[EL] (Partial) ELB News and Commentary 12/15/16

Thu Dec 15 06:58:34 PST 2016

I have an internet outage, so more later:

“Dozens of Florida political committees being fueled by millions in ‘dark money”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89982>
Posted on December 14, 2016 7:41 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89982> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Florida Times-Union:<http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-12-10/dozens-florida-political-committees-being-fueled-millions-dark-money>
State campaign finance rules require political committees to provide basic information about their missions, the candidates they are backing and issues they support or oppose. Often that information is too general or too vague to provide a clear understanding of the committee’s focus. Place holder information like “to be determined” is accepted by the state and never updated despite a requirement in law that once a change is necessary new documents should be filed within 10 days.
A Times-Union analysis of the nearly 1,000 political committees active in Florida found that one out of every seven committees are operating in the shadows. Even after combing through public records, various state databases and internet search results, it’s difficult to pinpoint why these committees were created or whom they are intended to benefit. While their income and expenses are reported, the details of those expenditures are not. Also left unclear is who exactly is calling the shots.
Read Part 2: ‘Dark money’ spent to influence state political campaigns<http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-12-11/dark-money-spent-influence-state-political-campaigns>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

CA AG (and Future Senator) Kamala Harris Files Brief Against Unbinding CA Electors<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89979>
Posted on December 14, 2016 7:39 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89979> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here it is. <http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/harris-electors.pdf>
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Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>

Shenanigans Alert: NC GOP-Led Legislature Calls 2d Special Session, Considers Bill to Change Power over Election Rules<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89974>
Posted on December 14, 2016 3:48 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89974> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
While many people were worried<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89952> about whether there would be a court-packing plan for the NC Supreme Court (about to have a majority of Democratic members)  in the special session on disaster relief that NC Governor Pat McCrory had called, it seems that NC GOP legislative leaders had a different trick up their sleeve: they have called a special session to start now at the end of the session called by the governor, and the plan seems to be to propose measures to cut the power of the incoming Democratic governor Roy Cooper.
Among the bills that have now been filed is one that would move from giving the state board of elections and county election boards a majority of seats for the sitting governor<https://twitter.com/Lynn_Bonner/status/809171080501981184>, to one which would make the sessions be evenly divided on a bipartisan basis.  So a partisan advantage was good enough when there was a Republican governor, but no longer.
In the meantime, NC Democrats are claiming<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article120915378.html> that the call for the special session was itself unconstitutional, potentially rendering any bills from the session invalid.
And here’s the kicker: any lawsuit over these alleged rules will end up before the state Supreme Court with its new Democratic majority, unless the special session itself produces a court-packing plan, and if that happens the Court itself would have to resolve a key question about its own membership.
Democratic representative Darren Jackson on the special session: ““This is why people don’t trust us. This is why they hate us.”
Ow.
UPDATE:
It is much, much worse than it looks now that the bill is posted<http://www.ncleg.net/Applications/BillLookUp/LoadBillDocument.aspx?SessionCode=2015E4&DocNum=10&SeqNum=0>. The Democratic party appointees to the election board would chair in odd numbered years, and the Republican party appointees would chair in even numbered years (see page 4 of the bill), meaning that they would chair in each of the years in which there are legislative, congressional, and presidential elections.
The state supreme court would be limited in reviewing state constitutional and federal challenges, giving the power instead first to an en banc panel of intermediate appellate court judges (who of course are Republican majority) and limiting appeals as of right (see from pages 20 on in the bill).
If the bill passes in this form, I could see potential Voting Rights Act and federal constitutional challenges here, in part because the legislature would potentially be diluting minority voting power and making minority voters worse off, just at the time that their candidate of choice (Gov. Cooper) is poised to assume power.
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Washington are you listening? Bipartisan reform framework aims to end business-as-usual in Congress”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89972>
Posted on December 14, 2016 3:24 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89972> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release:<https://www.issueone.org/washington-listening-bipartisan-reform-framework-aims-end-business-usual-congress/>
Today, Issue One and the ReFormers Caucus<https://www.issueone.org/reformers/> launched an ambitious policy framework<https://www.issueone.org/returning-government-american-people/> that aims to kickstart a bipartisan conversation in Washington about how to “drain the swamp,” get Congress back to working for the American people and make government more accountable and transparent.
Our framework, titled “Returning Government to the American People<https://www.issueone.org/returning-government-american-people/>,” is the result of months of deliberation with a working group of Republicans and Democrats in our ReFormers Caucus. It highlights bipartisan solutions that both parties on Capitol Hill can support and that we believe are the most worth pursuing in the 115th Congress.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

“Insiders: Trump Team Dangled Ambassadorships to Lure A-List Inauguration Singers (Exclusive)”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89970>
Posted on December 14, 2016 3:23 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89970> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Wrap:<http://www.thewrap.com/insiders-trump-team-dangles-ambassadorships-to-lure-a-list-inauguration-singers-exclusive/>
President-elect Donald Trump’s team is struggling so hard to book A-list performers for his inaugural festivities that it offered ambassadorships to at least two talent bookers if they could deliver marquee names, the bookers told TheWrap.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Why the GOP Congress Will Stop Trump from Going Too Far”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89968>
Posted on December 14, 2016 8:51 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89968> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Interesting Daniel Stid<http://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/januaryfebruary-2017/why-the-gop-congress-will-stop-trump-from-going-too-far/> for Washington Monthly.
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Posted in political parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, political polarization<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>

“Law Prof Swaps Ivory Tower for Capitol Hill”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89964>
Posted on December 14, 2016 7:22 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89964> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NLJ:<http://www.nationallawjournal.com/home/id=1202774557855?kw=Law%20Prof%20Swaps%20Ivory%20Tower%20for%20Capitol%20Hill&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20161214&src=EMC-Email&pt=Daily%20Headlines&slreturn=20161114101907>
Jamie Raskin will administer his last Constitutional Law final exam on Wednesday at American University Washington College of Law after 26 years of teaching. Raskin won’t be retiring down to Florida or hitting the bingo circuit, however. He’s trading the Ivory Tower for the halls of Capitol Hill, having won a seat to represent Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives after a hard-fought primary that was the most expensive in the country this year. He is the sole law professor joining Congress this cycle….
How are you feeling about leaving the academy?
It’s hard. My professional identity is definitely that of a law professor. There are people who go into politics who are law professors, but some of them did it for 45 minutes, like Bill Clinton en route to running for attorney general of Arkansas. I’m a real law professor. I’ve got tenure. I’ve written books and dozens of law review articles that nobody reads. I’m more like Elizabeth Warren, who was a real law professor with a body of work to her name, who made contributions as a legal scholar and intellectual….
How did your students react to you winning the election?
They gave me a standing ovation on the day after the election. That was very nice. Ever since I got into politics, I think my students have a little more respect for me now that I do more than just write law review articles.
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Posted in election law biz<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>

“Voter ID: The New Rules Of Engagement”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89961>
Posted on December 14, 2016 7:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89961> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Important <http://editions.lib.umn.edu/electionacademy/2016/12/14/voter-id-the-new-rules-of-engagement/> Doug Chapin.
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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>

“How Clinton lost Michigan — and blew the election”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89959>
Posted on December 14, 2016 7:07 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89959> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
What a read<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/michigan-hillary-clinton-trump-232547> at Politico.
Sam Bagenstos<https://twitter.com/sbagen/status/809026624008187905> (prof at U Mich.): “None of this lets Comey, the Russians, or anyone else off the hook. But, Jeebus Christmas, what incompetence.”
Chris Ashby<https://twitter.com/ashbylaw/status/809033645839282179>: “Just gonna tweet this link to 11 CFR 109.20, let it lay here for a while and see if anyone notices.”
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

CORRECTED: 4th Circuit Unanimously Rejects Challenge to VA Voter ID Law<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89933>
Posted on December 14, 2016 6:57 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89933> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
You can find the 37-page opinion at this link<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/va-voter-id-4th.pdf>. It concludes:
At bottom, just as Congress in HAVA found it beneficial to the voting process and the public perception of the voting process to require photo IDs, and just as the Carter-Baker Commission found similarly, Virginia found it beneficial to require photo identification in all elections. Moreover, Virginia took numerous steps to mitigate any burdens that this requirement might impose on voters, suggesting that a benign purpose underlay SB 1256’s enactment. It allowed a broad scope of acceptable forms of identification, which included most IDs that citizens have and that are reasonably reliable; it allowed citizens attempting to vote without identification to cast provisional ballots and then cure their identification deficiency within three days; it provided those citizens who lacked photo identification a free photo ID without the need to present any documentation; and it provided assistance to citizens expressing difficulty in obtaining free IDs. In sum, not only does the substance of SB 1256 not impose an undue burden on minority voting, there was no evidence to suggest racially discriminatory intent in the law’s enactment. The judgment of the district court is accordingly AFFIRMED.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the Obama administration had precleared this law. In fact, it had precleared an earlier, less strict version of this law.  From the Washington Post report on the ruling:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/appeals-court-upholds-virginias-voter-id-law/2016/12/13/3888f46e-c150-11e6-9a51-cd56ea1c2bb7_story.html?utm_term=.f0813ddfa435>
In 2012, Virginia lawmakers passed election rules that required voters to present identification — with or without a photo. The state mailed voter-registration cards, which could be used to cast ballots, to all registered voters.
Ten months later, the Republican-controlled legislature approved a more restrictive measure requiring photo identification for in-person voting. Voters could obtain free photo IDs from the Board of Elections and use a photo ID that had expired within the past year. A person without the required identification can cast a provisional ballot and later present a photo ID.
Both bills were signed into law by McAuliffe’s Republican predecessor, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell.
I apologize for my confusion.
For a piece that focuses on Virginia’s photo ID law, see Hank Chambers, State and Local Officials and Voter ID, 15 Election L.J. 234 (2016).
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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>

--
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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