[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/81/15
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Fri May 8 08:20:59 PDT 2015
“Why Jeb Bush Can’t Spend His Way to the Win”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72332>
Posted onMay 8, 2015 8:10 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72332>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
National Journal.
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/why-jeb-bush-can-t-spend-his-way-to-the-win-20150507>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Sued If You Do, Sued If You Don’t: Section 2 of the Voting Rights
Act as a Defense to Race-Conscious Districting”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72330>
Posted onMay 8, 2015 8:08 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72330>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Caroline Wong has writtenthis student comment
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2599346>for the
/University of Chicago Law Review./ Here is the abstract:
To avoid liability for vote dilution in violation of § 2 of the
Voting Rights Act, states officials sometimes engage in
race-conscious remedial legislative districting. However,
race-conscious remedial districting, while averting litigation over
a § 2 violation, simultaneously opens the door to a lawsuit in which
an electoral district plan may be challenged as an unconstitutional
racial classification under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal
Protection Clause. A state that finds itself in potential violation
of § 2 is thus placed in a seemingly “impossible position.” Whether
it decides to forgo or pursue race-conscious remedial districting,
the state leaves itself exposed to liability for violating either §
2 of the Voting Rights Act or the Equal Protection Clause,
respectively. In an effort to resolve this predicament, a few states
have responded to equal protection racial-gerrymandering challenges
by arguing that compliance with § 2 constitutes an affirmative
defense against claims of race-conscious districting. Whether such a
§ 2 defense is legally cognizable, however, is a question that
remains unresolved. Both times that the issue of the defense’s
viability has been raised before the US Supreme Court, the justices
have expressly declined to address it. As a result, state
governments — as well as courts and districting-litigation
plaintiffs — have been left without answers to critical questions
about the extent to which § 2 requires, justifies, or forbids the
incorporation of race-conscious principles in the design of
electoral districts.
This Comment endeavors to address those questions. Part I canvasses
the legislative history of § 2 and overviews the doctrinal
frameworks governing federal claims of vote dilution and racial
gerrymandering. Part II examines the various attempts that states
have made to raise the § 2 defense in response to
racial-gerrymandering and state-constitutional claims. Finally, Part
III argues that § 2 indeed offers a legally cognizable defense
against claims of racial districting for doctrinal and normative
reasons. It then envisages how courts could apply the § 2 defense in
a way that would benefit states raising the defense in good faith
but filter out states merely seeking to evade liability for
unjustifiable race-based action. In light of the defense’s
application in both the vote-dilution and racial-gerrymandering
contexts, Part III also explains that states might avoid violations
of both § 2 and the Equal Protection Clause by creating racially
integrated coalitional districts.
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Posted inVoting Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“The Meaning of ‘Paralysis,’ the Meaning of Fines, and the Meaning
of McGahn” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72328>
Posted onMay 8, 2015 8:06 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72328>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bauer
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2015/05/meaning-paralysis-meaning-fines-meaning-mcgahn/>reflects
on the FEC.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
3 FEC Republican Commissioners Respond to NYT Report
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72326>
Posted onMay 8, 2015 8:04 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72326>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/opinion/dissension-at-the-federal-election-commission.html?_r=1>,
in this letter to the editor.
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Posted infederal election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
“The FEC’s ‘non-partisan’ whistleblower”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72324>
Posted onMay 8, 2015 8:04 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72324>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/the-fecs-non-partisan-whistleblower-117749.html>on
FEC Chair Ravel.
It is amazing how much attention the FEC has gotten this week since the
publication of Eric Licthbalu’s NYT story on dysfunction at the FEC.
But as readers of this blog know, the story is hardly new. Just the
attention.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
“Big money politics runs amok with FEC in gridlock”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72322>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 8:01 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72322>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Watch FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub
<http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/big-money-politics-rampant-amid-fec-gridlock-441831491975>on
Maddow.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
“Decline in FEC Enforcement Actions Detailed in New Statistical
Information” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72320>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 7:59 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72320>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bloomberg BNA
<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=68234189&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0g6h3q2z8&split=0>:
Enforcement of campaign finance laws by the Federal Election
Commission has fallen significantly in recent years, as measured by
the total amount of fines and average fines collected by the agency,
according to a Bloomberg BNA review of statistical information
provided by the FEC.
The FEC collected total fines of $1 million or more every year
between 2001 and 2009, with annual tallies reaching up to nearly $6
million in 2006. But, the annual total has exceeded the $1 million
mark in only two of the last five years, with the less than $600,000
collected in 2014 being the lowest total since the early 1990s.
FEC enforcement has become increasingly controversial, with
Democratic FEC commissioners, including Chairwoman Ann Ravel,
accusing Republican colleagues of refusal to act on alleged
violations that should be investigated. Republican FEC commissioners
have bristled at Ravel’s comments and said their votes on
enforcement matters reflect their judgment about individual cases
and changes in campaign finance laws wrought by recent court decisions.
Comprehensive information on FEC enforcement cases handled over the
last four decades recently was provided by the agency to the New
York Times. The same statistical information—with some data missing
or subject to revision—now has been provided to Bloomberg BNA and is
expected to be made available to the public soon on the FEC’s
website, according to officials.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Steve Klein on Rauch on Campaign Financing
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72295>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 7:55 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72295>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here.
<https://www.pillaroflaw.org/index.php/free-political-speech/entry/a-renaissance-of-nuance-in-campaign-finance-jonathan-rauch-s-political-realism> [corrected
link]
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Resolved: Citizens United Was Wrongly Decided”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72316>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 3:55 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72316>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
National Constitution Centeron the road
<http://constitutioncenter.org/calendar/on-the-road-with-americas-two-hall-for-2-special-march-events>in
Boston:
*Resolved:/Citizens United/Was Wrongly Decided*
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
5:30 p.m. Cocktails | 6:30 p.m. Debate
John Adams Courthouse, Boston, MA
Join us a lively debate on the merits and drawbacks of the Supreme
Court’s controversial/Citizens United/decision. Election and
constitutional law experts*Anthony Johnstone*and*John McGinnis*will
argue for and against the resolution.*Jeffrey Rosen*of the National
Constitution Center moderates.
CLE credit offered! Admission is FREE, but please RSVP to Bianca
Cavacini atbcavacini at constitutioncenter.org
<mailto:bcavacini at constitutioncenter.org>to reserve your seat.
This should be great.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,Supreme
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
“Kentucky prohibits electioneering with 100 feet of polls after
court strikes down 300-foot ban’ <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72314>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 1:54 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72314>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
See here.
<http://www.kentucky.com/2015/05/05/3837019_kentucky-prohibits-electioneering.html?rh=1>
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“New Public-Corruption Chief Vows To Not Shy Away”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72312>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 1:37 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72312>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Carrie Johnson
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/05/07/404995115/new-public-corruption-chief-vows-to-not-shy-away?live=1>for
NPR: “Veteran prosecutor Raymond Hulser has been promoted to lead the
Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, the unit that goes after
corrupt public officials including lawmakers, judges and military
contractors.”
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Posted inDepartment of Justice <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>
“Appeal denied: Former Secretary of State Scott Gessler violated
public trust” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72310>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 1:35 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72310>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Colorado Independent
<http://www.coloradoindependent.com/153200/appeal-denied-former-secretary-of-state-scott-gessler-violated-public-trust>onthis
court ruling. <http://crew.3cdn.net/09f78af1928676ba16_olm6bhrr3.pdf>
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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>,election
administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
“Van Hollen, Price, Udall Push Plan to Mend Presidential Campaign
Public Financing System” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72308>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 1:33 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72308>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Press release.
<http://price.house.gov/press-releases/price-van-hollen-udall-introduce-bill-to-modernize-presidential-campaign-public-financing/> [corrected
link]
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Meet the new elections commissioners; U.S. EAC has quorum for first
time in several years” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72306>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 1:31 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72306>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
That’s the lead story in this week’sElectionline Weekly
<http://www.electionline.org/index.php/electionline-weekly>.
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>
“Our Two Supreme Courts” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72303>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 9:57 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72303>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
John McGinnis
<http://www.libertylawsite.org/2015/05/06/our-two-supreme-courts/#.VUtNg7xufcc.twitter>:
Speaking at Northwestern University Law School this semester,
Justice Elena Kagan may have revealed more than she
intended. Amidst her entertaining and witty remarks, she described
two very different kinds of discussions that take place at the
conferences where the justices decide cases. In shorter
conferences, the justices, in order of seniority, with the Chief
going first, state their votes with brief statements of
reasons. Justice Kagan observed that shorter conferences tend to be
the high profile cases that appear on the front page of the
newspaper. She surmised that further debate in these cases would
likely make her colleagues irritated with those of opposing views.
She then described longer conferences, where the justices after
stating their positions—sometimes tentative ones– entertain more
general deliberations, trying to figure out exactly what the right
answer should be. They then focus on and often resolve thorny legal
questions. Justice Kagan said that during her time on the Court one
of the longest conferences revolved around an obscure jurisdictional
issue of the kind that would draw no public attention.
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Posted inSupreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
“Ballotpedia Issues Massively Detailed Report on Competition in U.S.
Elections 1972-2014″ <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72301>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 8:48 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72301>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
BAN
<http://ballot-access.org/2015/05/07/ballotpedia-issues-massively-detailed-report-on-competition-in-u-s-elections-1972-2014/>:
Ballotpedia hasissued this report
<http://ballotpedia.org/Competitiveness_in_State_Legislative_Elections:_1972-2014>on
competition in U.S. elections for state and federal office. There
are so many fascinating and important conclusions, it would be a
disservice to readers to try to single out any particular findings.
The report shows that U.S. state legislative elections in particular
are massively uncompetitive, in both primaries and general elections.
Never before has any group or individual accumulated and published
this much data about legislative election returns. The report
required the authors to collect and analyze the election returns for
all legislative districts, in both primaries and general elections,
for the last 42 years. In every even-numbered year, there are always
more than 6,000 legislative races.
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Posted inballot access <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>,legislation
and legislatures <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>
Questions of the Day: Super PAC Edition
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72299>
Posted onMay 7, 2015 8:19 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=72299>byRick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Via the Onion <http://www.theonion.com/graphic/what-super-pac-50362>:
*Q: What is the purpose of super PACs?*
A: To counteract the excessive influence ordinary voters exert on
U.S. elections….
*Q: Isn’t it true that super PACs drown out the voices of everyday
Americans with their narrow, self-serving messages, effectively
crippling the democratic process and reinforcing a vicious cycle in
which all politicians are beholden to multimillionaires and merely
feign interest in the working and middle classes in a cynical
attempt to clinch their election and advance the interests of the
country’s moneyed elite, further dividing a crumbling nation already
hopelessly mired in inequality?*
A: No.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,election
law "humor" <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=52>,Supreme Court
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
--
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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