[EL] ELB News and Commentary 2/3/16

Rick Hasen rhasen at law.uci.edu
Tue Feb 2 21:34:53 PST 2016 

    “Change At Federal Election Agency Muddles Kansas Voter Registration
    Laws” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79537>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 9:24 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79537>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NPR’s Pam Fessler 
<http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/02/465353108/as-voting-begins-several-states-voter-id-laws-remain-in-flux>on 
the confusion at the EAC:

    For his part, Newby told NPR that he believes it’s within his power
    to make changes to the instructions that accompany the federal voter
    registration form, in response to a state’s request. But he said
    that “any interested party” can ask the commission to review his
    decision.

    “The decision isn’t final,” he said. “This started a process.”

    That process is likely to continue for months, far past the state’s
    March 5 primary.

    Kobach’s push to require proof of citizenship is part of a larger,
    national fight over adding new voting restrictions, in what sponsors
    claim is an effort to prevent voter fraud. Opponents say it’s an
    effort to suppress voting rights.

    Among the many questions still to be answered: What, if anything,
    will the full commission do? What will happen with the legal battle?
    (Kobach says he’ll continue to fight) And perhaps most important, if
    you’re a resident of Kansas who registers to vote using the federal
    form, and who doesn’t show proof of citizenship, will your vote be
    counted in state and local elections, or not?

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


    “Arizona On Sidelines Of New Voter Registration/Proof of Citizenship
    Battle… Which It Started; Could Jump Back Into Fray”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79535>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 5:37 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79535>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Arizona’s Politics reports. 
<http://arizonaspolitics.blogspot.com/2016/02/arizona-currently-on-sidelines-of-new.html>

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>


    New Draft Voter ID Paper Showing Discriminatory Effect of Voter ID
    Laws <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79533>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 5:32 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79533>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Think Progress 
<http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/02/02/3745296/major-voter-id-study/>:

    For years, researchers warned that laws requiring voters to show
    certain forms of photo identification at the poll would discriminate
    against racial minorities and other groups. Now, the first study has
    been released showing that the proliferation of voter ID laws in
    recent years has indeed driven down minority voter turnout, and by a
    significant amount.

    In a newpaper
    <http://pages.ucsd.edu/%7Ezhajnal/page5/documents/voterIDhajnaletal.pdf>entitled
    “Voter Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes”,
    researchers at the University of California, San Diego — Zoltan
    Hajnal, Nazita Lajevardi — and Bucknell University — Lindsay Nielson
    — used data from the annual Cooperative Congressional Election Study
    to compare states with strict voter ID laws to those that allow
    voters without photo ID to cast a ballot. They found a clear and
    significant dampening effect on minority turnout in strict voter ID
    states.

    “Democratic turnout drops by an estimated 8.8 percentage points in
    general elections when strict photo identification laws are in
    place,” compared to just 3.6 percentage points for Republicans.

    (Note: ThinkProgress was provided an updated version of the paper
    [not currently available on the web] that includes data from the
    2014 elections. The numbers in this article reflect the updated
    paper, not the web version linked above.)

Looks like this paper is in draft—not sure if it is under peer review 
submission (yet).

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>,voter id 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>


    EAC Director Brian Newby Says There Can Be Review of KS Voter ID
    Decision by Commissioners <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79531>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 5:26 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79531>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NPR’s Pam Fesslertweets 
<https://twitter.com/pamelafessler/status/694639558600867847>:

    EAC director@*briannewby* <https://twitter.com/BrianNewby>says KS
    proof-of-citizenship requirement on federal voter registration form
    “not necessarily final” EAC can review

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>


    Woah: Lone Democratic EAC Commissioner Rejects EAC Capitulation to
    SOS Kobach <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79529>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 1:09 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79529>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Following up onthis post <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79487>, the lone 
Democratic-appointed EAC Commissioner has issuedthis statement: 
<http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Statement%20by%20Commissioner%20Hicks%20NVRA%20Form%20%282-2-16%29.pdf>

    The Executive Director of the United States Election Assistance
    Commission (EAC) issued letters to the states of Kansas, Georgia,
    and Alabama granting the states’ request to amend the state
    instructions to the federal voter registration form, a decision that
    contradicts policy and precedent previously established by this
    Commission. The Executive Director unilaterally moved to alter the
    federal voter registration form to reflect those states’ proof of
    citizenship requirements though a proposed change to the form beyond
    a simple change of election office address or phone number. Any
    material change to the form should be at the guidance of the
    agency’s Commissioners following a notice and public comment period.
    In fact, the Commission’s vote in early spring affirmed that agency
    staff does not have the authority to make policy decisions and
    further clarifying the role of the Executive Director in its
    Organizational Management Policy Statement by stating that the
    Executive Director in consultation with the Commissioners, may only
    “(1) prepare policy recommendations for commissioners approval, (2)
    implement policies once made, and (3) take responsibility for
    administrative matters.” The Commission has addressed this matter
    several times over the last decade and voted to decline requests to
    add conflicting language to the federal voter registration form. As
    such, I believe that this decision constitutes a change of policy,
    which can only be made following official adoption by at least three
    Commissioners. Therefore, I ask that the letters be withdrawn. I
    will also ask that the Commission review this matter in a public
    forum to consider the acceptance or reject of the instructions.

This will be a major test of the newly-reconstituted EAC

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


    Plutocrats United Event at Harvard Law School February 19 at Noon
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79526>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 1:05 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79526>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Excited for this ACS event:

    Professor Rick Hasen Book Talk: “Plutocrats United”

    February 19, 2015
    12 p.m.
    WCC B015
    Join us for a conversation with Professor Rick Hasen about his new
    book, “Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the
    Distortion of American Elections.” Professor Hasen argues that both
    the left and the right are missing the major point in discussing
    this divisive issue; the new key issue in the Citizens United era is
    balancing political inequality with free speech. Lunch will be served.

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


    “Money and Politics in Polarized Times”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79524>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 9:56 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79524>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I have written this post forYale Books Unbound. 
<http://blog.yupnet.org/2016/02/02/money-and-politics-in-polarized-times/> A 
snippet:

    Those seeing this campaign money-polarization connection argue that
    to decrease political polarization, we need to free political
    parties to raise more money from wealthy donors.  Further, public
    financing plans which give multiple matching funds for small donors
    (as New York City does in its elections) can exacerbate political
    polarization, because even small donors tend to have more extreme
    views than average voters.

    Solving political polarization by loosening up money to parties and
    ending a novel public financing programs like New York’s would be a
    cure worse than the disease. We know from the era before the
    McCain-Feingold law that big donors who gave millions of dollars to
    political parties got preferential access to the President and to
    congressional leaders. And public financing can serve to democratize
    the political process, giving more candidates the ability to compete
    effectively in campaigns.

    So how might we solve the problem of political polarization without
    raising other dangers?

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Posted incampaign finance 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,Plutocrats United 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=104>


    1st Circuit Holds HAVA Bars Puerto Rico Voter Purge, Allows Private
    Right of Action <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79522>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 9:54 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79522>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Opinion 
<http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/15-1356P-01A.pdf>(viaHow 
Appealing <http://howappealing.abovethelaw.com/020216.html#065359>).

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Posted inelection administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


    “Litigating (former) Senator Hillary Clinton’s Legal Woes: A
    Response to Professor Rick Hasen (Election Law Blog) and Michael
    Stern (Point of Order blog)” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79520>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 9:53 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79520>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Seth Barrett Tillman blogs. 
<http://reformclub.blogspot.ie/2016/02/litigating-former-senator-hillary.html>

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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,chicanery 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


    “House takes first step toward district boundaries drawn entirely by
    Republicans” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79518>

Posted onFebruary 2, 2016 9:19 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79518>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Arizona Capitol Times reports. 
<http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/02/01/house-takes-first-step-toward-district-boundaries-drawn-entirely-by-republicans/>

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Posted incitizen commissions 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=7>,redistricting 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


-- 
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
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org

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