[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/23/17

Wed Aug 23 07:51:37 PDT 2017

“Here’s what the public had to say about GOP redistricting plans”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94404>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94404> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News and Observer:<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article168752462.html>
People from across North Carolina concerned about the new maps proposed to be used to elect General Assembly members in 2018 had few supportive words on Tuesday for the lawmakers who had them drafted.
With votes on the maps scheduled for Friday in both the House and Senate, the legislative redistricting committee held public hearings on maps that were released over the weekend followed by supporting documents on Monday<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article168368957.html>.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“Elements of the Support Structure for Campaign Finance Litigation in the Roberts Court”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94402>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:30 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94402> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
My UCI Law colleague Ann Southworth studies lawyers, sociology and social networks, and she’s written a fascinating article<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lsi.12314/abstract;jsessionid=55CBF46FBEA2065FC873069D07D4C150.f03t02> on the campaign finance bar for the journal Law & Social Inquiry. Here is the abstract:
This article considers the organizations, financial patrons, and lawyers involved in two significant campaign finance cases decided by the Roberts Court: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. The research indicates that these elements of the support structures for litigation on both sides of these cases, like the justices to whom they direct their advocacy, fall into well-defined opposing and partisan camps. It also suggests that strategic case selection on the challengers’ side, the diversity of organizations supporting their positions, their network and coordination, and a simple and powerful frame around which to rally may have contributed to their success and to the Roberts Court’s fundamental reshaping of campaign finance doctrine.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

“Uncounted Kansas ballots fuel fears about Kobach’s proposals”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94400>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:26 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94400> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP:<http://www.journal-news.com/news/national-govt--politics/uncounted-kansas-ballots-fuel-fears-about-kobach-proposals/NeXHJbxZbwLgA0TMwLbOZI/>
A conservative firebrand promoting President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud oversees a Kansas election system that threw out at least three times as many ballots as any similarly sized state did, fueling concerns about massive voter suppression should its practices become the national standard.
Only six states — all among the top 10 in population — discarded more votes during the 2016 election than the 33rd-largest state of Kansas, according to data collected by the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency that certifies voting systems. Kansas’ 13,717 rejected ballots even topped the 13,461 from Florida, which has about seven times as many residents.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“N.H. voters, advocates sue to block new law toughening voter registration”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94398>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:25 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94398> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Boston Globe:<https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/23/voters-advocates-sue-block-new-law-toughening-voter-registeration/XNNQbjqkpCdaj5CFzV5wTN/story.html>
The League of Women Voters of New Hampshire and three New Hampshire voters are suing state officials to block a new law that toughens voter registration requirements, rules that civil rights advocates say amount to intimidation designed to discourage thousands of young residents from voting.
The lawsuit, which was filed in state court Wednesday morning, challenges a measure New Hampshire’s GOP Governor Chris Sununu signed in July tightening the requirements for registering to vote in the state. Specifically, would-be voters must provide documentary evidence, such as a driver’s license or utility bill, that New Hampshire is their place of domicile — or their primary home — and that they plan to stay for longer than a temporary stint.
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Posted in voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>

Today’s Must-Read: “A judge, a Vegas phone call and the NC GOP legislative effort to remake the judicial branch”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94396>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:13 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94396> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Anne Blythe’<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article168661047.html>s News and Observer piece begins:
Doug McCullough was five months away from his deadline for mandatory retirement from the state Court of Appeals bench<http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article146378394.html> when the chairman of the state Republican Party gave him a call.
Democrat Roy Cooper would become governor in several weeks and Robin Hayes, the former U.S. congressman on the other end of the line, wanted McCullough to consider resigning early from his elected seat so Republican Pat McCrory could appoint a replacement in the waning days of his administration.
The Republicans not only had lost the governor’s office with Cooper’s victory. They also had lost a majority on the state Supreme Court in the November elections.
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Posted in judicial elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>, political parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
“Democrats on Trump’s voting commission iced out since first meeting”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94394>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:08 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94394> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Kira Lerner<https://thinkprogress.org/democrats-voting-commission-ceec3ea98a33/> for Think Progress:
Since the initial July 19th meeting, Kobach himself has been busy as commission co-chair. On July 26, he followed up his controversial letter<https://twitter.com/vanitaguptaCR/status/880479649817649152> requesting a massive amount of voter data from all 50 states — a request that was at least partially rejected by 44 states<http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/03/politics/kris-kobach-letter-voter-fraud-commission-information/index.html> — with a second letter<http://admin.cdn.sos.ca.gov/press-releases/2017/pdf/letter-from-vice-chair-kris-kobach.pdf> addressing the backlash and requesting publicly available voter information. Still Rhodes heard nothing.
“I’ve just been reading some articles and studies and things of that nature on my own,” he said. “Nothing assigned by the chairs.”
The only communication he has received has been regarding plans for the next meeting — Rhodes said the commissioners have been told to keep September 12th free. At that time, he hopes the co-chairs will have collected and analyzed voter data from the states so the panel can compare the numbers and begin its work.
Rhodes is one of 12 members of the commission that includes five Democrats and seven Republicans. Democratic member David Dunn also told ThinkProgress<https://thinkprogress.org/trump-commissions-charlottesville-8e0e0d96bec1/> that the commission hasn’t “had a lot of communication.”
“The only information I have received was at the first meeting. Nothing else,” Dunn, a former Arkansas state legislator and government affairs lobbyist, said in an email Tuesday. “I did get an email that said to hold Sept. 12 open for another meeting. Nothing else.”…
A third Democratic commissioner, Maine’s Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, told ThinkProgress that has received the same amount of information as Rhodes and Dunn. “I’ve had no more communication than them,” he said.
Dunlap also does not know if Republican members are studying any voting systems or data without input from Democrats. He said he finds it “unusual” that more than a month has gone by and he hasn’t been asked to do anything.
If any voting-related work is being conducted, it’s likely being done by Pence or Kobach, who worked without commission input when he sent a follow-up letter requesting voter data from states. Dunlap said at the time<http://bangordailynews.com/2017/07/27/politics/dunlap-balks-at-trump-fraud-panels-new-request-for-maine-voter-data/> the second request for data went out that commissioners had not discussed the letter before Kobach sent it to all 50 states.
A representative for Kobach did not respond to a request for comment. Marc Lotter, the vice president’s press secretary, told ThinkProgress Tuesday that “the work continues,” but would not comment directly on why the Democrats haven’t received any communication other than logistical planning.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Citizens United Fights to Keep Donor Names Secret”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94392>
Posted on August 23, 2017 7:01 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94392> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYLJ:<http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202796043462/Citizens-United-Fights-to-Keep-Donor-Names-Secret?slreturn=20170723095834>
The conservative nonprofit that successfully fought in the U.S. Supreme Court for unlimited donations to federal campaigns wants to keep its list of donors secret.
But in oral arguments on Monday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had tough questions for Citizens United’s general counsel on the group’s argument that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s requirement that charities turn over donor lists constitutes prior restraint.
Judge Pierre Leval told Michael Boos, Citizens United’s general counsel, that the group’s fight against the attorney general’s requirement, in which charities must submit their Forms 990 as well as their Schedule B forms, which list donors, seems to indicate that the group should be entitled to “secret speech” or “secret advocacy.”
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law and election law<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

“Watchdogs File FCC Complaints Regarding Lack of Disclosure in Most Expensive House Race in History”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94390>
Posted on August 22, 2017 8:31 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=94390> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release:<https://www.issueone.org/watchdogs-file-fcc-complaints-regarding-lack-disclosure-expensive-house-race-history/>
Today, Issue One and Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed six complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against two Atlanta-based television stations in the aftermath of the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District<https://www.issueone.org/money-behind-expensive-u-s-house-race-history/>, which was the most expensive U.S. House election in American history. Much of the battle was waged on the television airwaves, with several “dark money” nonprofits and super PACs spending millions of dollars airing TV advertisements in the district. Some of the major organizations involved — including the Democratic-affiliated groups Patriot Majority USA and House Majority PAC, as well as the Republican-tied National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) — failed to properly disclose important information.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 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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