sent
to the commission last week, the American Democracy Legal Fund
seized on a new deal between Data Trust, which has an exclusive
list-exchange agreement with the RNC, and i360, a company that
manages its own database for groups in the Koch network and other
political clients.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Donald Trump Changes His Tune And Begins To Court Wealthy Donors”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75564>
Posted onAugust 25, 2015 7:10 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75564>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Peter Overby reports
<http://www.npr.org/2015/08/25/434513764/donald-trump-changes-his-tune-and-begins-to-court-wealthy-donors>for
NPR.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Fairness and Accountability Sought for Terrebonne Parish 32nd
Judicial District Court Voters” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75562>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 8:35 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75562>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Press release
<http://www.naacpldf.org/update/fairness-and-accountability-sought-terrebonne-parish-32nd-judicial-district-court-voters>:
On Friday, August 21, lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
(LDF), and cooperating Louisiana attorney, Ronald L.
Wilson, filedpapers
<http://www.naacpldf.org/document/terrebonne-parish-branch-naacp-et-al-v-jindal-et-al-motion-summary-judgement>in
/Terrebonne Parish Branch NAACP, et al. v. Jindal, et al.
<http://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/terrebonne-parish-branch-naacp-et-al-v-jindal-et-al>/,
a challenge under the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution to
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana’s discriminatory voting method for the
32^nd Judicial District Court (32^nd JDC).
On behalf of the Terrebonne Parish Branch NAACP and four black
voters, LDF asked a Louisiana federal court to rule that at-large
voting for the 32^nd JDC discriminates against black voters in
Terrebonne. “Our case demonstrates that the at-large electoral
method for the 32^nd JDC silences the voices of black voters. As
recently as 2008, this structure resulted in a white judge’s
reelection even after he was suspended for wearing blackface in an
apparent parody of black criminal defendants,” saysLeah Aden
<http://www.naacpldf.org/leah-aden>, an LDF attorney. “Louisiana
adopted at-large voting for the 32^nd JDC, after the enactment of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to prevent black voters from electing
their candidates of choice. Despite decades of advocacy against
at-large voting in the district, Louisiana has continued to use this
voting method and rejected numerous legislative proposals to change
to district-based voting for the 32^nd JDC,” continued Aden.
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Posted inVoting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“Jeb Bush’s Campaign Takes Steps to Rein In Spending”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75560>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:23 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75560>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Maggie Haberman
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/08/24/jeb-bushs-campaign-takes-steps-to-rein-in-spending/?ref=politics&_r=0>for
the NYT:
Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign has asked various divisions to be
mindful of their spending, in a reminder that despite his giant
“super PAC” bankroll, campaign dollars are ultimately more valuable.
Campaign officials asked workers to tighten their belts a few weeks
ago, according to two people briefed on the matter. In some cases,
staff members’ paychecks shrank, these people said.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“How Twitter screwed up in shutting down its political tweet
archives” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75558>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:22 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75558>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Fix reports.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/24/how-twitter-screwed-up-in-shutting-down-its-political-tweet-archives/>
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Dem Rep.: Scott Walker ‘Tightening the Noose, Literally, Around
African-Americans’” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75556>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:19 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75556>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Really?
<http://www.mediaite.com/online/dem-rep-scott-walker-tightening-the-noose-literally-around-african-americans/>Can
we avoid the allegations of /actual /lynchings when there is no such threat?
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Kansas seeks to block release of voting machine paper tapes”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75554>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:16 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75554>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Topeka Capital Journal
<http://cjonline.com/news/2015-08-24/kansas-seeks-block-release-voting-machine-paper-tapes>:
The top election official in Kansas has asked a Sedgwick County
judge to block the release of voting machine tapes sought by a
Wichita mathematician who is researching statistical anomalies
favoring Republicans in counts coming from large precincts in the
November 2014 general election.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach argued the records sought by Wichita
State University mathematician Beth Clarkson aren’t subject to the
Kansas open records act and their disclosure is prohibited by Kansas
statute. His response, which was faxed Friday to the Sedgwick County
District Court, was made public Monday.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Political Flyer Circulated In Detroit Suburb: ‘Let’s Get The Blacks
Out'” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75552>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 7:13 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75552>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
With Trayvon Martin on the back.
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/southfield-michigan-anti-black-flyer>Nice
touch, Klan.
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Posted invoting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>,Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“Sen. Menendez Bribery Case Heats Up With New Justice Filing”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75549>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 4:32 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75549>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Carrie Johnson
<http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/08/24/434401468/sen-menendez-bribery-case-heats-up-with-new-justice-filing?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=politics&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews>for
NPR:
The Justice Department forcefully defended its prosecutors Monday
against allegations of misconduct and perjury lodged by lawyers for
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and an eye doctor who served as one of
his longtime donors.
Prosecutors said their “exhaustive, focused and disciplined
investigation” ferreted out “a stream of bribes” the senator
solicited and accepted from Salomon Melgen, including lavish trips
to Paris and the Dominican Republic. In return, the government said,
Menendez exerted his influence to advance the interests of his
longtime donor in meetings with officials at the Department of
Health and Human Services and elsewhere.
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Posted inbribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>,campaign finance
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
#SCOTUS Will Let Gov. McDonnell Stay Out of Jail, at Least for a Few
Days <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75547>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 2:22 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75547>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Lyle Denniston
<http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/08/former-governor-spared-prison-for-now/#more-231428>:
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., on Monday afternoon temporarily
blocked the imprisonment of former Virginia Governor Robert F.
McDonnell until the Supreme Court can consider further his plea to
remain free while he appeals his corruption conviction. The Chief
Justice’s order ishere
<http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/McDonnell-order-8-24-13.pdf>.
The Justice Department was told to file its views on McDonnell’s
plea by 4 p.m. on Wednesday. A federal appeals court ruling
upholding his conviction will be on hold until after there is
further action either by the Chief Justice or by the full Court.
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Posted inbribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>,Supreme Court
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
“Ruling approves use of federal grant $ to pursue voter fraud”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75545>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 9:55 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75545>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Misleading headline of the day.
<http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/crime/article/Ruling-approves-use-of-federal-grant-to-pursue-6462090.php>
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
Dahlia Lithwick Talks Voting Rights with Ari Berman in Slate Amicus
Podcast <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75543>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 9:49 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75543>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Listen.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/amicus/2015/08/can_the_voting_rights_act_survive_the_roberts_court.html>
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Posted inSupreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>,Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“Gay marriage opponents reveal donors from 2009 Maine campaign”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75541>
Posted onAugust 24, 2015 9:47 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75541>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Portland Press Herald
<http://www.pressherald.com/2015/08/24/national-organization-for-marriage-reveals-donors-from-2009-bid-to-overturn-maines-marriage-law/>:
The National Organization for Marriage has filed its campaign
finance report from its 2009 bid to overturn Maine’s marriage
equality law, revealing its donors to the ballot initiative for the
first time.
The report, released Monday, marks the culmination of a
four-year-long battle between the country’s leading opponent of gay
marriage and the Maine Ethics Commission.
The report shows that seven major donors gave NOM more than $2
million in 2009. The organization then funneled that money to Stand
for Marriage Maine, the Maine-based political action committee that
became the public face of the successful bid to overturn Maine’s
marriage equality law.
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Posted incampaign 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
hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org
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