[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/17/16

[Rick Hasen]

NC: “How courts could view moves to strip Roy Cooper’s power”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90080>
Posted on December 17, 2016 1:59 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90080> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The News and Observer reports.<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article121529512.html>
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“Auction Offering Coffee With Ivanka Trump Is Canceled”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90078>
Posted on December 17, 2016 1:56 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90078> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT:<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/us/politics/ivanka-trump-charity-auction.html?ref=politics&_r=0>
An auction offering a 45-minute private meeting with Ivanka Trump<http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/ivanka-trump?inline=nyt-per> in exchange for a charitable donation was abruptly canceled Friday after questions were raised about the process by ethics experts, who said it appeared to offer bidders special access to the next first family.
The auction had been running for 10 days<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/us/politics/ivanka-trump-charity-auction.html>, drawing 28 bids, the highest of which reached $72,888<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3241891-At-CLOSING-Charitybuzz-Enjoy-Coffee-With-Ivanka.html>. The bidders included at least three businessmen who said in interviews that they saw their donation as an opportunity to have coffee with Ms. Trump to press her for information about her father’s plans as president or to try to urge Mr. Trump to take up an issue important to them.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90078&title=%E2%80%9CAuction%20Offering%20Coffee%20With%20Ivanka%20Trump%20Is%20Canceled%E2%80%9D>
Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>


“Stark County residents sue to keep state Rep. Christina Hagan out of Electoral College”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90075>
Posted on December 17, 2016 1:46 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90075> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News from Ohio:<http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/12/stark_county_residents_file_co.html>
Two Stark County residents have filed a complaint against Republican state Rep. Christina Hagan, looking to keep her from voting for president as a member of the Electoral College.
The complaint, filed in Stark County Court of Common Pleas by Andrew Diliddo Jr. and Hagan’s former Democratic opponent, Deborah Cain, says if Hagan were to participate as a presidential elector she would violate the Ohio Constitution.
The state constitution prohibits a General Assembly member from serving as a federal or other state official unless that person resigns from their assembly seat, the complaint says.
More here.<http://www.chandralaw.com/blog/2016/12/chandra-law-clients-seek-restraining-order-against-ohio-state-rep-christina-hagan-saying-that-by-ser.shtml>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90075&title=%E2%80%9CStark%20County%20residents%20sue%20to%20keep%20state%20Rep.%20Christina%20Hagan%20out%20of%20Electoral%20College%E2%80%9D>
Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>


Washington Post Headline today<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90073>
Posted on December 17, 2016 9:27 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90073> by Richard Pildes<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>
“FBI agrees with CIA that Russia aimed to help Trump win”<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-blames-putins-personal-grudge-against-her-for-election-interference/2016/12/16/12f36250-c3be-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_clintonrussia-0755pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.db8af2c51d67>
Thank you.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90073&title=Washington%20Post%20Headline%20today>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“North Carolina Governor Signs Law Limiting Successor’s Power”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90070>
Posted on December 16, 2016 8:28 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90070> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Richard Fausset for the NYT:<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/us/pat-mccrory-roy-cooper-north-carolina.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share>
But some here said that Republicans’ effort to hobble the incoming governor had few parallels in recent North Carolina history.
“Sure, the Democrats don’t have clean hands, but this is beyond anything I’ve seen them do,” said Bob Phillips, executive director of the nonpartisan group Common Cause North Carolina. “I think we’re in unprecedented, uncharted territory with this.”
Two major bills were approved by the legislature Friday. One of them, which was quickly signed by the departing Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, strips future governors of their power to appoint a majority to the State Board of Elections. The number of board members was expanded from five to eight, with the eight members to be evenly divided between the two major parties.
It also changes the state court system, making it more difficult for the losers of some superior court cases to appeal directly to the Democratic-controlled Supreme Court….
In a news conference Thursday, Mr. Cooper, the state’s veteran attorney general, threatened to sue the legislature over the changes. “Once more, the courts will have to clean up the mess the legislature made, but it won’t stop us from moving North Carolina forward,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Richard L. Hasen, a voting-rights expert and professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, has said that the changes to the elections board could be challenged in state and federal court. In a blog post<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=89974>, Mr. Hasen wrote that a federal case might allege violations of the Voting Rights Act<http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/v/voting_rights_act_1965/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>, “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.”
Flashback to my 2014 HLR piece, Race or Party?: How Courts Should Think About Republican Efforts to Make it Harder to Vote in North Carolina and Elsewhere<http://harvardlawreview.org/2014/01/race-or-party-how-courts-should-think-about-republican-efforts-to-make-it-harder-to-vote-in-north-carolina-and-elsewhere/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90070&title=%E2%80%9CNorth%20Carolina%20Governor%20Signs%20Law%20Limiting%20Successor%E2%80%99s%20Power%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


“WATCH: How does the Electoral College work?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90068>
Posted on December 16, 2016 1:38 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90068> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Video with Jerry Goldfeder.<http://www.salon.com/2016/12/16/watch-how-does-the-electoral-college-work/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90068&title=%E2%80%9CWATCH%3A%20How%20does%20the%20Electoral%20College%20work%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>


What a Difference a Headline Makes<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90066>
Posted on December 16, 2016 12:16 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90066> by Richard Pildes<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>
Online front-page Washington Post Headline: FBI backs CIA view that Russia helped Trump win election<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-backs-cia-view-that-russia-intervened-to-help-trump-win-election/2016/12/16/05b42c0e-c3bf-11e6-9a51-cd56ea1c2bb7_story.html>.
When clicking through to the full article, the headline becomes: FBI backs CIA view that Russia intervened to help Trump win election.
Still not quite:  FBI backs CIA view that Russia Intervened to Try to Help Trump Win Election
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“FBI backs CIA view that Russia intervened to help Trump win election”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90064>
Posted on December 16, 2016 11:30 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90064> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-backs-cia-view-that-russia-intervened-to-help-trump-win-election/2016/12/16/05b42c0e-c3bf-11e6-9a51-cd56ea1c2bb7_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name:page/breaking-news-bar&tid=a_breakingnews&utm_term=.3b628c47fbcd>
FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have backed a CIA assessment<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.3779a9c2fb4a> that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the presidency, according to U.S. officials.
Comey’s support for the CIA’s conclusion suggests that the leaders of the three agencies are in agreement on Russian intentions, contrary to suggestions by some lawmakers that the FBI disagreed with the CIA.
“Earlier this week, I met separately with (Director) FBI James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election,” CIA Director John O. Brennan said in a message to the agency’s workforce, according to U.S. officials who have seen the message.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


NC Gov. McCrory Signs Election Bill Power Grab<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90062>
Posted on December 16, 2016 11:24 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90062> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Wasting no time:<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article121302433.html>
The House approved Senate Bill 4<http://ncleg.net/Sessions/2015E4/Bills/Senate/PDF/S4v4.pdf> 67-23, and sent it to the Senate for final approval. The Senate signed off on it in the early afternoon and sent it to the governor. Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill a short time later….
Democrats disputed the Republican claims that SB4 would create a bipartisan commission merging the current State Board of Elections, State Ethics Commission and the lobbying functions of the Secretary of State’s office.
Democrats said it couldn’t be called bipartisan because they weren’t involved in creating the proposal. Republicans call it bipartisan because it would create a state board and county election boards comprised of members equally split between the parties. It would also deprive the incoming Democratic administration of control of those boards; currently, the administration can appoint three of the five state members and two of the three members on each county board.
I expect Voting Rights Act litigation<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=89974> against this one.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90062&title=NC%20Gov.%20McCrory%20Signs%20Election%20Bill%20Power%20Grab>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


WI: “Brad Schimel: Grand jury likely to investigate John Doe leak”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90060>
Posted on December 16, 2016 9:52 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90060> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Wisconsin State Journal:<http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/brad-schimel-grand-jury-likely-to-investigate-john-doe-leak/article_ed9b3ebc-ae25-566f-b037-5d58ebb28973.html>
The Department of Justice will likely convene a grand jury to investigate a leak of evidence collected during a secret criminal investigation<http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/leaked-john-doe-documents-paint-fuller-picture-of-case-against/article_63254ac5-dbf2-5b4b-8714-4dd6694da9a9.html> into whether Gov. Scott Walker’s recall campaign circumvented state campaign finance law, Attorney General Brad Schimel said Thursday.
“This isn’t the type of investigation that you go knocking on doors and ask people to talk with you,” Schimel said in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal. “(The investigation is) going to be best suited (in) a protected environment of a courtroom where we’re asking questions and developing information.”
The grand jury would investigate a leak of materials to the Guardian US, an arm of the British newspaper, which published hundreds of leaked documents from a closed secretive John Doe investigation looking into Walker raising millions of dollars for a supposedly independent group to help win the 2011 and 2012 recalls….
Schimel said he won’t investigate a leak of materials to other publications, including the Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial page.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


Art of the Deal: “What Should Presidential Electors Do? Negotiate.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90058>
Posted on December 16, 2016 9:45 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90058> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Rob Yablon:<https://balkin.blogspot.com/2016/12/what-should-presidential-electors-do.html>
  With the Electoral College set to vote in just a few days, the debate over the role of Presidential Electors has reached a fever pitch.  Should this year’s Electors follow longstanding norms and rubberstamp their state’s popular vote winner, or should they buck tradition and dump Trump?  Missing from these discussions is an alternative that seems tailor-made for the age of Trump.  Perhaps Electors should do what Trump himself would likely do in their shoes: negotiate.
Encouraging Electors to negotiate with a would-be President may be a way to reconcile, at least in part, our competing instincts about the Electoral College’s function.  Negotiations are an option because, as the dump Trump contingent correctly observes, the Constitution does not require Electors to ratify state popular vote outcomes.  Constitutionally speaking, Electors are free agents.
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Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>


“Group Using Celebrities to Urge Electors to Vote Against Trump Has Foreign-Registered Website”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90056>
Posted on December 16, 2016 8:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90056> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Yeah<http://freebeacon.com/politics/group-using-celebrities-urge-electors-vote-trump-foreign-registered-website/> that will do the trick.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90056&title=%E2%80%9CGroup%20Using%20Celebrities%20to%20Urge%20Electors%20to%20Vote%20Against%20Trump%20Has%20Foreign-Registered%20Website%E2%80%9D>
Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>


--
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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