[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/4/16

Thu Aug 4 07:45:02 PDT 2016

“U.S. Seeks to Protect Voting System From Cyberattacks”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84969>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:44 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84969> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Must-read NYT:<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/us/politics/us-seeks-to-protect-voting-system-against-cyberattacks.html>

The Obama administration is weighing new steps to bolster the security of the United States’ voting process against cyberthreats, including whether to designate the electronic ballot-casting system for November’s elections as “critical infrastructure,” Jeh Johnson, the secretary of Homeland Security, said on Wednesday.
In the wake of hacks that infiltrated<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-emails.html> Democratic campaign computer systems, Mr. Johnson said he was conducting high-level discussions about “election cybersecurity,” a vastly complex effort given that there are 9,000 jurisdictions in the United States that have a hand in carrying out the balloting, many of them with different ways of collecting, tallying and reporting votes.

“We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process is critical infrastructure, like the financial sector, like the power grid,” Mr. Johnson told reporters in Washington. “There’s a vital national interest in our electoral process.”
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, voting technology<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>

“Voting wrongs; Despite recent positive court rulings, the vote suppressers aren’t likely to surrender.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84967>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84967> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Houston Chronicle editorial.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“Defeated San Jose councilman files lawsuit to challenge election”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84965>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:31 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84965> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Mercury News reports.<http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_30203635/defeated-san-jose-councilman-files-lawsuit-challenge-election>
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Posted in recounts<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=50>

“Texas agrees to ease voter ID law; plan now goes to federal judge”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84963>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:29 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84963> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Tim Eaton<http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/texas-agrees-to-ease-voter-id-law-plan-now-goes-to/nr9FT/> for the Austin American-Statesman.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Third party candidates won’t really matter in November”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84961>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:25 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84961> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Stu Rothenberg<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/08/04/third-party-candidates-wont-really-matter-in-november/?postshare=4891470319962907&tid=ss_tw> for WaPo:

As long as Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein don’t qualify for the presidential debates, they won’t be able to attract voters away from the two major parties. Only when they can do that will their nominees be in a position to affect presidential contests.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, third parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47>

Trump Gets 4 Pinocchios for Claiming Clinton Raised $60 Million from 20 People<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84959>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:22 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84959> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo’s The Fact Checker.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/08/04/trumps-absurd-charge-that-clinton-raised-60-million-in-july-from-just-20-people/>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

“Supreme Court, Inferior Oversight”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84957>
Posted on August 4, 2016 7:20 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84957> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The latest from Fix the Court<https://fixthecourt-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=1VZ4D2jXh-BRPW7SvpYPuqxYkgHCMAgMR0W3A1rBkIQQ-0&key=YAMMID-13198304&link=http%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2FBranchComp>, which is doing crucial work.
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Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

My Interview on PBS @NewsHour on Voting Rights Decisions, Fraud Claims, and Trump<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84955>
Posted on August 3, 2016 5:09 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84955> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

You can watch, listen, and read the transcript here<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/recent-court-decisions-identification-requirements-mean-voters/>.
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Posted in election 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>

“Fueled by Small Donations, Donald Trump Makes Up Major Financial Ground”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84953>
Posted on August 3, 2016 4:18 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84953> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/us/politics/trump-fundraising.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0>:

Donald J. Trump<http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/donald-trump-on-the-issues.html?inline=nyt-per> all but erased his enormous fund-raising deficit againstHillary Clinton<http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/hillary-clinton-on-the-issues.html?inline=nyt-per>in the span of just two months, according to figures released by his campaign on Tuesday, converting the passion of his core followers into a flood of small donations on a scale rarely seen in national politics.

Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/r/republican_national_committee/index.html?inline=nyt-org> raised $64 million through a joint digital and direct mail effort in July, according to his campaign, the bulk of it from small donations. All told, Mr. Trump and his party brought in $82 million last month, only slightly behind Mrs. Clinton<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/politics/hillary-clinton-july-fundraising.html>, and ended with an enormous pool of $74 million in cash on hand, suggesting he might now have the resources to compete with Mrs. Clinton in the closing stretch of the campaign.

The figures mark a major achievement in Mr. Trump’s campaign, which until recent months was largely funded by a trickle of hat and T-shirt sales and by Mr. Trump’s<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/us/politics/donald-trump-fund-raising-republicans.html>wallet<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/us/politics/donald-trump-fund-raising-republicans.html>. And they suggest Mr. Trump has the potential to be the first Republican nominee whose campaign could be financed chiefly by grass-roots supporters pitching in $10 or $25 apiece, echoing the unprecedented success of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont during the Democratic presidential primary.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

Have 29 Hours to Find a Case of Voter Fraud?<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84951>
Posted on August 3, 2016 4:11 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84951> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Fun WaPo exercise.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/03/heres-how-rare-in-person-voter-fraud-is/>

I’m sure if Justin could comment he’d be chuckling.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

The Calendar of Election Litigation: Why Early August is the New Late September<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84949>
Posted on August 3, 2016 3:45 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84949> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This blog has a flow. I usually spend around 30 minutes in the morning or evening with my updates, punctuated with additional posts throughout the day as events warrant and as my schedule can handle it.

Things change in election years, especially presidential election years. There’s more litigation, and more interest in the election. More press interviews for me, and less time for my real writing. (I’m trying to write a book.)  In presidential election years, things usually peak in September, and by late September there is a flurry of litigation and related analysis that makes blogging almost a full time job.

Well that’s happened now, by early August. Why?  (No, not climate change.)  It has to do with thePurcell Principle<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2545676>, at least the idea from the Supreme Court which has percolated down to lower courts that courts should not make last minute changes to election rules. The Court just about forced the 5th Circuit to decide the TX voter id case by July 20, with an order inviting plaintiffs to renew their motion to have the Supreme Court take the case over if there were no ruling by then.  And then we had #ElectionLawFriday<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/07/31/it-seems-that-friday-was-election-law-day-in-the-federal-courts/>, with a flurry of decisions including the big NC 4th Circuit voting case. Note these cases came out in JULY rather than August, which is no accident I think.

So the phone is now ringing off the hook and the email flowing with decisions, appeals, press inquiries, and more. This has the pace I expect much later in the process, but it is happening now. This means expect the armies of election lawyers stories to start even earlier, as well as stories on what if we have another election meltdown (though if Trump continues to poll well behind Clinton, the stories will be more of the variety questioning whether there will be violence if Trump doesn’t accept the results).

I hope that this means that late September things will be quieter on the election litigation front, meaning that the rules will be more set for the election by then and meaning I could again get some real writing done. But in this election I’m not counting on anything. It is surely the strangest I’ve ever seen.

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

Texas Still Contemplating Supreme Court Appeal in Voter ID Case<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84947>
Posted on August 3, 2016 3:34 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84947> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Tierney Sneed <https://twitter.com/Tierney_Megan/status/760966774674354177> with the statement.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Schimel Files Stay Motion in Voter ID Decision in One Wisconsin v. Thomsen”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84945>
Posted on August 3, 2016 3:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84945> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

And now the second Wi voting case has been appealed <https://www.doj.state.wi.us/news-releases/ag-schimel-files-stay-motion-voter-id-decision-one-wisconsin-v-thomsen> by both sides to the 7th Circuit.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Voter ID rulings could impact Alabama”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84943>
Posted on August 3, 2016 3:25 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84943> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mary Troyan<http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/alabama/2016/08/03/voter-id-rulings-could-impact-alabama/88006740/> for Gannett:

A lawsuit challenging Alabama’s voter ID law is set for trial next year, but a wave of court decisions is giving hope to voting rights activists who say the Alabama law should be tossed because it makes it harder for people, especially minorities, to cast ballots.

Federal judges in North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin have ruled that certain state election laws – intended to guard against voter fraud – have gone too far and are unfairly denying people their rightful chance to vote.

None of those court decisions are binding on Alabama. But a lawyer for Alabama residents who were unable to vote in the March presidential primary because they couldn’t get the proper identification say they intend to use the rulings in arguments to the Alabama judge.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Analysis: Texas Voters Take Hit While Judges Ponder Election Laws”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84941>
Posted on August 3, 2016 3:15 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84941> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Great Ross Ramsey Texas Tribune column<https://www.texastribune.org/2016/08/03/analysis-texas-voters-take-hit-while-judges-ponder/> which ends by suggesting it might be time to put Texas back under federal voting supervision.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

What Donald Trump Has in Common with Charles Foster Kane<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84938>
Posted on August 3, 2016 2:58 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84938> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Watch<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMy0969BTw>:
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“Analysis: Trump Not the First to Claim Voter Fraud Will Rig Elections”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84936>
Posted on August 3, 2016 2:31 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84936> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Zack Roth:<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-not-first-claim-voter-fraud-will-rig-elections-n622421>

Here’s<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/us/politics/27vote.html?_r=0> what Sen. John McCain said during a 2008 presidential debate — the highest-profile stage of the campaign. The voter registration group ACORN, McCain declared, “is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.”

Little surprise that a 2009 poll<http://www.newsweek.com/poll-majority-republicans-believe-acorn-stole-presidential-election-210966> found that more than half of all Republicans believed ACORN stole the election.

OK, maybe that was just a one-time thing about ACORN, right? No. In 2004, RNC chair Ed Gillespie accused Democrats of trying to “shift focus from the voter fraud rampant among John Kerry’s supporters.” Marc Racicot, the chair of President George W. Bush’s campaign, warned<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/oct/20/20041020-112922-8030r/> that Democratic voter fraud would “ultimately paralyze the effective ability of Americans to be able to vote in the next election.”
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“Who Really Believes in Campaign Finance Disclosure?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84934>
Posted on August 3, 2016 2:29 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84934> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Steve Klein<https://www.pillaroflaw.org/index.php/blog/entry/who-really-believes-in-campaign-finance-disclosure> on the new DC circuit Super PAC name case.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

Plaintiffs Challenging NC Redistricting Go to #SCOTUS Claiming Partisan Gerrymander<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84931>
Posted on August 3, 2016 2:28 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84931> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here is the jurisdictional statement<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/harrisjs.pdf> in Harris v. McCrory.

I believe this is the first case raising issues of partisan gerrymandering to make it to the Supreme Court since Justice Scalia’s passing. Will they touch it?  I don’t know. One thing that increases the odds it is that it is on appeal from a three-judge court (rather than on a totally discretionary cert. petition).

This is the case where the NC Legislature “cured” what was seen as a racial gerrymander by imposing a new plan that legislators basically admitted was a partisan gerrymander.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“The Citizens United Playbook; How a Top GOP Lawyer Guided a Chinese-Owned Company Into U.S. Presidential Politics”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84929>
Posted on August 3, 2016 2:19 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84929> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Intercept:<https://theintercept.com/2016/08/03/gop-lawyer-chinese-owned-company-us-presidential-politics/>

The Intercept has determined that a corporation owned by a Chinese couple made a major donation to Jeb Bush’s Super PAC Right to Rise USA — and it did so after receiving detailed advice from Charlie Spies, arguably the most important Republican campaign finance lawyer in American politics.

As Robert Weissman, president of the nonprofit advocacy organization Public Citizen, said, “We know that Citizens United opened the door for foreign money to influence U.S. elections. This case appears to be the first instance in federal elections where the money trail is clear and documentable from publicly available records.”

Spies presented his advice in a memo, obtained by The Intercept<https://theintercept.com/document/2016/08/03/right-to-rise-usa-memo-on-foreign-owned-corporations-donating-to-super-pacs/>, which he prepared for Right to Rise USA, where he served as treasurer and general counsel. “We conclude,” he wrote, “that a domestic subsidiary corporation may now directly contribute to a Super PAC in connection with a federal election.”

The Spies memo was dated February 19, 2015. One month later, American Pacific International Capital Inc., a California corporation owned by Gordon Tang and Huaidan Chen, a married couple who are citizens of China and permanent residents of Singapore, made a $1 million donation to Right to Rise USA. APIC subsequently gave the group an additional $300,000, its total donation of $1.3 million making APIC one of the Bush Super PAC’s largest contributors.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

“Is Trump setting the stage to challenge November’s election result?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84927>
Posted on August 3, 2016 2:06 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84927> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

McClatchy<http://www.sunherald.com/news/politics-government/article93543017.html>:

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seems to be preparing to be a sore loser, unsettling the prospects for any post-election peace.

Three months before Election Day, the 70-year-old New York businessman is reciting electoral grievances that range from the “rigged” presidential debate schedule to dire warnings of voter fraud. Trump’s preemptive declarations, in turn, could muddy the waters for Democrat Hillary Clinton, if she wins.

“I think he’s setting the stage to come up with an excuse for losing,” said Richard Hasen, aprofessor of law and political science<http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/> at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. “And he’s de-legitimizing her. I think it’s dangerous to make these (rigged) claims.”

At the least, persistent challenges to the legitimacy of an election could distract the winner, embolden the loser, congest the airwaves and poison whatever presidential honeymoon period still exists in today’s hyper-partisan times. More dramatically, it could incite serious upheaval.
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Breaking: TX Plaintiffs, State Agree on How to Soften Voter ID for Upcoming Elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84922>
Posted on August 3, 2016 11:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84922> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/tx-joint.pdf> looks like a darn good deal for plaintiffs (and it means no further appeals on scope of interim remedy by the state):

1. Voters who appear on the official list of registered voters and present documentation that is acceptable photo identification under Section 63.0101 of the Texas Election Code (SB 14 ID) or

2. Voters who appear on the official list of registered voters and present a valid voter registration certificate, a certified birth certificate, a current utility bill, a bank statement, a government check, a paycheck, or any other government document that displays the voter’s name and an address and

3. Defendants shall use the document attached to this Order as Exhibit 1 as the English language reasonable impediment declaration. complete and sign a reasonable impediment declaration shall be permitted to vote using a regular ballot.

4. Defendants shall ensure that the reasonable impediment declaration is translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese for use in appropriate jurisdictions. Defendants shall also inform the Elections Administrators in El Paso County and Maverick County in writing of the need to include the reasonable impediment declaration in the list of documents that need to be orally translated in accordance with Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. § 10503.

5. The reasonableness of a voter’s impediment to obtain SB 14 ID shall not be questioned by election officials.

6. After asking a voter if he or she has SB 14 ID, election officials shall not question or challenge voters concerning the voter’s lack of SB 14 ID and the voter’s claimed impediment to obtaining SB 14 ID prior to allowing a voter to cast a regular ballot with a reasonable impediment declaration.

7. A signed reasonable impediment declaration shall be rejected only upon conclusive evidence that the person completing the declaration is not the person in whose name the ballot will be cast.

8. No identification document provided pursuant to Paragraphs 1 or 2 shall be rejected based on the fact that the address on such document does not match the address recorded in the official list of registered voters.

9. Pursuant to Section 33.058 of the Texas Election Code, poll watchers shall not be permitted to communicate in any manner with any voter concerning the procedures outlined in this Order, presentation of identification, or the validity of a voter’s impediment to obtain identification.

10. Defendants shall develop a detailed voter education plan, including timetables, for the November 2016 general election by no later than August 15, 2016. This plan shall include a statement of the total planned expenditure, in an amount equal to or greater than $2,500,000.

11. Commencing with any elections held after the entry of this Order and until further order of the Court, Defendants shall continue to educate voters in subsequent elections concerning both voter identification requirements and

12. Defendants shall develop a detailed election official training program for the November 2016 general election by no later than August 15, 2016. the opportunity for voters who do not possess SB 14 ID and cannot reasonably obtain it to cast a regular ballot.

13. Defendants shall not modify the English-language reasonable impediment declaration attached to this Order as Exhibit 1 without either submission of a Notice to this Court including both a copy of the document and a statement indicating that all Plaintiffs have consented to the modification or an order of this Court.

14. These procedures shall remain in place until further order of this Court. Nothing in this order shall prevent any party from seeking relief based on future events, including but not limited to legislative action.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84922&title=Breaking%3A%20TX%20Plaintiffs%2C%20State%20Agree%20on%20How%20to%20Soften%20Voter%20ID%20for%20Upcoming%20Elections&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

NC Wants 4th Circuit Stay in Voting Case, Pending #SCOTUS Decision to Hear Case<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84916>
Posted on August 3, 2016 11:02 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84916> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

See this motion<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/nc-stay.pdf> filed by the state of North Carolina in the voting case.

As ELB readers will recall<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84702>, the 4th Circuit blocked aspects of North Carolina’s voting law, including its strict voter id law, on grounds the law was passed with racially discriminatory intent.

The state’s option to appeal would be to ask either the full 4th circuit en banc to hear the appeal or to go to the Supreme Court.

In the motion filed now, NC says it is going to file a cert. petition appealing the case to the Supreme Court, within the 90 days of judgment allowed by the rules. So nothing more in the 4th Circuit.

It may be that NC will seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court when the panel, as I fully expect, denies this motion. But there’s no mention that NC will seek such emergency relief with the Supreme Court if this is denied. If the state does so, it is pretty clear from the citations to Purcell, that the state will be arguing that it is too late to implement these changes in time for the electionunder the <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2545676> Purcell principle.

I rate the chances of emergency relief only fair, because there is enough time to implement most of these changes before the election.

I also expect a denial of the cert petition, for reasons stated in my NYT oped<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/opinion/campaign-stops/turning-the-tide-on-voting-rights.html>: “the changing composition of the Supreme Court and the lower courts makes sustaining such rules less likely. If the conservative Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia were still alive, Texas would have raced to the Supreme Court with an emergency petition, but there are no longer five justices willing to uphold restrictive voting laws. The lower courts are also changing. A few years ago, if North Carolina had appealed the decision to the full Fourth Circuit, the state probably would have won. But retirements and new judges have turned the Fourth Circuit into a much more liberal court<http://www.jdsupra.com/post/fileServer.aspx?fName=adbe1ea2-2cba-49ea-a673-49df1fd3158e.pdf>.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84916&title=NC%20Wants%204th%20Circuit%20Stay%20in%20Voting%20Case%2C%20Pending%20%23SCOTUS%20Decision%20to%20Hear%20Case&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

“Georgia Republican says he might withhold electoral college vote from Donald Trump”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84914>
Posted on August 3, 2016 9:32 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84914> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AJC reports<http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/08/03/georgia-republican-says-he-might-withhold-electoral-college-vote-from-donald-trump/>.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84914&title=%26%238220%3BGeorgia%20Republican%20says%20he%20might%20withhold%20electoral%20college%20vote%20from%20Donald%20Trump%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>

“Tighter Restrictions Are Losing In The Battle Over Voter ID Laws”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84912>
Posted on August 3, 2016 9:11 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84912> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Really good Oliver Roeder look<http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/tighter-restrictions-are-losing-in-the-battle-over-voter-id-laws/?ex_cid=story-twitter> over at 538 on whether strict election laws affect and skew turnout.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84912&title=%26%238220%3BTighter%20Restrictions%20Are%20Losing%20In%20The%20Battle%20Over%20Voter%20ID%20Laws%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

James Baker Blames Republicans *and Democrats* for Texas Failure to Make Getting Voter ID Easier<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84910>
Posted on August 3, 2016 8:52 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84910> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ha!<https://www.facebook.com/john.b.williams.31/posts/10210126470509168>

“Unfortunately in 2011, Texas legislators – Republicans and Democrats alike – did not follow the commission’s recommendation that states be proactive in getting a free ID card into every voter’s hand. Instead, they preferred to battle along the intractable lines of either supporting a law that was too harsh or opposing any change at all.”

Talk about rewriting history.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84910&title=James%20Baker%20Blames%20Republicans%20*and%20Democrats*%20for%20Texas%20Failure%20to%20Make%20Getting%20Voter%20ID%20Easier&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Plaintiffs to appeal ruling in Wisconsin voting laws case”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84908>
Posted on August 3, 2016 8:47 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84908> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Didn’t see this coming<http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/election-matters/plaintiffs-to-appeal-ruling-in-wisconsin-voting-laws-case/article_392941ce-1bb8-5cf8-b2c1-fa0921650703.html>. Expected state to appeal first.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84908&title=%26%238220%3BPlaintiffs%20to%20appeal%20ruling%20in%20Wisconsin%20voting%20laws%20case%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Feingold Passes $500,000 in Bundled Lobbyist Contributions”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84906>
Posted on August 3, 2016 8:21 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84906> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Irony alert.<http://freebeacon.com/politics/feingold-passes-500000-bundled-lobbyist-contributions/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84906&title=%26%238220%3BFeingold%20Passes%20%24500%2C000%20in%20Bundled%20Lobbyist%20Contributions%26%238221%3B&description=>

Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

“A Trump Victory Is a Scary Thought. A Disputed Loss Might Be Scarier.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84904>
Posted on August 3, 2016 8:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84904> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Today’s must-read is from Jamelle Bouie<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/08/trump_s_rigged_comments_are_corrosive_and_dangerous.html>, on the dangers of Trump stoking fears of a stolen election.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84904&title=%26%238220%3BA%20Trump%20Victory%20Is%20a%20Scary%20Thought.%20A%20Disputed%20Loss%20Might%20Be%20Scarier.%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Senior GOP Officials Exploring Options if Trump Drops Out”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84902>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:57 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84902> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

ABC News reports.<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senior-gop-officials-exploring-options-trump-drops/story?id=41089609>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84902&title=%26%238220%3BSenior%20GOP%20Officials%20Exploring%20Options%20if%20Trump%20Drops%20Out%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“A Voting-Rights Victory in North Carolina”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84898>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:54 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84898> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jedidiah Purdy<http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-voting-rights-victory-in-north-carolina> for the New Yorker. It offers a darker response to my “tide is turning<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/opinion/campaign-stops/turning-the-tide-on-voting-rights.html?ref=opinion>” NYT piece:

Other recent cases have also pressed back against the partisan and racial effects of Republican legislatures’ election laws. Most significantly, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that a strict voter-identification law in Texas violated the Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/texas-5th-enbanc.pdf>. Federal courts have also invalidated early-voting rollbacks and strict voter-identification laws in Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Ohio<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/opinion/campaign-stops/turning-the-tide-on-voting-rights.html?ref=opinion>. Still, it is too early to say that the tide has turned against these laws. The Fifth Circuit was divided over the Texas law, and appeals will hold most of the decisions open to reversal. Even the North Carolina decision, shaped in response to a vividly egregious situation, is not a template for dealing with voting restrictions that are passed more decorously, outside the South, or simply by legislatures that avoid announcing their interest in the racial effects of their lawmaking.

In fact, the North Carolina ruling could conceivably be used to strike down legislation that encourages a minority group’s turnout. When the layers of context are stripped away, its principle is that a legislature violates the Constitution when it develops a voting scheme to burden a racial group’s relative ballot access, even if race is simply a proxy for voting preferences. In today’s legal and political climate, this is not necessarily a liberal principle. Decades of conservative Supreme Court jurisprudence have made the law of racial equality just as concerned with burdens on whites as with those on minorities. In recent decades, most Supreme Court decisions on racial equality have addressed challenges to affirmative-action programs, and the decisions (with the notable exception of this spring’s ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas) have been quite solicitous of white plaintiffs. A future Democratic North Carolina legislature that expands early voting and authorizes out-of-precinct voting might find itself in an ideological mirror image of Judge Motz’s opinion, rebuked for selectively providing voting procedures that black voters use more often.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84898&title=%26%238220%3BA%20Voting-Rights%20Victory%20in%20North%20Carolina%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Election Law Ground Wars Underway in Federal Courts”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84896>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:53 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84896> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Todd Ruger reports for Roll Call.<http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/election-law-ground-wars-underway-federal-courts>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84896&title=%26%238220%3BElection%20Law%20Ground%20Wars%20Underway%20in%20Federal%20Courts%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“‘No evidence of it happening’: Experts scrutinize Trump’s claims of election rigging”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84894>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:44 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84894> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CBC News reports.<http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/donald-trump-election-rigged-1.3704380>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84894&title=%26%238220%3B%26%238216%3BNo%20evidence%20of%20it%20happening%26%238217%3B%3A%20Experts%20scrutinize%20Trump%26%238217%3Bs%20claims%20of%20election%20rigging%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Here’s What’s Happening in the Battle for Voting Rights”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84892>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:43 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84892> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AJ Vincens<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/voting-rights-decisions-across-country-update> for Mother Jones.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84892&title=%26%238220%3BHere%26%238217%3Bs%20What%26%238217%3Bs%20Happening%20in%20the%20Battle%20for%20Voting%20Rights%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“New search tool traces sources of ‘dark money’”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84890>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84890> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI:<https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/08/03/20027/new-search-tool-traces-sources-dark-money>

“Dark money” just got a bit of light shined on it, thanks to a new search tool<https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/08/02/20030/search-nonprofit-network> unveiled today by the Center for Public Integrity<https://www.publicintegrity.org/>.

The Center downloaded 850,000 forms from about 250,000 nonprofits that were recently released in electronic format by the IRS; we extracted the grant data and made $170 billion reported over five years searchable.

Nonprofits, while not required to publicly disclose donors, are required to report grants given to other nonprofits. The new tool allows researchers, reporters and average citizens to search for a so-called “dark money” group<https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/01/20/19156/what-political-dark-money-and-it-bad>, or any other nonprofit, and find out if it got money from another nonprofit.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84890&title=%26%238220%3BNew%20search%20tool%20traces%20sources%20of%20%E2%80%98dark%20money%E2%80%99%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law and election law<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

“The Courts and Election Law: The Divergent Fortunes of Crawford (Voter ID) and Citizens United (Super PACs)”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84886>
Posted on August 3, 2016 7:34 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84886> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bauer blogs.<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2016/08/courts-election-law-divergent-paths-crawford-voter-id-citizens-united-super-pacs/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D84886&title=%26%238220%3BThe%20Courts%20and%20Election%20Law%3A%20The%20Divergent%20Fortunes%20of%20Crawford%20(Voter%20ID)%20and%20Citizens%20United%20(Super%20PACs)%26%238221%3B&description=>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

--
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<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
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