[EL] more news 12/12/16

Mon Dec 12 09:21:01 PST 2016

Federal Court Denies Stein Attempt to Force PA Recount<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89891>
Posted on December 12, 2016 9:12 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89891> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Opinion:<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Stein-PA-Federal-Decision-12-12.pdf>
Unsuccessful Green Party Candidate Jill Stein and Pennsylvania voter Randall Reitz allege that because Pennsylvania’s voting machines might have been “hacked” during last month’s election, I must order the Commonwealth to conduct a recount of the votes cast for President. There are at least six separate grounds requiring me to deny Plaintiffs’ Motion. Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any “hack” occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania’s voting system was not in any way compromised. Moreover, Plaintiffs’ lack of standing, the likely absence of federal jurisdiction, and Plaintiffs’ unexplained, highly prejudicial delay in seeking a recount are all fatal to their claims for immediate relief. Further, Plaintiffs have not met any of the requirements for the issuance of a mandatory emergency injunction. Finally, granting the relief Plaintiffs seek would make it impossible for the Commonwealth to certify its Presidential Electors by December 13 (as required by federal law), thus inexcusably disenfranchising some six million Pennsylvania voters. For all these reasons, I am compelled to refuse Plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, recounts<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=50>

Iowa Democrats Consider Absentee Balloting, with Instant Runoff Voting, for Iowa Caucuses<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89889>
Posted on December 12, 2016 9:06 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89889> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A move<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/kathie-obradovich/2016/12/10/democrats-consider-absentee-voting-iowa-caucuses/94671446/> in the right direction.
(Though I still want to kill the undemocratic caucuses<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2012/02/congress_should_kill_the_republican_and_democratic_state_caucuses_and_mandate_primaries_instead_.html> entirely.)
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Posted in primaries<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>

Retired Judge Resigns from New WI Ethics Board, Lacking Faith It Will Carry Out Its Duties Fairly<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89886>
Posted on December 12, 2016 9:03 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89886> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Letter <http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/host.madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/65/56534eca-6beb-53c5-9aa7-8d114638691e/584ed1092348b.pdf.pdf> from Judge Kinney:
[creen-shot-2016-12-12-at-9-02-28-am]<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2016-12-12-at-9.02.28-AM.png>
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

Will NC GOP Legislature Pack the State Supreme Court to Overturn Latest Election Results?<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89884>
Posted on December 12, 2016 8:58 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89884> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Special session starts tomorrow<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article120130838.html> and the issue could come up.<http://www.insight-us.org/blog/does-the-nc-supreme-courts-workload-justify-court-packing/>
Lots of people will be watching.
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“In Donald McGahn, Donald Trump Gets a Combative White House Counsel”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89882>
Posted on December 12, 2016 8:53 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89882> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Eric Lichtblau<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/us/politics/donald-trump-white-house-counsel-donald-mcgahn.html> for the NYT:
Interviews with more than a dozen associates, as well as an examination of legal filings, portray Mr. McGahn, 48, as an advocate with an impressive command of arcane election law, but also a fiercely competitive and even intimidating man eager to scrap with opponents — to “duke it out,” as he once said — in pressing the argument that donations of political money are a form of free speech. His Democratic opponents, however, portray him as a master of finding legal technicalities to allow election abuses to go unpunished.
If his record is any guide, Mr. McGahn (pronounced Mc-GANN) will be a fierce proponent of the president’s executive authority to operate independently on a wide range of issues. One key question, however, is how strongly he will push back if Mr. Trump, a man who has defied many norms, seeks to cross into murky legal terrain, a number of associates said.
He may be called on to defend Mr. Trump’s stances on issues like his business empire, his children’s role in his administration, his moves to roll back President Obama’s executive orders, his vow to bring back waterboarding or his threat to impose tariffs on companies moving abroad.
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Posted in election law biz<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>

“‘It’s Like a Powder Keg That’s Going to Explode’”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89880>
Posted on December 12, 2016 8:49 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89880> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/norm-eisen-richard-painter-ethics-214512> talks to Norm Eisen and Richard Painter.
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, ethics investigations<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42>

Bob Bauer, Former White House Counsel, on How Don McGahn May Do Job for Trump<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89878>
Posted on December 12, 2016 8:46 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89878> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bauer:<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2016/12/white-house-counsel-donald-trump/>
To put the point in mildest terms, Ellen Weintraub and Don McGahn do not get along. When they served together on the Federal Election Commission, their mutual hostility was well enough known, and their time apart since Mr. McGahn left the agency does not appear to have eased the tension – – certainly not on Commissioner Weintraub’s side, and probably not on Mr. McGahn’s. Now Ms. Weintraub has published an op-ed in The Washington Post<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-worked-with-trumps-pick-for-white-house-counsel-he-doesnt-care-about-corruption/2016/12/09/76f0793c-bcac-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.496cb44ef385>, arguing on the basis of her experience with Don McGahn that he is not fit to be the next White House Counsel.
How McGahn will perform in his current job might be judged as Commissioner Weintraub suggests, by putting the weight she does on a particular reading of his record at the FEC. Or, on a different view, a distinction could be drawn between Mr. McGahn’s past and future roles, and a different standard of evaluation could be adopted for the work now ahead of him. In choosing the first of these alternatives, the Commissioner may be incorrectly framing the question of McGahn’s suitability as White House Counsel and directing attention away from what is more relevant in assessing the role and performance of that Counsel in the incoming Administration.
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, federal election commission<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

“Civil Rights Déjà Vu, Only Worse”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89876>
Posted on December 12, 2016 8:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89876> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Sam Bagenstos for TAP:<http://prospect.org/article/civil-rights-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-only-worse>
Voting Rights. After the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County decision cutting the heart from the Voting Rights Act, states formerly covered by the statute’s preclearance requirement initiated a wave of new vote-suppression measures. Other states also adopted voting restrictions in advance of the 2016 election. The Civil Rights Division responded with an aggressive program of lawsuits that limited the worst abuses, even if these lawsuits were not always successful.
I expect the efforts to attack voter suppression to end in the Trump administration and the division instead to bring new lawsuits that will themselves be designed to suppress the vote. A provision of the National Voter Registration Act (commonly known as the Motor Voter law) requires states to maintain up-to-date voting rolls. Many conservative commentators—including leading right-wing voices on voting issues like Adams<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121601717.html> and von Spakovsky<http://www.npr.org/templates/text/s.php?sId=15198501&m=1>—believe that the voting rolls in many jurisdictions fail to comply with that provision because they contain people who died, moved out of the jurisdiction, or otherwise are not eligible voters. I expect the Trump Civil Rights Division to bring suits under that provision in places with large minority, youth, or other Democratic-leaning populations. The goal of these lawsuits will be to trim the voting rolls.
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Posted in Department of Justice<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

I Was on CNN Talking Russian Hacking and Election Do-Overs<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89874>
Posted on December 12, 2016 8:31 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89874> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Watch.<https://twitter.com/CarolCNN/status/808335964376428544>
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

--
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
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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