[EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/18/16

Fri Mar 18 07:50:19 PDT 2016

    “Bernie Sanders Would Ask Obama To Withdraw Merrick Garland’s
    Nomination If Elected” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81014>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:49 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81014>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Cristian Farias for HuffPo 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-merrick-garland_us_56ebe53ee4b084c6721ff46c>:

    Sanders said the judge is “clearly very knowledgeable and can serve
    ably” on the high court. “But between you and me,” he told Maddow,
    “I think there are some more progressive judges out there.”

    As he has done a number of times in this presidential cycle, Sanders
    said that his litmus test for an ideal Supreme Court justice is
    whether the person is committed to overturning
    <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-citizens-united_us_56a24542e4b0404eb8f13f1b>the
    2010 decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which
    made it possible for corporations and unions to spend unlimited
    amounts in elections.

    “I am very worried about the future of American democracy and about
    the ability of billionaires to buy elections,” he said.

Yesterday Iexplained<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80981>why Judge 
Garland would not pass a /Citizens United/litmus test:

    The harder question is what a Justice Garland would do, if faced on
    the Supreme Court with the opportunity to overturn /Citizens
    United/. On the merits, I have little doubt he would have been in
    the dissent in the original /Citizens United/case. But the question
    is one of /stare decisis /(respect for precedent) now. Would he be
    willing to overturn such a case, just a few years after the
    controversial ruling? My guess is that his would be a struggle for
    him, less about the merits of the case and more about the proper
    role of the Justice (particularly if he becomes the new swing
    Justice) on a Court that is ideologically and politically divided.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,Supreme 
Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    “Project Veritas Vote Fraud Investigator Subpoenaed by NH AG”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81012>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:45 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81012>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Concord Patch reports. 
<http://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/project-veritas-vote-fraud-investigator-subpoenaed-nh-ag>

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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>,fraudulent fraud 
squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

    “How American voters really can influence Merrick Garland’s
    confirmation battle” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81010>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:42 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81010>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Monkey Cage 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/03/18/how-american-voters-really-can-influence-merrick-garlands-confirmation-battle/>:

    The current position of the Senate leadership is that Garland will
    not even get a hearing. But some Republican senators have
    alreadyindicated
    <http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/kelly-ayotte-to-meet-merrick-garland-220868>that
    they would meet with Garland, contrary to the previous “no meetings
    <http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/senate-gop-supreme-court-219661>”
    policy. How likely would Garland’s confirmation be if the Senate
    did eventually vote on it?

    Many factors will come into play, but one important piece of the
    puzzle is public opinion. Asour
    <http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7835026&fileId=S0022381610000150>research
    <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/681261?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>has
    shown, there is a striking connection between home-state public
    support for a Supreme Court nominee and how senators vote.

    In particular, senators respond to the opinions of their//fellow
    partisans back home/./In other words, the votes of Democratic
    senators are driven by the opinion of their Democratic constituents,
    and the votes of Republican senators are driven by the opinion of
    their Republican constituents (controlling for ideology and other
    well-studied factors).

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Posted inSupreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

    “Sanders surprises with controversial superdelegate strategy”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81008>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:40 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81008>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Steve Benen 
<http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/sanders-surprises-controversial-superdelegate-strategy>:

    Strictly speaking, Democratic primary and caucus voters are
    principally responsible for choosing their presidential nominee, but
    the power is not/entirely/in their hands. While those voters elect
    pledged delegates for the party’s national convention, the
    Democratic process also includes superdelegates – party officials
    who are able to cast their own votes, separate from primary and
    caucus results.
    The system is not without critics. Though it’s never happened, the
    existing Democratic process leaves open the possibility that actual,
    rank-and-file voters – the folks who participate in state-by-state
    elections – will rally behind one presidential candidate, only to
    have party officials override their decision, handing the nomination
    to someone else. For many, such a scenario seems un-democratic (and
    un-Democratic).
    It therefore came as something of a surprise this week when Bernie
    Sanders’ presidential campaign first raised the prospect of doing
    exactly that. Sanders aidestold reporters
    <http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/bernie-sanders-longshot-victory-superdelegates-220847>that
    he may not be able to catch Hillary Clinton through the
    primary/caucus delegate process, but the campaign might come close,
    at which point Team Bernie might ask superdelegates to give Sanders
    the nomination anyway, even if he’s trailing Clinton after voters
    have had their say.

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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,political 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,primaries 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>

    “Greg Abbott claims voter fraud rampant in Texas: Pants on Fire!”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81006>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:36 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81006>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politifact Texas 
<http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Greg-Abbott-claims-voter-fraud-rampant-in-Texas-6915882.php>.

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Posted infraudulent fraud squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>,The 
Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

    “RNC Rules: Insiders Speak Out on Contested Convention”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81004>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:28 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81004>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NBC News 
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/rnc-rules-insiders-speak-out-contested-convention-n541146?cid=sm_twitter_feed_politics>:

    If no presidential candidate wins a majority of delegates and
    Republicans face a contested convention this summer, a small group
    of party insiders will have huge sway over who wins — and how to
    resolve a rift that could fracture the Republican Party….

    According to new interviews with more than a third of the 56 members
    of the RNC Rules Committee, these party insiders have strong views
    about how to run a convention.

    Most say a contested convention is legitimate when no candidate has
    a delegate majority, but they disagree about whether there is an
    concerted effort to use this year’s convention to stop Trump. Some
    say delegates have every right to overrule the preferences of
    Republican primary voters. Many Rules Committee members say they are
    comfortable with the prospect of several rounds of balloting to pick
    a winner this summer — and most rejected one big idea establishment
    Republicans have put forward for the convention.

    While politicos have speculated about a new candidate swooping in to
    win a contested convention, such as House Speaker Paul Ryan,
    insiders on the RNC Rules Committee say that idea would be dead on
    arrival in Cleveland this July.

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Posted incampaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>,political 
parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,primaries 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>

    “Transcript And Video: President Obama’s Interview With NPR’s Nina
    Totenberg” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81002>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:24 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81002>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

They talk 
<http://www.npr.org/2016/03/18/470869897/transcript-and-video-president-obamas-interview-with-nprs-nina-totenberg>the 
Garland nomination.

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

    Reynolds American Tobacco Group Gave Money to Black Newspapers Assn,
    Koch-Backed Group <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81000>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:17 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81000>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI 
<http://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/03/17/19436/tobacco-giant-gave-250000-group-representing-black-owned-newspapers>:

    After National Newspaper Publishers Association President Benjamin
    Chavis Jr. visited Reynolds American’s headquarters in
    Winston-Salem, N.C., he left impressed — and with hopes of big money
    from the tobacco giant.

    Ultimately, Reynolds American last year gave $250,000 to the
    organization, which from its Washington, D.C., headquarters
    represents the interests of more than 200 African-American-owned
    community newspapers across the nation.

    The donation — listed in a new Reynolds Americancorporate governance
    document
    <https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2765406-reynoldsamerican2015.html>reviewed
    by theCenter for Public Integrity <http://www.publicintegrity.org/>—
    represented the largest contribution Reynolds American made in 2015
    to nearly three-dozen nonprofit organizations, many of which are
    politically active and typically keep their funders secret.

    Other small, but notable Reynolds Americans’ contributions in 2015
    helped Americans for Prosperity, a “social welfare” nonprofit
    connected to billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, and
    Americans for Tax Reform, led by anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    “How Citizens United Made It Easier For Bosses To Control Their
    Workers’ Votes” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80998>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:14 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80998>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

IBT reports 
<http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/how-citizens-united-made-it-easier-bosses-control-their-workers-votes-2338443>.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

    “Cleveland One Step Ahead of Trump’s Convention Riots Prediction”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80996>

Posted onMarch 18, 2016 7:02 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80996>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg reports. 
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-17/cleveland-one-step-ahead-of-trump-s-convention-riots-prediction?cmpid=BBD031816_POL>

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Posted inpolitical parties <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>

    NC Justice Recused in Case Involving His Own Reelection
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80994>

Posted onMarch 17, 2016 4:34 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80994>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here is the order 
<http://www.scribd.com/doc/305150865/Judicial-Retention-Election-Case-84A16-Faires-Et-Al-v-State-Bd-of-Elections-Et-Al-AMENDED-SPECIAL-ORDER>via 
Michael Weisel.

Here<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80793>is my earlier coverage.

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Posted injudicial elections <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>

    “Get hacked! D.C. Board of Elections works with civic hackers for
    voting insights” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80992>

Posted onMarch 17, 2016 3:49 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80992>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

That’s the lead story in this week’sElectionline Weekly. 
<http://www.electionline.org/index.php/electionline-weekly>

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Posted inelection administration 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,voting technology 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>

    “The Fundraising Guru Behind Bernie Sanders’ 27 Dollars”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80990>

Posted onMarch 17, 2016 3:46 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80990>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Sean Braswell writes 
<http://www.ozy.com/2016/the-fundraising-guru-behind-bernie-sanders-27-dollars/68015>for 
Ozy.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,campaigns 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

    “The Grim Reality of American Politics”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80988>

Posted onMarch 17, 2016 3:44 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=80988>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mann and Ornstein 
<http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-grim-reality-of-american-politics/474198/>in 
the Atlantic:

    Donald Trump’s emergence as the GOP frontrunner and likely nominee
    creates an existential crisis for the Republican Party, as the angry
    populism exploited and incited by Republican leaders in Congress to
    regain majority control turns inward to consume its host. The
    potential outcomes are bad for the party and its adherents—but even
    worse for the rest of America.

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Posted inpolitical parties 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>,political polarization 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>

-- 
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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