[EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/14/16
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Mon Mar 14 08:47:51 PDT 2016
“The Hard Power of ‘Soft’ Voter-ID Laws”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80851>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 8:04 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80851>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I have writtenthis new piece
<http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-hard-power-of-soft-voter-id-laws/473595/>for
The Atlantic. it begins:
A recent lawsuit accuses the state of Wisconsin ofdisenfranchising
<http://onewisconsinnow.org/institute/press/new-filing-in-voter-rights-lawsuit-exposes-serious-flaws-at-dmv-providing-voters-with-ids/>an
eligible voter who had lost the use of her hands, because she could
not sign a government document to get a voter ID. Another voter, who
was born in a German concentration camp and could not produce a
birth certificate, had to go to extraordinary
<http://wisconsingazette.com/2016/03/01/32700/>lengths at the
state’s Department of Motor Vehicles in order to vote. Strict state
voter-identification laws are proving disconcerting on the ground.
So why are the courts bending over backward to uphold them?
In 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court considered whether Wisconsin’s
stringent voter-ID law violated the Wisconsin constitution’s right
to vote. Thecourt found
<https://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&seqNo=118667>that
the law would impose severe burdens on voters who could not afford
to pay for underlying documents, like an out-of-state birth
certificate, to prove identification, and on those voters who,
through no fault of their own, could not establish their identity
under the exacting rules established by the state.
To save the Wisconsin voter-ID law from being declared
unconstitutional, however, the state’s supreme court, dominated by
conservatives, engaged in a creative reading of Wisconsin law—one
that essentially compels the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to
help these voters prove their identity and get ID cards. Wisconsin
regulations require “officials to get birth certificates (or other
qualifying documents) themselves for persons who ask for that
accommodation on the basis of hardship.” Imagine relying on the DMV
for such an accommodation. Nevertheless, not only did this saving
construction sink the state challenge, but the federal courtsrelied
on it to reject a challenge
<https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/frank-v-walker-seventh-circuit-court-appeals-decision-opinion>to
Wisconsin’s law that was based on the federal Constitution and the
Voting Rights Act.
Wisconsin is not alone in seeing a theoretical “softening
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2743946>” of
voter-ID laws as a means of blunting legal attacks on their ultimate
validity.
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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>
“Bernie Sanders Scored Victories for Years via Legislative Side
Doors” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80849>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:59 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80849>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/us/politics/bernie-sanders-amendments.html?ref=politics>:
The immigration bill,opposed by House Republicans
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/us/politics/gop-in-house-resists-overhaul-for-immigration.html>,
never became law. But the jobs program amendment was classic Bernie
Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist who has spent a
quarter-century in Congress working the side door, tacking on
amendments to larger bills that scratch his particular policy
itches, generally focused on working-class Americans, income
inequality and the environment.
Mr. Sanders is not unlikeTea Party
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/tea_party_movement/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>Republicans
in his tactics, except his are a decaf version. While he is unlikely
to turn against his party on important votes, he is most proud of
the things he has tried, unsuccessfully, to block over the years.
And he boasts about them constantly on the campaign trail: the Iraq
war, the Wall Street bailout and thePatriot Act
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/u/usa_patriot_act/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>after
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But in spite of persistent carping that Mr. Sanders is nothing but a
quixotic crusader — during their first debate,Hillary Clinton
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/13/the-oct-13-democratic-debate-who-said-what-and-what-it-means/>cracked,
“I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive who likes to get things
done” — he has often been an effective, albeit modest, legislator.
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Posted inlegislation and legislatures <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>
“G.O.P. Effort to Block Trump May Lead to a Morass”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80847>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:57 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80847>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Al Hunt
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/us/politics/gop-effort-to-block-trump-may-lead-to-a-morass.html?ref=politics>for
Bloomberg View.
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Posted inpolitical parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
“How to Steal a Nomination From Donald Trump”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80845>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:50 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80845>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Sasha Issenberg
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/features/2016-03-14/how-to-steal-a-nomination-from-donald-trump>:
Donald Trump has spent much of his campaign selling himself as a
maker of great deals. But in the next phase of the campaign, the
author of/The Art of the Deal/may be confronted with the ultimate
dealmaking challenge, gaming the rulebook and horse-trading for
delegates at what could be a contested convention. And if that
situation comes to pass, it’s one in which his opponents have a
distinct advantage going in.
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Posted inpolitical parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
“The Brookings Report on the State Parties”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80843>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:44 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80843>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bauer’s skeptical:
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2016/03/brookings-report-state-parties/>
The case for singling out the state parties rests on La Raja and
Rauch’s belief that these organizations are “important nodes of the
political equivalent of civil society,” capable of creating “social
capital by building connections, trust, and cooperation across
diverse individuals and groups.”
This is a strong claim.
It seems entirely fair to say that state parties have an important
role in the electoral process—one ever harder for them to play—and
that they should be spared overregulation in the age of Super PACs
and freed to compete for influence and impact. Altogether different
is the argument that, with regulatory relief and tax breaks, the
state parties will surge into a leading role and promote “a better
balanced, more effective, and more accountable political system.”
Maybe so but not for sure, and a reform program that distributes
special benefits to any organizations or interests, including state
parties, would have to rest on more certainty about the effects.
The question raised by this analysis is whether the reform that La
Raja and Rauch argued for needs to be based on more than the
evidence that the costs manifestly exceed the benefits.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“How an obscure committee could decide the GOP nomination”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80841>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:41 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80841>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/republican-campaign-rules-committee-trump-220590>:
The four GOP presidential campaigns are quietly preparing for a
battle over an obscure rule-making committee that could control the
balance of power in a contested July convention.
The convention’s 112-member Rules Committee has enormous power to
influence the outcome of the party’s nomination fight, including the
authority to undo policies requiring most of the 2,472 convention
delegates to abide by the will of the voters – freeing them to vote
according to personal preference — or to erect all kinds of
obstacles to Donald Trump’s nomination.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“When Mad Men meet dark money” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80839>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:38 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80839>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Reveal podcast.
<https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/when-mad-men-meet-dark-money/>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“How Toothless Regulation Makes Raising Secret Campaign Money
Easier” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80837>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:38 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80837>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT Taking Note blog.
<http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/how-toothless-regulation-makes-raising-secret-campaign-money-easier/?ref=opinion&_r=0>
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
“Getting Hillary Clinton’s Message Right on Reform; Report from
focus groups of Democratic primary supporters”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80835>
Posted onMarch 14, 2016 7:37 am
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80835>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Stan Greenberg focus group
<http://everyvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/March2016OhioFocusGroups.pdf>for
Every Voice. (More fromDavid Donnelly
<https://medium.com/@DavidDonnelly/how-hillary-clinton-can-do-a-better-job-talking-about-money-in-politics-b2dae7e05bf#.bp8prh3xx>.)
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“The Path to Convention Chaos; If Trump loses Florida or Ohio, the
GOP’s set for a quagmire in Cleveland. Here’s how it happens”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80833>
Posted onMarch 13, 2016 7:19 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80833>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ben Ginsberg
<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/republican-contention-chaos-213725>:
The March 15 winner-take-all primaries in Florida and Ohio have been
billed as make-or-break for the Republican candidates still holding
out hope that they can topple Donald Trump. But those contests are
also make-or-break for Trump, and for the Republican Party: They
will determine whether there’s chaos or a coronation at the
Cleveland convention.
If Trump can win both states, he’s on a glide path to earning a
majority of delegates ahead of the July 18 convention. The only way
to dethrone him at that point would be for the GOP to throw out its
existing convention rules. A move that dramatic won’t happen. It
would divide and destroy a party that has always prided itself on
adhering to rules.
But if Trump doesn’t win both states, the GOP is likely to find
itself in Cleveland with no candidate above the 1,237-delegate
majority needed to claim the nomination. If that happens, the
Republican Party’s own rules lock in a quagmire in Cleveland—and
likely a multi-ballot, no-holds-barred convention.
The craziness will unfold in stages, with more delegates
increasingly freeing up to vote for whomever they like as the
process advances. All that puts a huge premium on an obscure and
intricate competition happening right now in each state—the
selection of the actual delegates. Any campaign not waging a major,
if under-the-national-radar, effort to get its supporters elected as
delegates will come up short in Cleveland.
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Posted inpolitical parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
“As Americans Take Up Populism, the Supreme Court Embraces Business”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80831>
Posted onMarch 13, 2016 7:13 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80831>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/business/as-americans-take-up-populism-the-supreme-court-embraces-business.html?ref=politics>
Americans have grown substantially more populist in their outlook
over the last 15 years, according to some measures of public
opinion, like whether they are satisfied with “the size and
influence of major corporations
<http://www.gallup.com/poll/188747/majority-americans-dissatisfied-corporate-influence.aspx?g_source=position1&g_medium=related&g_campaign=tiles>,”
and whether the government should “redistribute wealth by heavy
taxes on the rich
<http://www.gallup.com/poll/182987/americans-continue-say-wealth-distribution-unfair.aspx>.”
Indeed, if the presidential primaries are any indication, there is
perhaps no more potent force in American politics today than
economic populism.
At the same time, some argue that the Supreme Court under Chief
Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has become perhaps the most
business-friendly court in recent history. A2013 study
<http://epstein.wustl.edu/research/businessSupCt.pdf>by Lee Epstein
of Washington University in St. Louis, William M. Landes of the
University of Chicago Law School and Judge Richard A. Posner of the
federal appeals court in Chicago ranked justices according to their
rulings in cases involving business. The findings, which Ms. Epstein
and Mr. Landes updated through the 2014-15 term for this article,
show that six of the 10 most business-friendly justices since 1946
sat on the Supreme Court at the time of Justice Scalia’s death.
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Posted inSupreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
“Recall Effort in Michigan Intensifies Pressure on Gov. Rick Snyder”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80829>
Posted onMarch 13, 2016 7:11 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80829>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT reports.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/us/recall-effort-in-michigan-intensifies-pressure-on-gov-rick-snyder.html?ref=politics>
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Posted inrecall elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=11>
“Voter ID law hinders some college students”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80827>
Posted onMarch 13, 2016 6:09 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80827>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News and Observer
<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article65707942.html>:
Ruby McClellan, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman, registered to vote in
November. She has a New York license, so she cast a provisional
ballot last Saturday. At the same time, other students with
out-of-state licenses were able to register on site and vote without
the same ID questions. Out-of-state licenses are acceptable when
voters register within 90 days of an election.
McClellan said an elections worker told her she could not vote
because she didn’t have valid identification. She asked why she
wasn’t offered a provisional ballot.
“He was really annoyed,” McClellan said, but she eventually cast a
provisional ballot.
“If you can prove that I’m a registered voter on your computer, why
can I not vote?” she said. “I’m bummed that my first time getting to
vote I don’t even know if my vote counts until 10 days after the
election.”
Under the rules, everyone should be offered a ballot, said Tracy
Reams, Orange County elections director.
Ballots cast provisionally are set aside and checked by local
elections staff to resolve questions about registration, to confirm
that voters cast the correct partisan ballot if they are registered
with a party, and to see if they presented acceptable ID or offered
reasons why they didn’t. The local board of elections votes whether
to accept those ballots based on staff recommendations.
The law’s list of reasonable impediments includes: lack of
transportation, disability or illness, lack of a birth certificate
or other documents needed to obtain photo identification, a lost or
stolen ID, work schedule, family responsibilities, photo ID applied
for but not received, and “other.” A voter checking “other” must
describe the impediment, but can say that state or federal law
prohibits listing it.
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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>
“The Party Still Decides” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80825>
Posted onMarch 13, 2016 6:07 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80825>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ross Douthat:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/opinion/sunday/the-party-still-decides.html?_r=0>
But the party’s convention rules, in all their anachronistic,
undemocratic and highly-negotiableintricacy
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/10/a_contested_republican_convention_explained.html>,
are also a line of defense, also a hurdle, also a place where a man
unfit for office can be turned aside.
So in Cleveland this summer, the men and women of the Republican
Party may face a straightforward choice: Betray the large minority
of Republicans who cast their votes for Trump, or betray their
obligations to their country.
For a party proud of its patriotism, the choice should not be hard.
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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,political
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
“No evidence to back Trump claims of ‘dishonest’ early voting,
Florida officials say” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80823>
Posted onMarch 12, 2016 2:55 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80823>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Marc Caputo
<http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/florida/2016/03/8593654/no-evidence-back-trump-claims-dishonest-early-voting-florida-officia>reports
for Politico:
Rubio’s Florida chairman, former state House Majority Leader Adam
Hasner, ridiculed Trump’s claim about him and campaign “minions”
trying to rig the process.
“I don’t know about minions, but I do know about Minyans,” Hasner, a
Jewish Republican activist, said via text message, referring to a
gathering of Jewish worshippers.
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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>,fraudulent fraud
squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
“Even As Political Spending Explodes, Disclosure Remains Hazy”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80821>
Posted onMarch 12, 2016 2:53 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80821>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Mary Spicuzza and Jeremy White
<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUNSHINE_WEEK_CAMPAIGN_TRANSPARENCY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT>:
Politicians in Mississippi have used campaign money to pay for such
things as a BMW, an RV and $800 cowboy boots.
In Wisconsin, a railroad executive was caught violating contribution
limits after an ex-girlfriend he met on a “sugar daddy” dating
website reported him for illegally funneling cash to Gov. Scott
Walker’s campaign. Key to the investigation, election officials say,
was a requirement that donors disclose their employers – but
Republican lawmakers have since wiped out the rule.
Meanwhile, “dark money” spending by outside groups that aren’t
required to disclose their donors is expected to explode during this
presidential election year. States can take action to stem the tide
at the local level, but few have. Congress could require more
disclosure about who is financing campaigns, but it has made no move
to do so.
Disclosure may be the public’s best and often only remaining way of
knowing who is supporting political candidates in the wake of recent
court decisions.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Court Decision Puts Candidate Contribution Limits at Risk”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80819>
Posted onMarch 12, 2016 2:51 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80819>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP
<http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUNSHINE_WEEK_CAMPAIGN_TRANSPARENCY_COURTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-12-10-19-49>:
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which allowed
unlimited corporate and union election spending, is now being used
six years later to fight state limits on how much money individuals
and groups can contribute directly to candidates.
Lawsuits against contribution caps have been filed in Alaska,
Montana and New Mexico. Those challenges are being buoyed by a
federal appeals court ruling last year that cites Citizens United in
making it more difficult for states to justify donation limits.
“Contribution limits throughout the country are very vulnerable
now,” said James Bopp, an Indiana attorney who is leading two of the
lawsuits. “It’s going to be tough for any state to justify their
limits under that standard.”
Ultimately, this question will depend upon who fills Justice Scalia’s
seat (and other opening seats) on the Supreme Court. The stakes are as
high as the Montana sky.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Kasich Backers Knock Trump Ad Off Air in Ohio”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80817>
Posted onMarch 12, 2016 2:37 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80817>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT
<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/03/12/kasich-backers-knock-trump-ad-off-air-in-ohio/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Politics&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body>:
Television stations across Ohio are refusing to run advertisements
from the Trump campaign that are critical of Gov. John Kasich
because of a technical election law violation in the ad.
New Day for America, the “super PAC” supporting Mr. Kasich, sent
complaints to stations about the ad, saying that it was “falsely
attacking Ohio Gov. John Kasich,” and that it did not comply with
federal regulations for political advertising.
“No disclaimer appears at the end of the advertisement paid for by
Donald Trump,” Matt Carle, executive director of New Day for
America, wrote in the complaint. “Consequently, this advertisement
is in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and it
must be removed from the air.”
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“California tobacco bills spurred hardball political threats”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80815>
Posted onMarch 12, 2016 2:35 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80815>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Sacramento Bee:
<http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article65589212.html>
Tobacco industry lobbyists threatened to scuttle unrelated ballot
initiatives if California lawmakers passed sweeping anti-smoking
measures, health advocates said on Friday.
While lawmakers said billsnow on Gov. Jerry Brown’s
desk<http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article65193967.html>to
raise the tobacco-buying age to 21 and to regulate electronic
cigarettes as tobacco products drew fierce industry opposition, they
characterized the effort as a hard-to-trace background campaign.
Assembly Speaker-elect Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, last week told
reporters lawmakers had received “threats involving electoral efforts.”…
An email obtained by The Bee, dated the day before the Assembly
floor vote and bearing the address of a lobbyist for Lang, Hansen,
O’Malley, & Miller Governmental Relations, a firm whose clients
include Altria, mirrors Corcoran’s description. It details a
strategy to torpedo other ballot measures by cornering the market on
paid signature-gatherers so that they are unavailable to work for
other campaigns.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,direct democracy
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=62>
“With his convictions overturned, Richard Alarcon says he’ll run
against Rep. Tony Cardenas” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80813>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 9:16 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80813>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
LAT.
<http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-me-ln-richard-alarcon-congress-20160311-story.html>
Share
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
Misssissippi Seeks to Block Robbin Stewart from Filing Amicus Brief
in Campaign Disclaimer Case <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80810>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 5:51 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80810>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Really? <http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/10514723063.pdf>
Share
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Read the Opinion on 17-Year-Old Voting in Ohio
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80807>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 5:30 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80807>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/16-2346-Final-Opinion.pdf>.
Congrats to the Fair Elections Legal Network for this win.
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
Too Delicious Dep’t <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80805>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 5:27 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80805>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
With no ID, Sen. Richard Burr casts provisional ballot
<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article65555907.html>:
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr cast a ballot during the the early voting
period for the North Carolina primary after going to a polling place
without an acceptable form of identification.
Burr, a Republican from Winston-Salem running for re-election, cast
a provisional ballot and filled out a “reasonable impediment” form,
state elections records show.
“Sen. Burr discovered he lost his ID when he arrived at the polling
location, but he went out and got a new drivers license,” his
spokeswoman said in an email.
As of Thursday, nearly 600 people without acceptable photo ID had
voted in North Carolina.
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
OH SOS Husted Gives Up Trying to Block 17-Year-Olds from Voting
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80803>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 4:21 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80803>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Via Chris Geidner
<https://twitter.com/chrisgeidner/status/708446868708204545/photo/1>,
comes this statement. Given the timing of an appeal, Husted says it
would be irresponsible to try to make the changes right before the election.
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Posted invoting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>
“Grocery group hid names of donors from public, court rules”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80801>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 4:19 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80801>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
<http://blog.seattlepi.com/boomerconsumer/2016/03/11/grocery-group-hid-names-of-donors-from-public-court-rules/>:
Ajudge ruled
<http://atg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=28a64d02479d9d79402df2b20&id=09e4ee22e7&e=0186856307>Friday
that the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association violated Washington
campaign finance disclosure laws by hiding the identities of
corporate donors that were funding efforts to defeat a food labeling
initiative in Washington.
“This landmark case has been a long fight for accountability,”
Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. “This ruling sends an
unequivocal message: Big money donors cannot evade Washington law
and hide from public scrutiny.”
The case
<http://atg.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=28a64d02479d9d79402df2b20&id=33ae764836&e=0186856307>is
about the association’s financing of a 2013 campaign against
Initiative 522, which would have required the labeling of
genetically engineered products. The association was the largest
donor to the “No on 522” political committee.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“Symposium: ‘Courts, Campaigns, and Corruption: Judicial Recusal
Five Years After Caperton'” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80799>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 4:12 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80799>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/issues/issue-18-volume-3/>:
Opening Remarks
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Opening-Remarks-18nyujlpp473.pdf>
/Wendy Weiser/
/Caperton/ and the Courts: Did the Floodgates Open?
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Caperton-and-the-Courts-Are-the-floodgates-open-18nyujlpp481.pdf>
/Adam Liptak, Keith Swisher, James Sample & Bradley A. Smith/
The State of Recusal Reform
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-State-of-Recusal-Reform-18nyujlpp515.pdf>
/Charles Geyh, Myles Lynk, Robert S. Peck & The Honorable Toni Clarke/
A View From the Bench
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/A-View-From-the-Bench-18nyujlpp550.pdf>
/Barbara S. Gillers, The Honorable Jonathan Lippman, The Honorable
Sue Bell Cobb, The Honorable Maureen O’Connor & The Honorable Louis
Butler/
/Caperton’s /Next Generation: Beyond the Bank
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Capertons-Next-Generation-Beyond-the-Bank-18nyujlpp587.pdf>
/Jed Shugerman, Debra Lyn Bassett, Gregory S. Parks, Dmitry Bam &
Rex R. Perschbacher/
Closing Remarks
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Closing-Remarks-18nyujlpp629.pdf>
/Dean Trevor Morrison/
*Articles*
Recusal Failure
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Bam-Recusal-Failure-18nyujlpp631.pdf>
/Dmitry Bam/
Three Reasons Why the Challenged Judge Should Not Rule on a Judicial
Recusal Motion
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Bassett-Three-Reasons-Why-18nyujlpp659.pdf>
/Debra Lyn Bassett/
Judicial Recusal: Cognitive Biases and Racial Stereotyping
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Parks-Cognitive-Biases-and-Racial-Stereotyping-18nyujlpp681.pdf>
/Gregory S. Parks/
/Caperton/on the International Stage
<http://www.nyujlpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Perschbacher-Caperton-on-the-international-stage-18nyujlpp699.pdf>
/Rex R. Perschbacher/
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Posted injudicial elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>
NC Supreme Court to Consider Retention Elections for NC Supreme
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80793>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 3:43 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80793>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Oral argument will be April 13.
No indication in theoral argument order
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/NC-oral.pdf>or ondocket
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/NC-oral.pdf>that the
Justice whose seat is the subject of the appeal will be recused from
hearing the case.
My earlier coverage noted <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80557>that this
change to retention elections seemed to have some partisan motivations.
Shocking for NC
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/us/north-carolina-voting-rights-redistictricting-battles.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront>,
I know.
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Posted injudicial elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>
“Obama: Texas Leaders ‘Aren’t Interested’ in Higher Voter Turnout”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80791>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 2:37 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80791>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Texas Tribune
<http://www.texastribune.org/2016/03/11/obama-texas-leaders-arent-interested-higher-voter-/>:
Texas’ Republican leadership has stifled voter turnout, and the
public sector should do more to encourage online voting and other
civic engagement, President Barack Obama said in an interview Friday
with Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith.
Obama’s remarks at the South by Southwest Interactive festival in
Austin focused on using Internet technology to encourage more civic
participation, including voting.
“It is much easier to order pizza or a trip than it is for you to
exercise the single most important task in a democracy, and that is
to select who’s going to represent you in government,” the president
said.
Share
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Pennsylvania Judge Rules That Ted Cruz is Eligible to Run for
President” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80789>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 2:22 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80789>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WSJ
<http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/03/11/pennsylvania-judge-rules-that-ted-cruz-is-eligible-to-run-for-president/>:
A Pennsylvania judge has rejected
<https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2755257/PA-TedCruzruling.txt> an
effort to kick Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz off the
state primary ballot, ruling that the Texas senator’s birth outside
of the United States doesn’t disqualify him from the ballot under
the U.S. Constitution.
The ruling is the latest legal victory for Mr. Cruz on the
eligibility question. So-called “birther” suits have been filed in
other states, including New York
<http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/07/politics/new-york-ted-cruz-birther-lawsuit/> and
Illinois
<http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-cruz-court-idUSMTZSAPEC31DDY4EK>.
The cases in those two states were dismissed on technical grounds….
There’s no consensus in the legal community on the meaning of
“natural born citizen.” But some scholars, most notably Ohio State
University law professor Daniel Tokaji
<http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/03/11/pennsylvania-judge-rules-that-ted-cruz-is-eligible-to-run-for-president/Daniel%20P.%20Tokaji>,
have observed that state court could be where a court action
opposing Mr. Cruz’s place on the ballot has the best shot of going
somewhere.
The reason is that state courts have less stringent standing
requirements for bringing a lawsuit than federal courts. Mr. Carmon
could object to the nomination petition of Mr. Cruz in state court
just by being a registered Republican voter.
“Fortunately for skeptics of Senator Cruz’s eligibility, there’s at
least one state where a challenge could still be brought,” wrote Mr.
Tokaji in a February essay posted on Election Law Blog
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=80026>. “Pennsylvania will hold its
primary on April 26. The last day for candidates to file nominating
petitions was yesterday, February 16.”
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Will Donald Trump reverse course and seek donations for his 2016
bid?” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80787>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 1:54 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80787>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Matea Gold reports
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/will-donald-trump-reverse-course-and-seek-donations-for-his-2016-bid/2016/03/11/fd52eca2-e7bf-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html>for
WaPo.
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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Judge rules against Husted in teen voting case”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80785>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 1:32 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80785>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NBC4
<http://nbc4i.com/2016/03/11/judge-rules-against-husted-in-teen-voting-case/>:
FRANKLIN CO., Ohio (WCMH)–Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge
Richard Frye ruled against the Secretary of State in the case of a
lawsuit filed by a national voting rights organization on behalf of
nine 17-year-old plaintiffs.
This is a state court suit separate from the federal suit filed by the
Sanders campaign.
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Posted invoting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>
Ralston Live on Nevada Violating NVRA “Motor Voter” Law
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80783>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 1:17 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80783>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Watch. <http://video.vegaspbs.org/video/2365687614/>
Share
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Posted inelection administration
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,NVRA (motor voter)
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>,The Voting Wars
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Dark Money, Voter Intimidation & Tech”
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80779>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 1:02 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80779>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy video. <https://www.hitrecord.org/records/2752884>
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Posted inUncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
Montana Republican Party Seeks Emergency #SCOTUS Relief to End Open
Presidential Primary <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80776>
Posted onMarch 11, 2016 1:01 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80776>byRick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This filing
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/160311-MTGOP-Emergency-Application.pdf>,
directed to Justice Kennedy, could have implications if Trump is short
of delegates in June. Right now Democrats could vote in the Republican
party primary, and this seeks an order to close the primary. The
logistical problem is that Montana has no registration by primary.
It is a very interesting petition.
UPDATE: It’s been pointed out to me that the petition seeks an order to
enjoin the open primary, not to mandate a closed primary. That is, it
is possible to fix the problem with the open primary in a number of
other ways, such as a convention.
[Headline fixed to reflect this fact]
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Posted inpolitical parties
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,primaries
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>,Supreme Court
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
--
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
hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org
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