[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/20/17

Tue Dec 19 20:31:15 PST 2017

Lighter ELB Blogging Through New Year’s Day<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96503>
Posted on December 19, 2017 8:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96503> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I’ll still be writing, but more sporadically, and updates to the Election Law listserv will be less frequent.
Happy and safe holidays to all!
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“In Virginia, a 11,608-to-11,607 Lesson in the Power of a Single Vote”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96501>
Posted on December 19, 2017 5:10 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96501> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Trip Gabriel <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/us/virginia-house-of-delegates-single-vote.html?_r=0> for the NYT:
The Democratic wave that rose on Election Day in Virginia last month delivered a final crash on the sand Tuesday when a Democratic challenger defeated a Republican incumbent by a single vote, leaving the Virginia House of Delegates evenly split between the two parties.
The victory by Shelly Simonds, a school board member in Newport News, was a civics lesson in every-vote-counts as she won 11,608 to 11,607 in a recount conducted by local election officials.
Ms. Simonds’s win means a 50-50 split in the State House, where Republicans had clung to a one-seat majority after losing 15 seats last month in a night of Democratic victories up and down the ballot, which were widely seen as a rebuke to President Trump. Republicans have controlled the House for 17 years….
It was one of several recounts Democrats pursued after narrow Republican victories in House races on Election Day. Before Tuesday, the others had broken for Republicans, but Democrats are still contesting one race with an 82-vote margin in a district where 147 people received the wrong ballots. A lawsuit requesting a new election is in the courts. If the Democratic candidate, Joshua Cole, somehow ends up the victor, that would give his party a 51-49 majority in the House.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

Alabama SOS Says Moore Has Not Approached His Office About a Possible Recount<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96499>
Posted on December 19, 2017 5:06 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96499> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Interesting tidbit<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alabama-voter-fraud-investigation_us_5a39468fe4b0fc99878f1ac0?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009> at the end of this HuffPost piece by Sam Levine:
The results of the Alabama Senate special election must be certified by Jan. 3. Merrill has maintained that Moore can request a recount if he pays for it, a claim disputed by election experts<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=96376>. Merrill told HuffPost that his office had not received any “official overtures” from the Moore campaign about a potential recount.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

FEC Commissioner Weintraub Statement on Ongoing Litigation to Stop FEC from Revealing Identity of Those Found to Have Illegally Hid Names of Contributors<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96495>
Posted on December 19, 2017 4:59 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96495> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Troubling:<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/ELW-SOR-MUR-6920.pdf>
COVER LETTER TO THE STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER ELLEN L. WEINTRAUB IN MUR 6920 (AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION)
DECEMBER 19, 2017
Due to pending litigation, I must take the unprecedented step of releasing the attached statement with the identities of certain persons and entities redacted. As can be seen from my statement and the third General Counsel’s Report, these were not incidental witnesses swept up in the agency’s probe, but rather key players in the scheme the Commission unanimously found to have violated the law against making contributions in the name of another.
After engineering an intricate plot to defeat the public’s interest in knowing who was actually behind a $1.7 million political contribution, the plaintiffs are now taking the extraordinary step of suing the Commission to force us to continue to hide their identities.1 I am looking forward to the expeditious resolution of this litigation with a ruling in the FEC’s favor that will allow me to reissue my statement unredacted.
The public has the right to know as much as this agency was able to determine about who was trying to influence the election with this huge contribution. Likely the beneficiaries of their largesse already do.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal election commission<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

Every Vote Counts Dept: Democrat Ahead by One Vote in Va. House of Delegates Recount, Creating Possibility of 50-50 Legislative Split<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96493>
Posted on December 19, 2017 12:51 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96493> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

[ttps://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1506880668/TOP_bigger.jpg]Max Smith at amaxsmith<https://twitter.com/amaxsmith>
NEW: Final tally submitted to 3-judge panel would see #HD94<https://twitter.com/hashtag/HD94?src=hash> flip to Dem, mean 50-50 split in Va House https://wtop.com/virginia/2017/12/recount-set-begin-virginias-tightest-house-race/ …<https://t.co/tNEqiEpjkM>https://twitter.com/jwpascale/status/943220922508509184 …<https://t.co/o9PdNOid8D>
12:47 PM - Dec 19, 2017<https://twitter.com/amaxsmith/status/943221344224804865>
[ttps://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/943178899252375553/8Pj01J76?format=jpg&name=144x144_2]<https://t.co/tNEqiEpjkM>
Recount set to begin for Virginia's tightest House race - WTOP<https://t.co/tNEqiEpjkM>
Election officials in Newport News on Tuesday will rescan ballots cast in the 94th District. It's one of four recounts that were scheduled following extremely close House races this year.<https://t.co/tNEqiEpjkM>
wtop.com<https://t.co/tNEqiEpjkM>

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

Federal District Court Strikes Down Montana Law Requiring That Individuals Filing Ethics Complaints Against Public Officials to Keep Complaints Confidential<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96490>
Posted on December 19, 2017 11:29 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96490> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Order and opinion<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/171218-Amended-Order.pdf> in Tschida v. Mangan.
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Posted in ethics investigations<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42>

--
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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