[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/4/17

[Rick Hasen]

Proposal to Let LLCs Vote in Delaware Beach Town<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96194>
Posted on December 4, 2017 7:20 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96194> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Next logical step<https://amp.delawareonline.com/amp/910501001>, no?
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96194&title=Proposal%20to%20Let%20LLCs%20Vote%20in%20Delaware%20Beach%20Town>
Posted in voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31>


Misleading Answer in Alabama Senate Race to “Can I cast a write-in vote for my favorite cartoon character or superhero?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96192>
Posted on December 3, 2017 4:41 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96192> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Answer<http://whnt.com/2017/11/29/want-to-cast-a-vote-for-a-write-in-candidate-heres-how/> from Alabama Secretary of State:
Can I cast a write-in vote for my favorite cartoon character or superhero?
No.  Write-in votes will be counted only for live, human beings who are eligible to serve in the office for which they have been voted.  Votes cannot be counted for fictional characters
The correct answer would seem to be:
Yes you can, but those votes will not be counted in the official tallies.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96192&title=Misleading%20Answer%20in%20Alabama%20Senate%20Race%20to%20%E2%80%9CCan%20I%20cast%20a%20write-in%20vote%20for%20my%20favorite%20cartoon%20character%20or%20superhero%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


Alabama Voters Will Be Able to Vote “Republican” Rather than “Moore” and It Will Count as a Vote for Roy Moore<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96190>
Posted on December 3, 2017 4:10 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96190> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This straight ticket option<http://sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/voter-pdfs/2017-sample-ballots/Baldwin-Gen-UsSen-2017-Sample.pdf> on a ballot with one candidate race ill allow voters to not have to say they voted for Moore while still voting for Moore (via BAN<http://ballot-access.org/2017/12/03/alabama-december-12-2017-ballots-use-straight-ticket-device-even-though-only-one-partisan-race-is-on-ballot/>).
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>



Top Recent Downloads in Election Law on SSRN<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96188>
Posted on December 3, 2017 11:10 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96188> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/topten/topTenResults.cfm?groupingId=991929&netorjrnl=jrnl>:
1.

Flaws in the Efficiency Gap<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3046797>
Christopher P. Chambers<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=374440>, Alan D. Miller<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=873361> and Joel Sobel<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=30526>
Georgetown University – Department of Economics, University of Haifa – Faculty of Law and University of California at San Diego
Date Posted: 04 Oct 2017
Last Revised: 04 Oct 2017

140

2.

Populism and Democratic Institutional Design: Methods of Selecting Candidates for Chief Executive in the United States and Other Democracies<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3064938>
Stephen Gardbaum<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=119215> and Richard H. Pildes<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=121253>
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – School of Law and New York University School of Law
Date Posted: 07 Nov 2017
Last Revised: 26 Nov 2017

98

3.

Vote Dissociation<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3059569>
Daniel P. Tokaji<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=359247>
Ohio State University (OSU) – Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2017
Last Revised: 02 Nov 2017

78

4.

Gerrymandering and Association<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3045444>
Daniel P. Tokaji<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=359247>
Ohio State University (OSU) – Michael E. Moritz College of Law
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2017
Last Revised: 06 Oct 2017

55

5.

Trump, Twitter, and the Russians: The Growing Obsolescence of Federal Campaign Finance Law<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3069018>
Anthony J. Gaughan<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1697565>
Drake University – Law School
Date Posted: 14 Nov 2017
Last Revised: 14 Nov 2017

53

6.

Amending the Johnson Amendment in the Age of Cheap Speech<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3077348>
Ellen P. Aprill<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=231928>
Loyola Law School Los Angeles
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2017
Last Revised: 27 Nov 2017

47

7.

Candidate Disclosure and Ballot Access Bills: Novel Questions on Voting and Disclosure<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3051416>
Danielle Marie Lang<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1773884>
Yale University – Law School
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2017
Last Revised: 11 Oct 2017

28

8.

Malaysia’s Electoral Process: The Methods and Costs of Perpetuating UMNO Rule<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3048551>
Kai Ostwald<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2173898>
University of British Columbia (UBC)
Date Posted: 06 Oct 2017
Last Revised: 23 Nov 2017

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Posted in pedagogy<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=23>


Toobin Skeptical of Criminal Campaign Finance Charges Against Trump Campaign (But More Bullish on Obstruction Claims)<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96186>
Posted on December 2, 2017 12:31 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96186> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
New Yorker’s Jeff Toobin<https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/michael-flynns-guilty-plea-sends-donald-trumps-lawyers-scrambling?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories>:
Does any of this behavior rise to the level of criminality, and, if so, what laws might it have violated? Federal law prohibits political candidates and their advisers from seeking or obtaining contributions from foreign individuals or entities. “Foreigners can’t contribute to federal, state, or local campaigns, and that doesn’t just cover cash contributions,” Kathleen Clark, a professor at the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, told me. “According to the statute, if a campaign solicits a foreigner to give a ‘thing of value’ to a political campaign, that would be illegal as well.”
The argument for a criminal-conspiracy charge based on these exchanges would be that Trump officials, including the candidate, solicited opposition research from Russian interests, and that such research is a “thing of value,” an in-kind contribution, under the law. “There is clearly a market for damaging information about opponents in political campaigns,” Clark said. “While there might be some uncertainty about how exactly to value it, I can’t imagine there would be serious debate about whether information is a thing of value.”
Still, a prosecution along these lines would hardly be straightforward or routine. In the past, criminal cases about solicitation have focussed on cash, so Mueller’s case would rest on a novel interpretation of the law. The status of WikiLeaks also creates a potential obstacle. Federal law contains an exemption for the press; news operations cannot be charged with making illegal campaign contributions by covering a campaign. The Trump campaign—and surely WikiLeaks itself—would likely argue that the organization is a journalistic outlet. It’s worth noting that President Trump’s own Central Intelligence Agency has a different view of WikiLeaks. Mike Pompeo, the director of the C.I.A., said in a speech in April, “It’s time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia.”
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


--
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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