[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/7/16
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Thu Jan 7 11:07:18 PST 2016
“Why California’s Citizens United Ballot Initiative May Not Matter”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78814>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 11:05 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78814>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Justin Miller
writes<http://prospect.org/blog/checks/why-californias-citizens-united-ballot-initiative-may-not-matter>for
TAP.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Brian Dickerson: Campaign finance bill a victory for big donors”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78812>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:58 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78812>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Detroit Free Press column
<http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/brian-dickerson/2016/01/07/campaign-finance-surprise/78361616/>:
Three weeks after Michigan state legislators adopted a heavily
amended campaign finance bill in the final, frenzied hours of their
2015 session, even some of those who voted for the legislation are
unpleasantly surprised to learn what’s in it.
High on the list of surprises is a provision that raises the amount
a political action committee can donate to pay for expenses incurred
in any statewide campaign, effectively doubling the maximum donation
— for the second time in as many years — from $68,000 to $136,000.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill into law
<http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/06/snyder-signs-bill-limiting-public-talk-ballot-issues/78373526/>late
Wednesday afternoon over the objections of myriad critics, including
legislators from his own party who insisted they’d been duped.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“The biggest donor to Jeb Bush’s super PAC says Bush is ‘not living
up to expectations’” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78810>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:52 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78810>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/07/the-biggest-donor-to-jeb-bushs-super-pac-says-bush-is-not-living-up-to-expectations/>:
The billionaire insurance magnate whose company gave $10 million to
the super PAC behind the Jeb Bush presidential bid
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeb-bushs-super-pac-burning-through-money-with-little-to-show-for-it/2015/12/09/0baaa5fe-9df8-11e5-8728-1af6af208198_story.html>
expressed regret Thursday about the direction of that campaign.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Listen to Matea Gold, Fredreka Schouten and Me on Diane Rehm Talking
$ in Politics <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78808>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:43 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78808>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A great discussion
<https://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-01-07/how-current-campaign-finance-laws-are-shaping-the-2016-presidential-race>.
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Posted incampaign finance
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,Plutocrats United
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=104>
“Montana to use corruption ruling to defend contribution caps”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78806>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:40 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78806>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Interesting AP story
<http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d58ecbf2a7434b57a59121af1e67a229/montana-use-corruption-ruling-defend-contribution-caps>:
A second Montana judge has ruled there was corruption in the state’s
2010 Republican primary elections, with candidates pledging loyalty
to a national anti-union group’s cause in exchange for thousands of
dollars in illegal and unreported corporate campaign contributions.
State officials plan to use the two judicial rulings as evidence in
their defense of Montana’s limits on how much political donors may
contribute to a candidate’s campaign. A federal lawsuit seeking to
strike down those limits is pending after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals ruled last year that states must prove “quid pro quo
corruption” — or the appearance of it — to justify capping
contributions.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
“SuperPACs Are Not So Super In 2016”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78804>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:38 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78804>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Peter Overby reports
<http://www.npr.org/2016/01/07/462211790/superpacs-are-not-so-super-in-2016>for
NPR.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Federal Election Commission may vacate headquarters”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78802>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:37 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78802>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CPI reports.
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/01/07/19101/federal-election-commission-may-vacate-headquarters>
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Posted inelection law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>,federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
“Campaign Legal Center Doubles Down on Jeb Bush Inquisition”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78800>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:36 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78800>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Pillar of Law blog post.
<https://www.pillaroflaw.org/index.php/blog/entry/campaign-legal-center-doubles-down-on-jeb-bush-inquisition>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Derek Muller: Who Decides If Ted Cruz is Eligible to Be President?
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78791>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:27 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78791>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here’s a deep dive guest post fromDerek Muller
<https://law.pepperdine.edu/faculty-research/faculty/?faculty=derek_muller>:
Earlier this week
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-cruzs-canadian-birth-could-be-very-precarious-for-gop/2016/01/05/5ce69764-b3f8-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html>,
Donald Trump suggested that Ted Cruz’s Canadian birthplace could be
a problem in the event he became the Republican presidential
nominee. He followed that up with a call for Mr. Cruz to seek
adeclaratory judgment
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-advises-cruz-to-clarify-his-natural-born-citizenship-in-court/>in
court that he is a “natural born Citizen” and eligible to serve as
president.
There is little dispute on the facts. Mr. Cruz was born to a Cuban
father and an American mother in Canada. Aaron Blake at
the/Washington Post/helpfully compiles
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/03/23/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-ted-cruz-birther-movement/>some
of the historical disputes about natural-born citizens, including
recent commentary by Neal Katyal and Paul Clement in the Harvard Law
Review Forum,/On the Meaning of “Natural Born Citizen.”/
<http://harvardlawreview.org/2015/03/on-the-meaning-of-natural-born-citizen/>
This is a dispute on the merits—Mr. Trump now suggesting that Mr.
Cruz is not eligible, Mr. Cruz insisting that he is eligible, and a
question as to who is right. Consensus suggests Mr. Cruz is
eligible, and the consensus offers quite a strong argument, but it
is certainly not unanimous.
But there is an even deeper question that is often unexamined in
this dispute—/who gets to decide/whether Mr. Cruz is eligible? A
court? Professor Dan Tokaji has many thoughts on the most pressing
barrier to such challenges,justiciability
<http://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=mlr_fi>.
Continue reading→ <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78791#more-78791>
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Maine Democrats middlemen for wealthy donors and national party”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78789>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:21 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78789>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Maine Sun Journal:
<http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2016/01/07/maine-democrats-middlemen-wealthy-donors-and-national-party/1848577>
A Cuban-born sugar tycoon. A California-based registered foreign
agent for the government of Sri Lanka. A Chicago billionaire.
All are recent large donors to the Maine Democratic Party via a
complex fundraising strategy called the Hillary Victory Fund. The
fund exploits recent court decisions and weakened campaign finance
laws to maximize political contributions and funnel them to the
Democratic National Committee.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,political parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
Trump Virginia Loyalty Pledge Case Looks Weak
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78786>
Posted onJanuary 7, 2016 10:18 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78786>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo:
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/trump-supporters-sue-virginia-over-gop-loyalty-pledge/2016/01/06/fc12e47c-b4c1-11e5-a76a-0b5145e8679a_story.html>
Three African American pastors who support Donald Trump filed a
federal lawsuit Wednesday over a requirement that GOP primary voters
sign a statement affirming that they are Republicans — a plan the
presidential front-runner has condemned.
The plaintiffs say the loyalty pledge will discourage minority
voters and those who are poor from casting ballots in Virginia,
where voters do not register by party. Signing the vow will create
long lines at the polls, imposes “the burden of fear and backlash”
and amounts to a literacy test, according to the lawsuit.
You can read the complainthere
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/parson-trump.pdf>, which
raises a Section 2 Voting Rights Act claim, an equal protection claim, a
First Amendment claim, and state law claims. I can’t speak to the state
law claims, but the federal claims seem exceptionally weak. The Section
2 standard in vote denial cases is quite high, and I find it hard to
believe the evidence would show that having people sign this pledge will
lead to long lines at the polls for a Republican primary which will lead
to a situation where minority voters have less opportunity than other
voters to participate in the political process and to elect
representatives of their choice.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,political
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,Voting Rights Act
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“Texas companies growing part of political transparency trend”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78784>
Posted onJanuary 6, 2016 8:04 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78784>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The San Antonio Express Newsreports
<http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Texas-companies-growing-part-of-political-6738935.php>.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Virginia’s former governor faces prison over politics”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78782>
Posted onJanuary 6, 2016 7:30 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78782>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
George Will column
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/virginias-former-governor-faces-prison-over-politics/2016/01/06/2af3ff74-b3e6-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory>on
the McDonnell cert petition.
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Posted inbribery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>,chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>,Supreme Court
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
“Waller County, Texas Reverses Course on Decision to Close Polling
Locations in African-American Community After Pressure from CLC,
Voting Rights Institute, and the Community”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78780>
Posted onJanuary 6, 2016 1:29 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78780>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
See here.
<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/news/blog/waller-county-texas-reverses-course-decision-close-polling-locations-african-american>
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Posted inThe Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>,Voting
Rights Act <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>
“Voting in America: How Campaign Finance and Election Laws Threaten
Democracy” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78778>
Posted onJanuary 6, 2016 10:15 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78778>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Looking forward to participating inthis
event<http://constitutioncenter.org/calendar/voting-in-america-how-campaign-finance-and-election-laws-threaten-democracy>at
the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia:
VOTING IN AMERICA: HOW CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ELECTION LAWS THREATEN
DEMOCRACY
Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 12 p.m.
Admission: Free
<https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/page.aspx?pid=196&tab=2&txobjid=9b9e817b-f8a3-4d85-9eac-b255575cb644>
Leading election law scholars*Edward B. Foley*
<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/professor/edward-b-foley/>and*Richard
L. Hasen <http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/>*offer
their critical take on how the structure of the American political
system came to be.
Copies of/Ballot Battles: The History of Disputed Elections in the
United States/
<https://global.oup.com/academic/product/ballot-battles-9780190235277?cc=us&lang=en&>(Edward
Foley) and/Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and
the Distortion of American Elections/
<http://yalepress.yale.edu/reviews.asp?isbn=9780300212457>(Richard
Hasen) will be available for sale before and after the program.
This program is presented in conjuction with our*new*exhibit,/Headed
to the White House/, opening February 12.
Event & Parking Information
Registration is recommended for all programs. Call 215-409-6700
orclick here
<https://14948p.blackbaudhosting.com/14948p/page.aspx?pid=196&tab=2&txobjid=9b9e817b-f8a3-4d85-9eac-b255575cb644>to
reserve your seats.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,The
Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Voting Laws Are Still Up In The Air In These States; And fights
over voting restrictions could continue until Election Day.”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78775>
Posted onJanuary 6, 2016 8:54 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=78775>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Samantha Lachman writes
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/voting-rights-2016_568c43a3e4b0c8beacf4a1a1>for
HuffPo.
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,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
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org
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