[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/16/17

[Rick Hasen]

“About those ‘democracy vouchers.’ They didn’t work for everyone”

Posted on August 16, 2017 7:26 am by Rick Hasen

KUOW:

This year, Seattle embarked on a bold political experiment in public funding for elections: the Democracy Voucher program.

But Hisam Goueli, a candidate for Seattle City Council Position 8, says the new voucher system is broken and lead to “frustration and tears” for his campaign. Although he received nearly $20,000, the money arrived the day before the primary election

Posted in campaign finance

 

 

“Gerrymandering and the Constitutional Norm Against Government Partisanship”

Posted on August 16, 2017 7:19 am by Rick Hasen

This looks good! Michael Kang has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Michigan Law Review). Here is the abstract:

The Article challenges the basic premise in the law of partisan gerrymandering that government partisan purpose is constitutional at all. The central problem, Justice Scalia once explained in Vieth v. Jubelirer, is that partisan gerrymandering becomes unconstitutional only when it “has gone too far,” giving rise to the intractable inquiry into “how much is too much.” But the premise that partisanship is an ordinary and lawful purpose, articulated as settled law and widely understood as such, is largely wrong as constitutional doctrine. The Article surveys constitutional law to demonstrate the vitality of an important, if implicit norm against government partisanship across a variety of settings. From political patronage, to government speech, to election administration and even in redistricting itself, Vieth is the exception in failing to bar tribal partisanship as a legitimate state interest in lawmaking. The puzzle therefore is why the Supreme Court in Vieth diverged from this overarching norm for legislative redistricting where the need for government nonpartisanship is most acute and so rarely met. The Article proposes a purpose-focused approach that identifies partisanship as an illegitimate basis for lawmaking and requires the government to justify its redistricting with reference to legitimate state interests beyond partisanship, irrespective of extreme partisan effects. The importance of consolidating and reifying the norm against government partisanship, in its most salient legal context, cannot be overstated at a time when hyperpolarization between the major parties dominates national politics and is at its most severe in our lifetime.

Posted in redistricting, Supreme Court

 

 

“The Voter Purge Crusade That Preceded Trump’s Sketchy Elections Commission”

Posted on August 16, 2017 7:16 am by Rick Hasen

Tierney Sneed for TPM:

Vice President Mike Pence, leader of President Trump’s shady “Elections Integrity” commission kicked off its first meeting last month with a promise that it would have “no preconceived notions or preordained results.”

But like many of its other members, commissioner J. Christian Adams has done little to hide what has been his end-game: bullying state and local election officials into aggressive voter registration purges that civil rights groups worry will end in eligible voters getting kicked off the rolls. Now he will be joining on the commission several other figures known for their efforts to make it harder — not easier – to vote in an endeavor that many in the voting rights community believe will be used to justify tougher voting laws, including measures that will prompt sloppy voter purges.

Posted in fraudulent fraud squad, NVRA (motor voter), The Voting Wars

 

 

“Federal court invalidates part of Texas congressional map”

Posted on August 15, 2017 8:40 pm by Rick Hasen

Texas Tribune reports.

 

Posted in redistricting, Voting Rights Act

 

 

 

Undergraduate Syllabus: Campaign Finance Law, Politics, and Policy

Posted on August 15, 2017 1:46 pm by Rick Hasen

Looking forward to teaching my undergraduate campaign finance class again in the UC Irvine political science department in the upcoming fall quarter.

Here is the updated syllabus.

Posted in campaign finance, pedagogy

 

 

“California Recall Proponents Win a Partial Court Victory”

Posted on August 15, 2017 10:26 am by Rick Hasen

BAN reports.

Posted in recall elections

 

 

Rick Hasen

hasenr at gmail.com

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