[EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/4/17

Tue Apr 4 07:46:34 PDT 2017

"Strategic Debate in Gorsuch Battle: Use Filibuster Now or Later?"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91950>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:42 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91950> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Charlie Savage<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/us/politics/supreme-court-gorsuch-filibuster.html?ref=politics&_r=0> in the NYT:

The conventional political narrative as Judge Neil M. Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination nears its endgame is that liberals want at least 40 Senate Democrats to follow through on their threat to stall him with a filibuster, daring Republicans to carry out their vow<http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-april-2-2017-n741771> to change the chamber's rules and confirm him anyway. Conservatives, meanwhile, are outraged - outraged! - that Democrats might precipitate such a crisis.

But some observers on both sides of the ideological divide say that the long-term strategic interests of each faction are the opposite of what their leaders are indicating in public. If so, the surface appearance of the partisan fight unfolding this week is really a tricky inversion of what is actually in play.....

And with the minority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer<https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/charles-e-schumer> of New York, publicly calling on colleagues to filibuster Judge Gorsuch, any Democratic senators who break ranks do so at personal political risk. Against that backdrop, it appeared as of Monday that enough Democratic senators would support a filibuster to set up the showdown conservatives like Mr. Whelan crave and liberals like Mr. Hasen fear would be a mistake.

"It's still a long shot, but you only get one chance to make a lot of noise about the demise of the filibuster and to try to preserve a mechanism that gives the minority some degree of veto power," Mr. Hasen said. "It seems like it would be worth holding it for when it would likely matter much, much more. But Democrats seem to feel like they need to please their base and go on a suicide mission now."
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Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

"Vermont's campaign finance law survives legal challenge"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91948>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:38 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91948> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/3/vermonts-campaign-finance-law-survives-legal-chall/>

Dean Corren<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/dean-corren/>, an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor, sued the state in Vermont's federal district court for violating his First Amendment rights, alleging that a restriction on fundraising for publicly-financed candidates is unconstitutional. The court issued its decision Tuesday.

The opinion does not yet appear to be on PACER. If anyone has it please send it along.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

"She voted illegally. But was the punishment too harsh?"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91945>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:30 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91945> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/she-voted-illegally-but-was-the-punishment-too-harsh/2017/04/03/34198b02-0f0f-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html?utm_term=.7937f626669e>
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

"N.H. ACLU: Bill Would 'Effectively Criminalize' Legitimate New Hampshire Voters"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91943>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:29 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91943> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

New Hampshire Public Radio reports.<http://nhpr.org/post/nh-aclu-bill-would-effectively-criminalize-legitimate-new-hampshire-voters#stream/0>
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

"Senate Confirmation Strategies and Institutional Uniqueness"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91941>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:23 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91941> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bauer blogs.<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2017/04/senate-confirmation-strategies-institutional-uniqueness/>
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Posted in legislation and legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>

"Federal judge denies state's Motion to Dismiss in 'motor voter' case"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91939>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:21 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91939> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Texas Civil Rights Project:<https://www.texascivilrightsproject.org/en/2017/04/03/release-federal-judge-denies-states-motion-to-dismiss-in-motor-voter-case/>

Today, Chief Judge Orlando Garcia of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied the state's motion to dismiss Stringer v. Pablos, TCRP's "motor voter" case.

This decision provides critical validation of the arguments advanced by the plaintiffs - disenfranchised Texas voters - who challenge voter registration processes at the Department of Public Safety under the National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA, and the U.S. Constitution.

*         Link to order<https://www.texascivilrightsproject.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/NVRA-Opinion.pdf>
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Posted in NVRA (motor voter)<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>

"Former West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant Joins Brennan Center"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91936>
Posted on April 4, 2017 7:17 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91936> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Great news!<http://www.brennancenter.org/press-release/former-west-virginia-secretary-state-natalie-e-tennant-joins-brennan-center>
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Posted in election law biz<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>

Federal Court in TX Voter ID Case Will Address Discriminatory Intent Claim in "Due Course," Will Await Ruling on Remedies<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91934>
Posted on April 3, 2017 1:14 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91934> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

>From today's order<http://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000015b-356d-d4bd-a5df-bfff07160001> (via Josh Gerstein):

Having heard re-argument, this Court intends to issue its new opinion on whether SB 14 was passed with a discriminatory intent in violation of the Voting Rights Act at its earliest convenience and in due course. The Court will, however, await the end of the current Texas legislative session to address remedies. In that regard, this matter is set for a status conference on June 7, 2017....The Court GRANTS the United States' motion for voluntary dismissal of its discriminatory purpose claim without prejudice
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

More Posts in Demos' "Beyond Corruption" Symposium<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91932>
Posted on April 3, 2017 1:09 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91932> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Heath Brown<http://www.demos.org/blog/3/24/17/transparent-transition-was-not-be>

Allegra Chapman<http://www.demos.org/blog/3/29/17/donors-or-voters-could-gorsuch-join-divided-court-favor-donor-class>

David Schultz<http://www.demos.org/blog/4/3/17/empirical-evidence-money-politics-matters>

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

"The Consequences of Election Timing"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91930>
Posted on April 3, 2017 1:05 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91930> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Vlad Kogan, Stephane Lavertu and Zachary Peskowitz have posted this working draft<http://glenn.osu.edu/educational-governance/research/research-attributes/KLP_Timing.pdf>. Here is the abstract:

There is considerable debate about how election timing shapes who votes, election outcomes, and, ultimately, public policy. We examine these matters by combining information on more than 10,000 school district tax referenda with detailed micro-targeting data on voters participating in each election. The analysis confirms that timing influences voter composition in terms of partisanship, ideology, and the numerical strength of powerful interest groups. But, in contrast to prominent theories of election timing, these effects are modest in terms of their likely impact on election outcomes. Instead, timing has the most significant impact on voter age, with the elderly being the most over-represented group in low-turnout special elections. The electoral (and policy) implications of this effect vary between states, however, depending on whether seniors are sheltered from local taxation.

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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

"2016 LOBBYING DISCLOSURE: Observations on Lobbyists' Compliance with Disclosure Requirements"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91928>
Posted on April 3, 2017 10:12 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91928> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

New GAO report.<http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/683855.pdf?utm_campaign=Newsletters&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email>
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Posted in lobbying<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>

"Don't Use the Ballot to Get Trump's Tax Returns"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91926>
Posted on April 3, 2017 10:11 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=91926> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Derek Muller NYT oped<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/03/opinion/dont-use-the-ballot-to-get-trumps-tax-returns.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region>.

I expressed a more ambivalent view here in Politico<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/donald-trump-tax-returns-release-214950>.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

--
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
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/>

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