[EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/27/17

Wed Apr 26 21:03:30 PDT 2017

“Recent rulings that Texas’ voting laws discriminate put pressure on the state, but the road ahead is long”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92259>
Posted on April 26, 2017 8:56 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92259> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Dallas Morning News reports.<https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/04/24/recentrulings-texas-voting-laws-discriminate-minorities-put-pressure-state>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92259&title=%E2%80%9CRecent%20rulings%20that%20Texas%E2%80%99%20voting%20laws%20discriminate%20put%20pressure%20on%20the%20state%2C%20but%20the%20road%20ahead%20is%20long%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

NC: “DA won’t prosecute woman who followed mom’s ‘dying wish’ and cast illegal vote for Trump”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92257>
Posted on April 26, 2017 1:40 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92257> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
You can bet <http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article146938034.html> that if this were an African-American woman voting for Clinton, the DA would have prosecuted or been called “soft” on voter fraud.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92257&title=NC%3A%20%E2%80%9CDA%20won%E2%80%99t%20prosecute%20woman%20who%20followed%20mom%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98dying%20wish%E2%80%99%20and%20cast%20illegal%20vote%20for%20Trump%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Redistricting by Formula: An Ohio Reform Experiment”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92255>
Posted on April 26, 2017 8:57 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92255> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Micah Altman and Michael McDonald in American Politics Research:<http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1532673X17700611>
In the last decade, Ohio reformers advocated redistricting by formula: selecting the redistricting plan that scores best on a predefined objective scoring function that combines prima facie neutral criteria with political goals of plan fairness and district competition. In the post-2010 redistricting, these reformers hosted a public competition where prizes were awarded to the best legal plan scored on the reformers’ formula. The submitted plans provide a unique opportunity to evaluate how redistricting by formula may work in practice. Our analysis finds the public yields a broader range of redistricting plans, on indicia of legal and public policy interest, than developed by the state legislature. The Pareto frontier reveals plans that perform better than the legislature’s adopted plan on one and two dimensions, as well as the reformers’ overall scoring function. Our evaluation reveals minimal trade-offs among the components of the overall competition’s scoring criteria, but we caution that the scoring formula may be sensitive to implementation choices among its components. Compared with the legislature’s plan, the reform community can get more of the four criteria they value; importantly, without sacrificing the state’s only African American opportunity congressional district.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92255&title=%E2%80%9CRedistricting%20by%20Formula%3A%20An%20Ohio%20Reform%20Experiment%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“The Complicated Partisan Effects of State Election Laws”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92253>
Posted on April 26, 2017 8:55 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92253> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Burden, Canon, Mayer, and Moynihan in Political Research Quarterly:<http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1065912917704513>
Conventional political wisdom holds that policies that make voting easier will increase turnout and ultimately benefit Democratic candidates. We challenge this assumption, questioning the ability of party strategists to predict which changes to election law will advantage them. Drawing on previous research, we theorize that voting laws affect who votes in diverse ways depending on the specific ways that they reduce the costs of participating. We assemble datasets of county-level vote returns in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 presidential elections and model these outcomes as a function of early voting and registration laws, using both cross-sectional regression and difference-in-difference models. Unlike Election Day registration, and contrary to conventional wisdom, the results show that early voting generally helps Republicans. We conclude with implications for partisan manipulation of election laws.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92253&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Complicated%20Partisan%20Effects%20of%20State%20Election%20Laws%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Millions Spent on Soda Tax Fight in Santa Fe, NM<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92251>
Posted on April 26, 2017 8:53 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92251> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Albuquerque Journal:<https://www.abqjournal.com/993465/with-bloombergs-help-soda-tax-advocates-have-slim-fundraising-edge.html>
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made a $400,000 cash donation to the political committee supporting the proposed tax on sugary beverages in Santa Fe, bringing his investment in the effort to more than $1.13 million.
With Bloomberg’s help, the campaign in favor of a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks to fund early childhood education programs so far has outraised opponents of the tax — barely — despite contributions of cash and in-kind services totaling $1.15 million from the American Beverage Association to fight the ballot measure.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92251&title=Millions%20Spent%20on%20Soda%20Tax%20Fight%20in%20Santa%20Fe%2C%20NM>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

“Colorado secretary of state on 2016 Electoral College vote: ‘They’re investigating’”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92249>
Posted on April 26, 2017 8:51 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92249> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Colorado Independent reports.<http://www.coloradoindependent.com/165059/colorado-electoral-college-investigation-hamilton-electors>
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Posted in electoral college<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>

Free Speech for People, Prof John Coates File Complaint Against CITGO Contributions to Trump Inaugural Committee<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92247>
Posted on April 26, 2017 7:56 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92247> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Watchdog group Free Speech For People, joined by Harvard Law Professor John Coates,  just filed an FEC complaint against Citgo and the Trump inaugural committee alleging that federal law prohibits “foreign nationals” from donating to presidential inaugural committees.
Read the complaint.<https://freespeechforpeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/FSFP-FEC-complaint-v-Citgo-20170425-final.pdf>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92247&title=Free%20Speech%20for%20People%2C%20Prof%20John%20Coates%20File%20Complaint%20Against%20CITGO%20Contributions%20to%20Trump%20Inaugural%20Committee>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal election commission<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

“This voting reform solves 2 of America’s biggest political problems”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92245>
Posted on April 26, 2017 7:54 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92245> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Lee Drutman <https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/4/26/15425492/proportional-voting-polarization-urban-rural-third-parties> at Vox:
Whatever the causes of polarization, there is a relatively straightforward solution to our current predicament that has been embraced by most advanced industrial democracies: proportional representation. There are many versions of this approach, but they all involve some way of electing multiple people, at once, to represent a region. In a proportional system, parties representing as little as 1 percent of the electorate can gain representation, though the most stable systems usually have a threshold percentage level to prevent truly marginal parties from gaining seats. The regions can be as large as an entire nation — but even when they are smaller they tend to be larger than the 435 tiny US congressional districts, each of which is run according to the “winner take all” principle.
Under a proportional system, if you want to live in a big, liberal city in a liberal state, you don’t give up the chance to make a difference with your vote. There is also very little possibility for consequential gerrymandering in proportional representation systems, since districts tend to be so big that there’s not much to gain from alternative line-drawings.
Perhaps most significantly, proportional representation makes third parties more viable. In the US system, many voters might prefer a third party, in theory, but in a winner-take-all scenario a vote for a third party is a wasted vote, since only the two major parties stand a chance of winning. As a result, most proportional systems have at least three major parties, often more. This produces a wider diversity of perspectives in the representative body, and more potential for bargaining across different issues.
Michael McDonald: <https://twitter.com/ElectProject/status/857215005326024704> “Why are White men at @Vox<https://twitter.com/vox> promoting an idea that courts have found will diminish minority representation?”
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Posted in alternative voting systems<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

TrackYourCompany.Org<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92243>
Posted on April 26, 2017 7:52 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92243> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Interesting new tool<http://www.trackyourcompany.org/> from the Center for Political Accountability: a corporate political spending database.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D92243&title=TrackYourCompany.Org>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

--
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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