[EL] ELB News and Commentary 9/5/16

Mon Sep 5 06:40:33 PDT 2016

The View on Labor Day: Major Election Law Disputes Still to Be Resolved<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86226>
Posted on September 5, 2016 6:29 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86226> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Thanks in part to the Supreme Court’s signals<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2545676> in 2014 that courts resolve election litigation well in advance of the election, many of the hottest disputes have already been resolved. But there is still a fair amount of major election litigation still to be resolved, now a little more than two months before Election Day (and just a few weeks before<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/politics/early-voting-limits-donald-trumps-time-to-turn-campaign-around.html> the beginning of early voting in some places).

Among the most important issues already resolved for Election 2016: Texas has considerably softened<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=84922> its strict voter identification law, thanks to a 5th Circuit en banc decision which the Supreme Court rushed to decision for mid-July. (There may still be an attempt to take this to the Supreme Court <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=85409> to overturn it in future elections). North Carolina‘s strict set of voting rules, including its voter id law, were blocked by the 4th Circui<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/nc-4th.pdf>t for use in this election, and the Supreme Courtdeadlocked<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=86071> over what to do about it.  (There’s a promised cert. petition to the Supreme Court after the election in this case too). Wisconsin’s strict voter id law, and some of its other laws, have been found to be unconstitutional or in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The 7th Circuit rejected an attempt to allow affidavits instead of IDs to vote in the 2016 election, but crafted a compromise<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=85911>allowing some people who go to the DMV to start an identification process to vote in this election.

Here’s the major litigation left that we know of (with more cases<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86154> potentially being filed as the election gets closer);

Ohio: The 6th Circuit blocked a district court order requiring Ohio to keep its “Golden Week,” which it tried to eliminate, allowing registration and early voting during one week before the election. Democrats have gone to the Supreme Court trying to get that order reversed. We should hear something late this week or early next week. I expect Democrats<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86121> to lose. We are still waiting for 6th Circuit rulings on a case involving provisional/absentee voting, and one on an Ohio vote purge.  (The Supreme Court also rejected an attempt<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=85975> by Gary Johnson to get him listed as a Libertarian on the Ohio ballot).

Michigan: The state has asked<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86158> for the Supreme Court to stay an order requiring Michigan to keep using straight-ticket voting this election. I expect the order by Thursday (the ballot printing deadline) and I expect Michigan to lose. Michigan Republicans do not want voters who reject Trump to have an easy way of rejecting the entire Republican ticket.

Arizona: Democrats are looking for a court order to make sure that the long lines that materialized in the primary will not reappear on election day. The case may partially settle<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86191>.

Kansas/EAC: The D.C. Circuit is considering an appeal over the issue of whether an EAC bureaucrat exceeded his authority when he allowed Kansas and Arizona to require documentary proof of citizenship for voters who register to vote in federal elections using the federal form. There is also litigation over the “dual” voting system that SOS Kobach has put in place over the objections of voting rights activists. There’s another one of these Kansas cases pending before the 10th Circuit.<https://www.aclu.org/cases/fish-v-kobach> And there is a state court case about Kobah’s dual voting system.

[If you want details on any of these cases, use the search box on ELB or check out the Major Pending Election Cases <http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/election-law/major-pending-cases/> at the indispensable Election Law @ Moritz website).
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86226&title=The%20View%20on%20Labor%20Day%3A%20Major%20Election%20Law%20Disputes%20Still%20to%20Be%20Resolved&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Texas principals failing at little-known voter-registration mandate”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86224>
Posted on September 5, 2016 5:54 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86224> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

San Antonio-Express News:<http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/elaine_ayala/article/Texas-principals-failing-at-little-known-9203009.php>

It’s a little-known, openly violated state election law that gets no real enforcement. If not for the latter, Texas school principals would be in big trouble for not offering eligible high school students opportunities to register to vote at least twice a year.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86224&title=%E2%80%9CTexas%20principals%20failing%20at%20little-known%20voter-registration%20mandate%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in voter registration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>

“Sanders suggests lowering the bar for third-party candidates to take part in presidential debates”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86222>
Posted on September 5, 2016 5:49 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86222> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/04/sanders-suggests-lowering-the-bar-for-third-party-candidates-to-take-part-in-presidential-debates/>

Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, was asked about the current 15 percent polling threshold during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“Probably too high,” said Sanders, who is set to return to the campaign trail Monday in New Hampshire on behalf of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86222&title=%E2%80%9CSanders%20suggests%20lowering%20the%20bar%20for%20third-party%20candidates%20to%20take%20part%20in%20presidential%20debates%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in ballot access<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, third parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47>

“Intelligence community investigating covert Russian influence operations in the United States”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86220>
Posted on September 5, 2016 5:41 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86220> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/intelligence-community-investigating-covert-russian-influence-operations-in-the-united-states/2016/09/04/aec27fa0-7156-11e6-8533-6b0b0ded0253_story.html?postshare=1651473071382184&tid=ss_tw>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86220&title=%E2%80%9CIntelligence%20community%20investigating%20covert%20Russian%20influence%20operations%20in%20the%20United%20States%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Donald Trump’s history of paying to sway attorneys general”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86218>
Posted on September 4, 2016 3:38 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86218> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Good time to read this Sunlight Foundation report<https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2016/06/09/donald-trumps-history-of-paying-to-sway-attorneys-general/> from June.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86218&title=%E2%80%9CDonald%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20history%20of%20paying%20to%20sway%20attorneys%20general%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Illinois Republican U.S. House Nominee Sues Over Illinois Law Mandating Same-Day Registration at Polls in High-Population Counties Only”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86216>
Posted on September 4, 2016 12:37 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86216> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

BAN reports.<http://ballot-access.org/2016/09/04/illinois-republican-u-s-house-nominee-sues-over-illinois-law-mandating-same-day-registration-at-polls-in-high-population-counties-only/>

Perhaps relevant to the question: my article, When is Uniformity of People, Not Counties, Appropriate in Election Administration? The Cases of Early and Sunday Voting”<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2497192>, 2015 University of Chicago Legal Forum 193 (2015).
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86216&title=%E2%80%9CIllinois%20Republican%20U.S.%20House%20Nominee%20Sues%20Over%20Illinois%20Law%20Mandating%20Same-Day%20Registration%20at%20Polls%20in%20High-Population%20Counties%20Only%E2%80%9D&descripti>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

Some Thoughts on Clinton, Trump, Sale of Access, and the Media’s Supposed Double Standard<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86214>
Posted on September 4, 2016 12:17 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86214> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Wrote a tweetstorm <https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/772505926070743040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> about this, which Greg Dworkin Storified.<https://storify.com/DemFromCT/rick-hasen-on-media-assymetry-with-hillary-clinton>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86214&title=Some%20Thoughts%20on%20Clinton%2C%20Trump%2C%20Sale%20of%20Access%2C%20and%20the%20Media%E2%80%99s%20Supposed%20Double%20Standard&description=>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“On Road to 270, Arizona is home to best chance for a spoiler”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86212>
Posted on September 4, 2016 7:55 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=86212> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://www.apnews.com/f262d4ce64c14a0590059737fbaa371a>

If Hillary Clinton carries Arizona in November, there’s a good chance it won’t be because Democrats on their own have flipped a reliable GOP state they hope to win consistently someday.

Instead, Clinton and Democrats may have Gary Johnson to thank.

The Libertarian Party nominee’s best chance to influence the presidential race may come in Arizona, where the former New Mexico governor appeals to a group of finicky conservatives who make up part of the GOP base.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D86212&title=%E2%80%9COn%20Road%20to%20270%2C%20Arizona%20is%20home%20to%20best%20chance%20for%20a%20spoiler%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, third parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47>

--
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<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20160905/187330a0/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2021 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20160905/187330a0/attachment.png>