[EL] ELB News and Commentary 2/2/17

Thu Feb 2 07:45:20 PST 2017

“There’s a Simple Step North Carolina’s New Governor Could Take to Strengthen Voting Rights; But he’d better move fast.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90860>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:41 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90860> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I have written this piece<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/02/north_carolina_should_withdraw_its_petition_to_the_supreme_court_in_its.html> for Slate. It begins:
The future of voting rights in the medium to long term is not rosy. President Donald Trump is making false claims<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/23/us/politics/donald-trump-congress-democrats.html> that millions of voters fraudulently cast ballots in the 2016 election, perhaps as a predicate<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/opinion/trumps-lies-pave-the-way-for-an-assault-on-voting-rights.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0> to a round of federal laws making it harder to register and vote. His administration seems poised to do a 180<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90641> in a case challenging Texas’ strict voter identification law, abandoning the Obama administration’s position that the law was discriminatory. Judge Neil Gorsuch, if confirmed, is likely to restore the Supreme Court to a Scalia-era status quo, a 5–4 court skeptical of broad protection<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2639902> for voting rights.
But in the short term, there’s one simple action that could make voting rights a bit more secure: Roy Cooper, the new Democratic governor of North Carolina, and the state’s new Attorney General Josh Stein should withdraw a petition for writ of certiorari pending at the Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/North-Carolina-Voter-ID-Cert-Petition-FINAL.pdf> to review the 4th Circuit’s decision<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/nc-4th.pdf> striking down North Carolina’s strict voting law.
A bit more:
The theory is intriguing, even if, as I believe, courts may be better suited to allow plaintiffs to directly target laws aimed at party discrimination rather than race discrimination. It deserves further development in the lower courts. But if the Supreme Court with a new Justice Gorsuch takes the case, there is good reason to believe the court would wipe that theory out in reversing the decision. Last year, North Carolina and its then-Republican Gov. Pat McCrory sought emergency relief before the election, and at that point the Supreme Court divided 4–4<https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/083116zr_7lh8.pdf>, with all the conservatives voting to grant relief. That’s a good indication that, with a Gorsuch fifth vote on their side, they would likely reverse.
But there may be a way out. North Carolina officials, when McCrory was still in charge, got extensions and waited until just a few days<https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docketfiles/16-833.htm> before McCrory left office to file the cert petition asking the Supreme Court to review the 4thCircuit’s decision. State officials probably wanted to run out the clock so that the Obama Department of Justice would not have time to craft an opposition. But a day before Obama left office, the DOJ filed the opposition<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/nc-doj-bio.pdf> early. The NAACP and the other plaintiffs just now filed their own opposition<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/nc-naacp-bio.pdf> to the Supreme Court’s review.
For all we know, the Trump administration will soon come in and withdraw the U.S.’s brief in opposition. But North Carolina’s new Democratic governor and attorney general likely have an option too. Under North Carolina law<http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/statutes/statutelookup.pl?statute=147-17>, the governor and attorney general get to control the state’s litigation, even when an agency is involved. Here, the agency involved is the North Carolina Board of Elections, which for now remains headed by a Republican. But state law does not let that board choose outside counsel to represent its interests without approval of the governor or the attorney general. So it looks like nothing would stop Gov. Cooper and AG Stein from simply withdrawing the cert petition, leaving the North Carolina case on the books and denying the Supreme Court a chance to grant review. Even if something prevents withdrawal of the petition, Cooper and Stein could file a letter disagreeing with the earlier position of the state in the cert petition.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90860&title=%E2%80%9CThere%E2%80%99s%20a%20Simple%20Step%20North%20Carolina%E2%80%99s%20New%20Governor%20Could%20Take%20to%20Strengthen%20Voting%20Rights%3B%20But%20he%E2%80%99d%20better%20move%20fast.%E2%80%9>
Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

“Trump’s voter fraud claims rooted in Alabama man’s work”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90858>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:32 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90858> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Al.com:<http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2017/02/trumps_voter_fraud_claims_root.html>
Instead, he said he doesn’t want to approach Sessions with incomplete work.
“We are working diligently on a massive quality check on what we are saying,” said Phillips, referencing the 3 million illegal voting claims. “We don’t want to be wrong and. No one is being paid for this. We all have jobs.”
He added that once the voter fraud analysis is completed, the entire team with True to Vote will welcome a chance to meet with Sessions.
Seems now that whatever credibility True the Vote has will be on the line.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90858&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%E2%80%99s%20voter%20fraud%20claims%20rooted%20in%20Alabama%20man%E2%80%99s%20work%E2%80%9D>
Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

William and Mary Symposium: 2020 Redistricting: Mapping a New Political Decade<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90854>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:18 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90854> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Can’t wait to participate in this event<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2017-Symposium-Flyer.pdf> (and I’ll be posting my symposium paper soon), with a great lineup:
The William & Mary Law Review<http://wmlawreview.org/> and the William & Mary Election Law Program<http://law.wm.edu/academics/intellectuallife/researchcenters/electionlaw/> are pleased to present the 2017 Law Review Symposium
2020 Redistricting: Mapping a New Political Decade
February 17-18, 2017
William & Mary Law School, Rm. 119
Fifty years past Baker v. Carr, the historic decision enshrining the principle of “one person one vote,” we remain surprisingly unsettled in our approach to political representation. To wit, even after five cycles of decennial redistricting since the height of the Civil Rights Movement and passage of the historic Voting Rights Act, racial implications of redistricting in this country remain intensely complex and contested. Cases involving redistricting appear before the U.S. Supreme Court with regular frequency. This symposium will explore the most pressing issues facing line drawers in the 2020 redistricting round—from the fate and promise of independent redistricting commissions to racial justice and redistricting to basic principles of political representation and one person one vote. How should states sort political power? What role should the federal government have in policing lines? What is the impact of technological sophistication on the fairness of the redistricting process? What will be the biggest challenges (and opportunities) in the upcoming 2020 round? This symposium seeks to lay a definitive academic foundation for the country’s next stab at the maps.
Scheduled panelists include
Bruce Cain (Stanford)
Wendy K. Tam Cho (Illinois)
Guy-Uriel Charles (Duke)
Chris Elmendorf (UC Davis)
Joseph Fishkin (TX)
Edward Foley (Ohio State)
Rebecca Green (William & Mary)
Richard Hasen (UCI)
Dale Ho (ACLU)
Michael Kang (Emory)
Pamela Karlan (Stanford)
Ellen Katz (Michigan)
Justin Levitt (Loyola)
Rep. Jamin Raskin D-MD
Nick Stephanopoulos (Chicago)
Daniel Tokaji (Ohio State)
Franita Tolson (Florida State)
Emily Zhang (Stanford)

This event is free and open to the public. Please email elect at wm.edu<mailto:elect at wm.edu> for details.

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90854&title=William%20and%20Mary%20Symposium%3A%202020%20Redistricting%3A%20Mapping%20a%20New%20Political%20Decade>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Alabama congressman’s unsupported claim that Democrats rigged voting machines in his election”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90852>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:11 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90852> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Four Pinnochios.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/02/alabama-congressmans-unsupported-claim-that-democrats-rigged-voting-machines-in-his-election/?utm_term=.d3709bb5291b>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90852&title=%E2%80%9CAlabama%20congressman%E2%80%99s%20unsupported%20claim%20that%20Democrats%20rigged%20voting%20machines%20in%20his%20election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Maine Senate To Seek Court Review Of Ranked-Choice Voting”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90850>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90850> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
A ChapinBlog.<http://editions.lib.umn.edu/electionacademy/2017/02/02/maine-senate-to-seek-court-review-of-ranked-choice-voting/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90850&title=%E2%80%9CMaine%20Senate%20To%20Seek%20Court%20Review%20Of%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting%E2%80%9D>
Posted in alternative voting systems<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Senate Democrats In Political Quagmire Over Supreme Court Nomination”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90848>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:06 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90848> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Nina Totenberg on NPR’s Morning Edition <http://www.npr.org/2017/02/02/512927350/senate-democrats-in-political-quagmire-over-supreme-court-nomination> talked to Ron Klain, Neal Katyal, and me about whether Democrats can and should try to filibuster Judge Gorsuch.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90848&title=%E2%80%9CSenate%20Democrats%20In%20Political%20Quagmire%20Over%20Supreme%20Court%20Nomination%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“Virginia House passes bill to require proof of citizenship to vote in state, local elections”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90846>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:05 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90846> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.<http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article_0a95620a-3274-542d-b18a-d2c0e60e288b.html>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90846&title=%E2%80%9CVirginia%20House%20passes%20bill%20to%20require%20proof%20of%20citizenship%20to%20vote%20in%20state%2C%20local%20elections%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“We have a standard for judging partisan gerrymandering. The Supreme Court should use it.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90844>
Posted on February 2, 2017 7:03 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90844> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
McGann, Smith, Latner, and Keena for The Monkey Cage:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/02/02/we-have-a-standard-for-judging-partisan-gerrymandering-the-supreme-court-should-use-it/?utm_term=.9a1b4f3e931c>
In our book, we show that the partisan symmetry standard can be logically derived from the equal treatment of individual voters, based on recent results<http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00355-009-0382-8> in social choice theory. In partisan elections, you cannot treat all individual voters equally without treating all parties equally. This means that the party that gets more votes must get more seats. This sounds obvious, but it is precisely what the Supreme Court did not accept in the Vieth case. We show — line by mathematical line — that this logic is inescapable.
If the party that gets the most votes nationally is to get a majority of the seats, then state districting plans also have to treat parties equally — that is, satisfy partisan symmetry. If a redistricting plan violates partisan symmetry, then it necessarily violates the equal treatment of individual voters. Thus, the partisan symmetry standard is indeed judicially discernible from the Constitution.
The fact that partisan symmetry can be derived directly from equal protection is an important advantage over other standards that have been proposed (such as Nicholas Stephanopoulos and Eric McGhee’s “efficiency gap”<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2457468>). Such standards require additional assumptions that would need to be constitutionally justified.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“Arkansas House approves plan to reinstate voter ID laws”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90840>
Posted on February 1, 2017 8:40 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90840> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jurist reports.<http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2017/02/arkansas-house-approves-plan-to-reinstate-voter-id-laws.php>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90840&title=%E2%80%9CArkansas%20House%20approves%20plan%20to%20reinstate%20voter%20ID%20laws%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Trump Administration Got Judge Hardiman to Hit the Road to Build Suspense for #SCOTUS Announcement<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90838>
Posted on February 1, 2017 8:37 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90838> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Cruel.<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/us/supreme-court-runner-up-thomas-hardiman.html>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90838&title=Trump%20Administration%20Got%20Judge%20Hardiman%20to%20Hit%20the%20Road%20to%20Build%20Suspense%20for%20%23SCOTUS%20Announcement>
Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

Top Recent Downloads in Election Law on SSRN<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90835>
Posted on February 1, 2017 6:47 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90835> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/topten/topTenResults.cfm?groupingId=991929&netorjrnl=jrnl>:
RECENT TOP PAPERS for all papers first announced in the last 60 days [https://papers.ssrn.com/Images/rss_small.png]  <https://papers.ssrn.com/publicRss/rssManagerInc.cfm?journalId=991929>
3 Dec 2016 through 1 Feb 2017
Rank

Downloads

Paper Title

1

203

Outsourcing Politics: The Hostile Takeovers of Our Hollowed out Political Parties<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2888064>
Samuel Issacharoff<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=48053>
New York University School of Law
Date posted to database: 21 Dec 2016
Last Revised: 21 Dec 2016

2

77

Alternatives to the Electoral College<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2874624>
Robert W. McGee<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2139>
Fayetteville State University – Department of Accounting
Date posted to database: 27 Nov 2016
Last Revised: 27 Nov 2016

3

48

Local Democracy on the Ballot<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2901062>
Joshua A. Douglas<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=683935>
University of Kentucky – College of Law
Date posted to database: 19 Jan 2017
Last Revised: 19 Jan 2017

4

43

Hillary Clinton’s Electoral College Defeat: It Almost Happened to George W. Bush in 2004<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2883806>
Bryan H. Wildenthal<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=181791>
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Date posted to database: 13 Dec 2016
Last Revised: 15 Dec 2016

5

39

Transparency, Corruption, and the Information Needs of Communities: The Case of Personal Financial Disclosure<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2880890>
John Wihbey<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1680361> and Mike Beaudet<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2630268>
Northeastern University and Northeastern University – College of Arts, Media, and Design
Date posted to database: 8 Dec 2016
Last Revised: 8 Dec 2016

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90835&title=Top%20Recent%20Downloads%20in%20Election%20Law%20on%20SSRN>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Snopes Debunks Twitter Claim That President Trump’s Filing for Reelection Inhibits Political Activity by Nonprofits<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90833>
Posted on February 1, 2017 6:32 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90833> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here.<http://www.snopes.com/trump-filed-reelection-stop-political-speech-nonprofits/>
I tweeted a thread<https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/825743586863910913> about this over the weekend.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90833&title=Snopes%20Debunks%20Twitter%20Claim%20That%20President%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Filing%20for%20Reelection%20Inhibits%20Political%20Activity%20by%20Nonprofits>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law and election law<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>

“U.S. District Court Orders Federal Election Commission to Re-Consider Whether Commission on Presidential Debates is Breaking Campaign Finance Law”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90831>
Posted on February 1, 2017 5:46 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90831> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
BAN:<http://ballot-access.org/2017/02/01/u-s-district-court-orders-federal-election-commission-to-re-consider-whether-commission-on-presidential-debates-is-breaking-campaign-finance-law/>
On February 1, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan issued a 28-page opinion<http://ballot-access.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Memorandum-and-Opinion-2.1.17.pdf> in Level the Playing Field v Federal Election Commission, 1:15cv-1397, D.C. She ruled that the FEC clearly did not look at the evidence presented by the plaintiffs Peter Ackerman, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and Level the Playing Field. The evidence is voluminous and shows that the Commission on Presidential Debates, and particular commissioners, are not non-partisan when they act to keep all presidential candidates (except for the Democratic and Republican nominees) out of the general election debates.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal election commission<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

“Texas City Begs Court To Let It Hold Election Under System Found Unconstitutional”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90829>
Posted on February 1, 2017 5:28 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90829> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
HuffPo:<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pasadena-texas-voting-rights-act_us_58926888e4b0bf5206e61347?mdsi590gqxhbinewmi>
 A Texas city found to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pasadena-texas-voting-rights-act_us_58714e44e4b02b5f85891a0d> and the 14th Amendment last month might still be able to use the offending electoral system this coming May.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit heard arguments Wednesday over whether the city of Pasadena should be forced to revert to its old setup, last used in 2013, or whether it can use a newer system created by the Republican-led city council that turned two of the city’s eight districts into at-large seats.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90829&title=%E2%80%9CTexas%20City%20Begs%20Court%20To%20Let%20It%20Hold%20Election%20Under%20System%20Found%20Unconstitutional%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

Wisconsin Going to Spend Big Bucks for Outside Counsel to Defend at #SCOTUS Against Partisan Gerrymandering Claim<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90827>
Posted on February 1, 2017 5:22 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90827> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Patrick Marley.<http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/01/wisconsin-gop-hire-law-firms-defend-redistricting/97368806/?hootPostID=af7a79799845e43ba5d496fe4d4e2ebb>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90827&title=Wisconsin%20Going%20to%20Spend%20Big%20Bucks%20for%20Outside%20Counsel%20to%20Defend%20at%20%23SCOTUS%20Against%20Partisan%20Gerrymandering%20Claim>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

More Reason to Distrust Gregg Phillips: CNN: “Trump’s voter fraud source caught in contradictions about non-profit he claims to run”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90825>
Posted on February 1, 2017 2:40 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90825> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CNN’s K-Files:<http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/01/politics/kfile-gregg-phillips/index.html>
Gregg Phillips, the source for Donald Trump’s claim that 3 million fraudulent votes were cast, has made several misleading statements about the groups he runs, VotersTrust and American Solutions.
Phillips has publicly described VotersTrust as a non-profit, specifically a 501c4, a type of non-profit that does not have to disclose its donors. CNN’s KFile was unable to locate any public records listing VotersTrust as a nonprofit.
In a phone interview Sunday, Phillips initially denied to CNN’s KFile ever describing it as a nonprofit, though it is described that way on the VotersTrust website<http://web.archive.org/web/20130820224704/http:/www.voterstrust.com/> and Phillips described it that way as recently as December in a radio interview. “I have another non-profit that I run called The Voters Trust,” he said<http://pmshow.ktxw.net/?page=6> on the The Bob Phillips Show on KTXW.
When presented with evidence that he had described it as a nonprofit, Phillips replied, “Well, yeah, maybe, I misstated that.”
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

11th Circuit, in One-Sentence Ruling, Affirms Decision Holding GA Ballot Access Rules Violate Rights of Third Parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90823>
Posted on February 1, 2017 11:57 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90823> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AJC:<http://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/court-upholds-ruling-for-third-party-presidential-candidates/hKV5eClapgz7Tgj3k6OK6N/>
The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Wednesday upheld a ruling issued last year that found a portion of Georgia’s ballot access laws violated the U.S. Constitution.<http://www.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/ruling-eases-way-for-third-party-hopefuls-presidential-ballot/xtVfNHg0BaawLYHILiE0wL/>
The one-sentence ruling, by a unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, adopted the “well-reasoned opinion” issued last March by U.S. District Judge Richard Story in Atlanta. Story had significantly lowered the number of signatures required for third-party candidates to petition to get on Georgia’s presidential ballot — from tens of thousands to 7,500.
The 11th Circuit’s ruling was notable in that it was issued less than a week after it heard arguments on the case – an exceptionally quick turnaround for a ruling by the busy court that oversees cases out of Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90823&title=11th%20Circuit%2C%20in%20One-Sentence%20Ruling%2C%20Affirms%20Decision%20Holding%20GA%20Ballot%20Access%20Rules%20Violate%20Rights%20of%20Third%20Parties>
Posted in ballot access<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>

“A Short Amendment for Supreme Court Term Limits”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90821>
Posted on February 1, 2017 7:18 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90821> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Matthew Frank has posted this draft<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2906176> on SSRN.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90821&title=%E2%80%9CA%20Short%20Amendment%20for%20Supreme%20Court%20Term%20Limits%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

Senate Goes Mini-Nuclear, Suspending Quorum Rules to Push Through Trump Nominees, Making Senate More Like House<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90819>
Posted on February 1, 2017 7:14 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90819> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CNN:<http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/01/politics/republicans-vote-to-suspend-committee-rules-advance-mnuchin-price-nominations/index.html>
Senate Republicans took an extraordinary step Wednesday to move forward with two of President Donald Trump’s top Cabinet nominees after confronting a boycott from Democrats across the aisle.
Republican lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee — the panel that oversees the nomination of Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — gathered for the second day in a row with Democrats on the committee refusing to show up.
Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, pointing to the “extraordinary circumstances” of the meeting, allowed the Republicans on the committee to vote to suspend the rules of the committee. Hatch said the Senate Parliamentarian approved of the procedural maneuver.
Under the rules, it is required that at least one Democrat be present for the panel to vote to send a nominee to the Senate floor. On Tuesday, not a single Democrat showed up, putting the two nominations at a standstill.
With the committee rules suspended, the 14 Republicans in the room voted Wednesday morning to move the Mnuchin and Price nominations to the full Senate.
Let’s be clear: the Senate will mostly function like a majority institution if that’s what Republicans want, including on confirming Judge Gorsuc<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90808>h. But then they own everything. And will reap what they sow when they are in the minority.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90819&title=Senate%20Goes%20Mini-Nuclear%2C%20Suspending%20Quorum%20Rules%20to%20Push%20Through%20Trump%20Nominees%2C%20Making%20Senate%20More%20Like%20House>
Posted in legislation and legislatures<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=27>

“Who believes in voter fraud? Americans who are hostile to immigrants”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90817>
Posted on February 1, 2017 7:08 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90817> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Adriano Udani and David Kimball for The Monkey Cage<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/02/01/who-believes-in-voter-fraud-americans-who-are-hostile-to-immigrants/?utm_term=.2beecb983fb4>:
A large proportion of American voters who hold anti-immigrant attitudes also believe that voter fraud occurs frequently in U.S. elections. Similar to what we find in our 2014<http://www.umsl.edu/~kimballd/vfpaper.pdf> study, resenting immigrants is the strongest predictor of believing in rampant voter fraud, even after controlling for conventional political dispositions and socioeconomic characteristics.
Resentment toward immigrants isn’t the only factor associated with believing in voter fraud. Also in the constellation are support for Trump, distrust of government, resenting blacks, and partisanship. However, they are all weaker at predicting belief in voter fraud than resentment toward immigrants.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90817&title=%E2%80%9CWho%20believes%20in%20voter%20fraud%3F%20Americans%20who%20are%20hostile%20to%20immigrants%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Poll: If There Was Voter Fraud, Trump Benefited Most”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90815>
Posted on February 1, 2017 7:05 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90815> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Morning Consult:<https://morningconsult.com/2017/02/01/trump-benefited-voter-fraud-plurality-says/>
President Donald Trump has insisted, without evidence, that the 2016 election was rife with illegal voting that prevented him from winning the popular vote. But a new survey finds that among Americans who believe there was fraud, Trump is seen as the likely beneficiary of those votes.
A Morning Consult/POLITICO poll<http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/poll-donald-trump-voter-fraud-234458> conducted Jan. 26 through Jan. 28 found that 35 percent of voters viewed Trump as the presidential candidate who was helped by voter fraud. Three in 10 voters said they thought Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton most likely benefited from voter fraud, while 18 percent said no fraudulent ballots were cast and 17 percent had no opinion.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D90815&title=%E2%80%9CPoll%3A%20If%20There%20Was%20Voter%20Fraud%2C%20Trump%20Benefited%20Most%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

--
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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