[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/17/17

[Rick Hasen]

"In Rare Move, Judge Says Pasadena's Voting Rules are Racially Discriminatory"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90517>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:44 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90517> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I talked to Texas Standard.<http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/in-an-unusual-lawsuit-judge-says-pasadenas-voting-rules-are-racially-discriminatory/>
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Posted in Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


"Corporations Open the Cash Spigot for Trump's Inauguration"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90515>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:43 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90515> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/us/politics/trump-inauguration-donations-corporations.html?ref=politics>

When Donald J. Trump<http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/donald-trump?inline=nyt-per> strides onto the inaugural ballroom floor this week amid the sprawling celebration of his swearing-in, he will have corporate America and many of its titans to thank for the rapturous greeting.

Chevron, the oil giant, has given $500,000 for the dayslong festivities. Boeing, which has been a target of Mr. Trump<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/business/donald-trump-boeing-lockheed.html?_r=0>, pledged $1 million<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/12/08/boeing-pledges-1-million-donald-trumps-inaugural-events/95164604/>. And Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, giants of the gambling industry, are said to have donated<http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/06/politics/tom-barrack-donald-trump-inauguration/> more than that by themselves.

They are far from alone.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>


No SCOTUS Action on Texas Voter ID Cert Petition Today<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90513>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:28 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90513> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Stay tuned<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90480> (docket<https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docketfiles/16-393.htm>).
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


Does President-Elect Trump Have an Interest in Working for Free Voter IDs?<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90511>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:24 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90511> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

>From this NY Times story<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/us/politics/donald-trump-martin-luther-king-jr-son.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=Trending&version=Full&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article> on tensions between the president elect and African-Americans, and a meeting with Martin Luther King III:

Mr. King said the session, which included a discussion about voting rights, had been "constructive," and described Mr. Trump as eager to present himself as inclusive.

"He said that he is going to represent Americans - he's said that over and over again," Mr. King, the president of the Drum Major Institute, a progressive New York-based public policy organization, told reporters. "We will continue to evaluate that."

On Monday, Mr. King sought to defuse the furor surrounding Mr. Trump's remarks about Mr. Lewis, saying, "In the heat of emotion, a lot of things get said on both sides."

Mr. King has pressed for the creation of a free photographic government identification card to make it easier for Americans who do not have driver's licenses, including many black voters, to cast ballots, and he indicated on Monday that Mr. Trump had taken an interest in the plan.

"It is very clear that the system is not working at its maximum," Mr. King told reporters. "We believe we provided a solution."

But other leaders said Mr. Trump's relationship with African-Americans - tense bordering on toxic after a strident campaign that instilled fear, and a transition that has done little to allay their concerns - would not improve unless the president-elect altered both his tone and his policy positions.
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Posted in voter id<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


"A Pragmatic Approach to Challenging Felon Disenfranchisement Laws"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90509>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:21 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90509> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

New ACS Issue Brief<https://www.acslaw.org/A_Pragmatic_Approach?mgs1=bb84oBWef5> by Avner Shapiro.
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Posted in felon voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>


"Just when you thought the Trump ethics disaster couldn't get worse, it did"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90507>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:20 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90507> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Painter and Eisen WaPo oped.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/just-when-you-thought-the-trump-ethics-disaster-couldnt-get-worse-it-did/2017/01/16/001db550-dc04-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-f%3Ahomepage/story&utm_term=.34fbaa7108a0>
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, ethics investigations<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42>


"Trump's Cabinet pick invested in company, then introduced a bill to help it"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90505>
Posted on January 17, 2017 7:17 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90505> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Manu Raju <http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/16/politics/tom-price-bill-aiding-company/index.html> for CNN.
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, ethics investigations<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42>


Judge Imposes Preclearance on Pasadena, TX for 6+ Years, Putting Ball in Trump DOJ's Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90502>
Posted on January 16, 2017 1:19 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90502> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I reported back<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90352> on January 6 that a federal district court found that the City of Pasadena, TX intentionally discriminated against Latino voters in changing its city council districting plan. (For background, read Jim Rutenberg's excellent NYT magazine piece<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/magazine/block-the-vote.html?_r=0>, and for follow up, today's great Manny Fernandez piece<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/us/in-texas-a-test-of-whether-the-voting-rights-act-still-has-teeth.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront>.)

When the judge issued her ruling she left open the question of precisely how long and how extensive preclearance should be.  The judge has now issued this follow up order<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Pasadena-preclearance-6-years.pdf> (h/t Michael Huerta<https://twitter.com/MichaelHurta/status/821064410399653888>). Under Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act, once a court has found intentional discrimination in voting the Court may order the jurisdiction to submit changes to preclearance for up to 10 years (for just some changes or for all changes).  The plaintiffs wanted 10 years and the city wanted 4.  The judge chose a middle position, making sure that the period covered the next round of redistricting after the census in Pasadena (which makes a lot of sense given the violation). Here is the relevant part of the order:

Under 52 U.S.C. § 10302(c), the court retains jurisdiction until June 30, 2023. During this period, no voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting different from that in force or effect on December 1, 2013 may be enforced unless and until the court has found that the qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure does not have the purpose, and will not have the effect, of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color or in contravention of the voting guarantees set forth in 52 U.S.C. § 10303(f)(2). The qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure may be enforced only after the City of Pasadena has submitted it to the United States Attorney General for preclearance and the Attorney General has not objected within 60 days after the submission. Neither the court's finding nor the Attorney General's failure to object will bar a subsequent action to enjoin the implementation or enforcement of the qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure.

So this puts the ball in the hands of the voting division at the Justice Department for Trump's DOJ.  (The matters only go to the Court if the jurisdiction does not submit to DOJ: "A change to Pasadena's map or plan may be enforced without court review only if it has been submitted to the United States Attorney General and the Attorney General has not interposed an objection within 60 days ("preclearance"). You can bet the city will think it would have a better chance before Trump's DOJ than before this court that has found intentional discrimination.  Once approval comes from DOJ, that's it for preclearance. There's no appeal of that decision. So there would have to be a new challenge filed in court to the particular objectionable practice.

Lots of people will be watching how the Trump DOJ handles matters like this.
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Posted in Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


"In Texas, a Test of Whether the Voting Rights Act Still Has Teeth"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90500>
Posted on January 15, 2017 11:20 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=90500> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Must-read Manny Fernandez<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/us/in-texas-a-test-of-whether-the-voting-rights-act-still-has-teeth.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront> in the NYT on the voting rights case in Pasadena, Texas:

Within days of the Supreme Court striking down the heart of the Voting Rights Act <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/us/supreme-court-ruling.html> in June 2013, the mayor of this working-class industrial city set in motion a contentious change to the local election system that critics said was aimed at protecting white control of the City Council in the face of rapid growth in the city's Hispanic population.

It set off a furor, which was only inflamed when at a subsequent redistricting hearing, the mayor, Johnny Isbell, brought a gun. At another meeting, he ordered police officers to remove a council member for violating a three-minute speaking limit.

Asked by SCOTUSblog<http://www.scotusblog.com/media/after-shelby-county/> why he was pursuing the change, Mr. Isbell replied, "Because the Justice Department can no longer tell us what to do."

But just after the new year, a federal judge ordered the Justice Department to do precisely that - making Pasadena the first municipality in the country ordered by a court to submit, against its wishes, to federal approval of its electoral system since the Supreme Court's 2013 decision.
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Posted in 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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