[EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/19/16
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Tue Apr 19 07:56:04 PDT 2016
“Potential G.O.P. Convention Fight Puts Older Hands in Sudden
Demand” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82017>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:52 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82017>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/us/politics/potential-gop-convention-fight-puts-older-hands-in-sudden-demand.html?ref=politics>:
The last time Stuart Spencer courted delegates at a Republican
National Convention, in 1976, he kept a roll of quarters in his
pocket for when he had to run to the pay phones and call in reports
to President Gerald R. Ford’s campaign headquarters.
This year there will be no running. Two hip replacements later, the
closest Mr. Spencer plans to get to the convention floor in
Cleveland is the deck of his Palm Desert, Calif., home, where he
calls in advice to Gov.John Kasich
<http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/john-kasich-on-the-issues.html?inline=nyt-per>’s
campaign almost every day.
“I’m 89, man. I’m lucky to be here,” said Mr. Spencer, who last
worked in politics 25 years ago.
Political campaigns are often viewed as a young person’s game,
especially in an era in which digitally savvy, data-fixated
strategists track the behavior of millions of voters nationwide and
target them with increasing sophistication and precision.
But this year, as Republicans face the prospect of a contested
convention, the party is turning to its oldest hands, who learned
how to fight over delegates using walkie-talkies, loose-leaf
notebooks and quick-footed young pages.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“GOP outstripping Democrats in hunt for convention cash”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82014>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:46 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82014>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo reports.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/04/19/gop-outstripping-democrats-in-hunt-for-convention-cash/>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“‘1-Person-1-Vote’ Decision Relies On Misreading of Federalist
Papers” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82012>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:46 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82012>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ilya Shapiro and Thomas Berry oped
<http://m.nationallawjournal.com/#/article/1202755159430/2/%271-Person-1-Vote%27%20Decision%20Relies%20On%20Misreading%20of%20Federalist%20Papers>in
the NLJ.
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Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>,Supreme Court
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
“Outside Campaign Money Falls in Presidential Race”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82010>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:30 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82010>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bloomberg BNA
<http://news.bna.com/mpdm/MPDMWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=87724057&vname=mpebulallissues&jd=a0j2t9p5t5&split=0>:
Campaign spending by super political action committees and other
outside groups fell sharply this month in the presidential primary
race, with money shifting to congressional races instead, according
to reports on independent campaign expenditures filed with the
Federal Election Commission (FEC) and analyzed by Bloomberg BNA.
Independent expenditures reported in the presidential race reached a
total of just $2.25 million since April 1, compared to a total of
nearly $28 million in such spending for the month of March.
Outside spending in congressional races reached more than $9.1
million so far this month, with more than $8.3 million going to key
Senate races. The April total, so far, is already significantly
above the $6.1 million spent in congressional races in all of March.
Reports of large independent expenditures—defined by the FEC as
spending on television ads and other messages advocating for votes
for or against candidates—are required to be filed by all outside
spending groups. In the weeks before an election, these reports must
be filed within 24 hours of when the money is spent, providing a
gauge of the intensity and targets of outside campaign spending as
the election approaches.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Sanders campaign law firm demands that critic stop selling ‘Bernie
is my comrade’ T-shirts” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82008>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:26 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82008>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Eugene Volokh blogs.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/04/18/sanders-campaign-law-firm-demands-that-critic-stop-selling-bernie-is-my-comrade-t-shirts/>
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Did the Hillary Victory Fund Break the Law?”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82006>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:24 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82006>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Atlantic reports.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-dnc/478875/>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Congrats to Nate Persily <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82004>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:23 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82004>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
who has been named
<https://www.carnegie.org/news/articles/andrew-carnegie-fellows-program-recognizes-33-scholars-significant-work-social-sciences-and-humanities/>an
Andrew Carnegie Fellow for his work on “The Campaign of the Future.”
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Posted inelection law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>
“Republican ‘rotten boroughs’ could clinch nominee thanks to
delegate quirk” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82002>
Posted onApril 19, 2016 7:17 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82002>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ben Jacobs:
<http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/19/republican-rotten-boroughs-primary-election-delegates?CMP=share_btn_tw>
Like British parliamentary elections in the 18th century, the
Republican presidential primary in 2016 may be decided in rotten
boroughs.
While the rotten boroughs in Georgian England were the long since
abandoned sites of medieval towns where aristocratic landowners
could handpick members of parliament, the Republican rotten boroughs
are vibrant, heavily populated urban areas in places likeNew York
<http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/new-york>and Los Angeles.
They just don’t have very many registeredRepublicans
<http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans>.
The result of gerrymandered redistricting processes and the deep
alienation of minority communities from the Republican party is that
there are many congressional districts where registered Republicans
are almost as rare as unicorns. Republican delegate apportionment
rules in many states, however, mean that every congressional
district receives three delegates to the convention, regardless of
how many GOP voters live there.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Donald Trump hires top GOP lawyer for delegate fight”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82000>
Posted onApril 18, 2016 4:20 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=82000>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico:
<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/donald-trump-republican-delegates-222116>
Donald Trump has made another new significant hire as he prepares for
the possibility of a contested convention, bringing William McGinley, a
prominent Republican political attorney and a veteran of past delegate
battles, into his campaign.
McGinley is expected to advise the Trump campaign on both delegate
selection battles in the upcoming states and possible challenges to the
credentials of delegates to the Republican National Convention in
Cleveland, according to people familiar with the hiring.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,election law biz
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>
“From the front lines: A Wisconsin poll worker dreads the job”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81998>
Posted onApril 18, 2016 4:13 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81998>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Oped
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/from-the-front-lines-a-wisconsin-poll-worker-dreads-the-job-b99708714z1--376086661.html>in
the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
I’m a Wisconsin poll worker. I’ve come to dread my job.
After four years of experience at my busy polling place, I was
surprised to find myself dreading Wisconsin’s primary election.
Sadly, running elections has grown more daunting with every new
voting law passed by the state Legislature, especially the new photo
ID requirement and voter registration rules. The April 5
high-turnout election put even more new guidelines in place — added
in the two months since the Feb. 16 election. Not surprisingly, both
voters and poll workers are confused. That makes my job much harder
and far less rewarding.
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
Bernie Sanders Campaign Oddly Accuses Clinton and DNC of Troubling,
Perhaps Illegal, Fundraising Practices
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81996>
Posted onApril 18, 2016 3:27 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81996>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This
letter<https://berniesanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Bernie-2016-Letter-to-DNC-1.pdf>from
Sanders’ lawyer Brad Deutsch (and see this accompanying press release
<https://berniesanders.com/press-release/clinton-dnc-joint-fundraising-raises-serious-campaign-finance-concerns/>)
say there are some “serious apparent violations” of campaign finance
law. I’m not so sure that’s right, and suspect this letter is less
about legality and more about feeding into the Sanders’ campaign theme
that Hillary Clinton is corrupt in her campaign finance dealings.
Here’s the deal. Clinton, like Sanders and other presidential
candidates, has set up a joint fundraising committee with her political
party. The JFC allows you to raise a huge chunk of change (more now than
in past campaigns, thanks to the Supreme Court blowing out the aggregate
federal limits in the /McCutcheon /case). A small bit goes to the
candidate’s committee under the federal limits (currently $2,700 for the
primary and $2,700 for the general). The next bit goes to the DNC, and
the rest so state parties in $10,000 chunks. Sanders is accusing the
joint committee of raising really big donations, and then having the JFC
using some of those really big donations to engage in direct mail and
internet targeting of small donors. When those small donors donate
small amounts, contributions up to the first $2,700 benefit Clinton
under the JFC agreement, and because these are small donors, it means
Clinton gets all that small donor money.
The Deutsch letter cites no authority showing that this use of the JFC
is not allowed, and it is hard to see what provision of the law it
violates when donors give only small amounts that happen to benefit only
Clinton. The letter says that maybe this is like an in-kind contribution
from the DNC to the Clinton campaign, but I don’t see how it is that if
the money is coming from the JFC not from the committee. The letter even
says this means that those giving big checks to the DNC might thereby be
giving more than the $2,700 to Clinton, which is not literally true—it
is what the JFC is doing with the money, over which the donors have no
control.
So legally this seems weak.
And politically, it is quite odd for Sanders, who would need the DNC’s
support to win the presidency should be be the Democratic nominee, to be
attacking the DNC. (Then again, Trump has relentlessly attacked the RNC,
so this must be the celebration of the season.)
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Ari Berman on New York’s Abysmal Voting Laws
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81994>
Posted onApril 18, 2016 10:30 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81994>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I guess it
took<http://www.thenation.com/article/three-million-registered-voters-wont-be-able-to-vote-in-new-yorks-primary/>a
Bernie Sanders candidacy to get attention to an issue a number of us
have been flagging for years.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“I Disagree With What You Say, So I Will File a Campaign Finance
Complaint” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81992>
Posted onApril 18, 2016 10:26 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81992>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Steve Klein blogs.
<https://www.pillaroflaw.org/index.php/blog/entry/i-disagree-with-what-you-say-so-i-will-file-a-campaign-finance-complaint>
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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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