[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/21/17

[Rick Hasen]

“Lobbyist at Trump Campaign Meeting Has a Web of Russian Connections”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94382>
Posted on August 21, 2017 7:15 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94382> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT deep dive:<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/us/rinat-akhmetshin-russia-trump-meeting.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront>
Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian immigrant who met last summer with senior Trump campaign officials, has often struck colleagues as a classic Washington mercenary — loyal to his wife, his daughter and his bank account. He avoided work that would antagonize Moscow, they suggested, only because he profited from his reputation as a man with valuable connections there.
But interviews with his associates and documents reviewed by The New York Times indicate that Mr. Akhmetshin, who is under scrutiny by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, has much deeper ties to the Russian government and Kremlin-backed oligarchs than previously known.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“See the proposed NC Senate map”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94380>
Posted on August 21, 2017 7:05 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94380> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News and Observer<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article168312342.html> reports.

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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


“Trump ramping up for 2020 reelection”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94377>
Posted on August 21, 2017 7:02 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94377> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico:<http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/21/trump-2020-reelection-campaign-241844>
Trump is mapping out a fall fundraising tour that is expected to fill his campaign bank account with tens of millions of dollars. His team has tracked dozens of potential Democratic rivals, a list of names that ranges from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. And his administration has received political advice from a top campaign pollster from his 2016 campaign, who has urged the president to keep up his attacks on the mainstream media.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>


University of California to Host Innovative Public Law Conference Sept. 23-24<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94367>
Posted on August 21, 2017 7:00 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94367> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Check out UC’s upcoming inaugural public service law conference<https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/initiative/student-opportunity/civil-rights-21st-century>, “Civil Rights in the 21stCentury.” I’ll be speaking on a voting rights panel with Dale Ho and Allison Riggs.
The conference is happening Sept. 23-24 at UCLA’s Luskin Center. In partnership with the UC Office of the President, Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), Berkeley School of Law, UCLA School of Law, UC Davis School of Law, and UC Irvine School of Law, the conference will bring together more than 500 law students, faculty members, lawyers, and nonprofit professionals committed to advancing civil rights and the public good. Panels<https://events.trustevent.com/templates/index.cfm?fuseaction=templates.custom&pid=2021&eid=2721> and speeches will focus on the people, organizations, and systems working on the legal aspects of vital issues like immigration, homelessness, police accountability, water rights, and veterans’ issues during a day-and-a-half long conference.
Keynote speakers and panelists include: Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California; Peter Neufeld, Co-Founder of the Innocence Project; Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director at the National Immigration Law Center; Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean at UC Berkeley School of Law; Jennifer Mnookin, Dean at UCLA School of Law; Kevin Johnson, Dean at UC Davis School of Law; L. Song Richardson, Interim Dean at UC Irvine School of Law; and more.
Individuals interested in attending the conference can register here<https://events.trustevent.com/templates/index.cfm?fuseaction=templates.register&eid=2721>. Registration is $150 and includes a lunch and evening reception on the first day with speakers and sponsors, breakfast on the second day, and all CLE costs (if applicable).

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


“Trump’s Small-Dollar Donors Help Salve His Big Business Bruises”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94375>
Posted on August 21, 2017 6:56 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94375> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bloomberg:<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-21/trump-s-small-dollar-donors-help-salve-his-big-business-bruises>
Small-dollar donors — those who give a total of less than $200 per year — have provided 59 percent of the $26 million that Trump’s re-election campaign has raised so far in 2017. A good share of that total came via supporters’ purchases of Trump-themed merchandise. By comparison, former President Barack Obama raised 36 percent of the funds for his 2012 re-election effort in amounts of $200 or less.
Small donors have also fueled the Republican National Committee’s record haul, representing 60 percent of the $54.3 million given directly to the party to influence federal elections so far this year. That’s an increase from the first six months of 2015, when the GOP raised 48 percent of its $45.1 million kitty from small donors. (The Democratic National Committee raised 48 percent of its $33 million total from them over the same period.)
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>


“Trump’s Son In Crosshairs Of Special Counsel Mueller”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94373>
Posted on August 21, 2017 6:53 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94373> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
BuzzFeed reports.<https://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/special-counsel-focuses-on-trumps-son?utm_term=.gxyzmglpNK#.juvDNYod1V>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“Voter suppression is the civil rights issue of this era”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94371>
Posted on August 20, 2017 10:42 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94371> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Important WaPo editorial:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/voter-suppression-is-the-civil-rights-issue-of-this-era/2017/08/19/926c8b58-81f3-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html?utm_term=.d9a3527d0ea4>
Yet even if all 1,500 <https://www.splcenter.org/20160421/whose-heritage-public-symbols-confederacy> Confederate symbols<https://www.splcenter.org/20160421/whose-heritage-public-symbols-confederacy> across the country were removed overnight<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/16/us/confederate-monuments-removed.html?_r=0> by some sudden supernatural force, the pernicious crusade to roll back voting rights<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/opinion/five-ways-republicans-are-threatening-voting-rights.html> would continue apace, with voters of color suffering its effects disproportionately. Pushing back hard against those who would purge voter rolls, demand forms of voter ID<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/02/15/do-voter-identification-laws-suppress-minority-voting-yes-we-did-the-research/?utm_term=.ae7aac1df720> that many Americans don’t possess, and limit times and venues for voting — this should be a paramount cause for the Trump era.
In statehouse after statehouse where Republicans hold majorities, the playbook is well established, and the tactics are becoming increasingly aggressive.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


“The ballot order effect is huge: evidence from Texas”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94369>
Posted on August 20, 2017 10:39 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94369> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Darren Grant<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11127-017-0454-8> for Public Choice:
Primary and runoff elections in Texas provide an ideal test of the ballot order hypothesis, because ballot order is randomized within each county and the state offers many counties and contests to analyze. Doing so for all statewide offices contested in the 2014 Democratic and Republican primaries and runoffs yields precise estimates of the ballot order effect across 24 different contests, including several not studied previously. Except for a few high-profile, high-information races, the ballot order effect is large, especially in down-ballot races for judicial positions. There, the empirical results indicate that going from last to first on the ballot raises a candidate’s vote share by nearly ten percentage points. The magnitude of this effect is not sensitive to demographic and economic factors.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


“Trump Election Commissioners Are Resisting Efforts to Protect Elections From Hacking”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94362>
Posted on August 19, 2017 12:35 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94362> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Pema Levy for Mother Jones:<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/trump-election-commissioners-are-resisting-efforts-to-protect-elections-from-hacking/>
Christy McCormick, a Republican commission member, said in a statement<https://www.eac.gov/documents/2017/01/07/statement-by-commissioner-christy-mccormick-mccormick-statements/> the next day that Russian interference was a hoax used by the federal government to gain access to state-run election systems. “This declassified report was not about the November elections; it was about politics,” said McCormick, who is also a member of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission, which helps states administer elections. “Connecting the allegations in the report to the election administration process and asserting that it rose to the level of interference in our elections is a gross and incorrect characterization.”
Rather than accept the findings of the intelligence agencies, McCormick turned to John McAfee, the eccentric founder of the McAfee antivirus software company, as an expert on the question of Russian interference. McAfee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination in 2016, has spent the last year on a crusade to exonerate Russia from the intelligence community’s assessment that it hacked the Democratic National Committee. McAfee has found an audience in Russian state-run media outlets, conspiratorial radio host Alex Jones, and pro-Trump right-wing blogs such as Gateway Pundit. “McAfee believes that the report is deceptive propaganda perpetrated on the American public, and I agree,” McCormick said.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Election Assistance Commission<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


Want to Work with Port Chester, NY on Alternative Voting Options?<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94358>
Posted on August 18, 2017 2:14 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94358> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here’s the RFQ.<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/RFQ-Alternative-Governance-Options-dm-003-002-002.docx> Looks like a good opportunity.  More background:
The Village of Port Chester, New York seeks an expert to conduct research and voting data analysis that would support consideration of various election system options.
In 1868, Port Chester was incorporated as a village pursuant to a Charter, a special act of the State Legislature. The Village Charter provides for a Board of Trustees as the governing body (six trustees and mayor). The trustees are elected for three years, staggered terms and run at-large. The mayor is elected for a two year term and also runs at large.
In 2009, Port Chester was found liable for a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as the manner of electing trustees did not provide sufficient participation by the Hispanic population. Thereafter, Port Chester Implemented an electoral system of cumulative voting through a consent decree. This system was used in the 2010, 2013 and 2016 Village Elections for Trustee.  With the expiration of the consent decree in June 2016,  the Village Board of Trustees has the opportunity to determine what system should be used starting in March 2019, the next Village Election.
The suit did not challenge the election for Mayor.
Port Chester will be releasing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to solicit qualified proposers who might provide technical assistance. From there, the Village will establish a short-list to forward a Request for Proposals (RFP). This solicitation is for subject-matter experts, and not legal counsel.

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Posted in alternative voting systems<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>


Texas Appeals 3-Judge Court Ruling on Congressional Redistricting to Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94354>
Posted on August 18, 2017 1:50 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94354> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Press release.<https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-appeals-redistricting-ruling-to-the-u.s.-supreme-court-and-seeks>
The case is not final, and so there may be some issues with this being an appeal of an interlocutory (interim) order.
On the merits, the ruling is pretty good for Texas compared to what the Court might have done, and the Supreme Court may not choose to get involved in this aspect of the case. (There are other meaty issues, including the findings on discriminatory intent, and possible order to put Texas back under federal supervision for voting which I expect the Court would fully review).
More at the Texas Tribune:<https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/18/paxton-redistricting-filing/preview/>
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton<https://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/> revealed Friday that Abbott won’t ask lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map — found by a federal court this week<https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/15/federal-court-invalidates-part-texas-congressional-map/> to discriminate against Latino and black voters — in a fresh round of legislative overtime.
Instead, Paxton is appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court and trying to keep the boundaries intact for the 2018 elections, according to his filing to a panel of three judges in San Antonio…
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


Federal Court Finds Louisiana Engaged in Intentional Racial Discrimination in At-Large Judicial Elections [Corrected]<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94352>
Posted on August 18, 2017 10:46 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94352> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
From the 91-page opinion,<http://www.naacpldf.org/files/about-us/Terrebonne%20Parish_0.pdf> also finding Voting Rights Act discriminatory effect:
District-based voting was rejected for the 32nd JDC on at least six occasions between 1997 and 2011. Taken as a whole, this timeline shows discriminatory intent. Local white officials, including the judges on the 32nd JDC, originally wanted an additional judgeship, but when black advocates requested that the new judgeship be elected from a subdistrict, this request was withdrawn. This occurred again with the Houma City Court—requests for an additional judgeship were made, and when local white officials heard that a request was made for a subdistrict, they got involved and effectively defeated the request. In 2011, when the request was not for an additional judgeship, but rather for a rearrangement of the method of election, the reasons offered in opposition appeared even more pretextual. The Court is unwilling to accept that the lack of public comment or the failure of the Judicial Council to issue an opinion were the true reasons behind the opposition. Accordingly, the Court finds that this pattern shows that a motivating purpose in maintaining the at-large electoral scheme for the 32nd JDC was to limit the opportunity of black individuals to participate meaningfully and effectively in the political process to elect judges of their choice.
Correction: The original version of this post incorrectly stated the entity that the court found engaged in intentional discrimination: it is the state of Louisiana, not the county. See also this release <http://www.naacpldf.org/press-release/court-decision-louisiana-voting-rights-case-changes-course-history-black-voters-better> from the NAACP LDF.
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Posted in judicial elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


--
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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