[EL] ELB News & Commentary 10/6/17

[Justin Levitt]

    Kris Kobach’s effort to amend the NVRA
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95293>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:46 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95293>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Inthis post <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95226>, I mentioned that we 
now had a (redacted) look at the“first 365 days” agenda 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Kobach-agenda-1.pdf>Kris 
Kobach was photographed holding after his meeting with President-Elect 
Trump back in November.  A number of outlets have picked up on Kobach’s 
recommendation to amend the NVRA to allow states to require specific 
documentary proof of citizenship, as Kansas tried to do. (Here 
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Kobach-agenda-2.pdf>are 
the proposed amendments themselves).  Coveragehere 
<http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article177413031.html>,here 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-kobach/u-s-voting-commission-vice-chair-urged-new-voting-restrictions-idUSKBN1CB2G3>,here 
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kris-kobach-nvra_us_598dcd41e4b08a247273eb29>,here 
<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/10/trumps-election-policy-deputy-sought-a-radical-change-to-a-key-voting-law/>,here 
<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/hardline-voting-plan-landed-trump-s-desk-last-year-now-n808371>,here 
<https://thinkprogress.org/unsealed-documents-kobach-strategy-128dcbeeff7a/>.

And the ACLU, which litigated the partial disclosure of the document in 
the context of broader litigation over Kobach’s compliance with the 
NVRA,adds some extra context 
<https://twitter.com/dale_e_ho/status/916387314309443584>.

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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>,NVRA (motor 
voter) <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>


    Into the Weeds of the IRS Screening of Nonprofits
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95291>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:45 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95291>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Barnaby Zallhere 
<https://publicpolicylegal.com/2017/10/06/new-tigta-report-on-inappropriate-criteria-for-evaluating-exemption-applications/>, 
with more details on thelatest TIGTA report on IRS nonprofit screening 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95263>.  If you don’t know the difference 
between BOLOs and TAGs from the world of IRS enforcement in the area of 
tax-exempt entities, and why you might care, it’s an interesting primer.

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Posted intax law and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>


    North Carolina says it has the “strictest anti-gerrymandering”
    standards in America. <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95289>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:45 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95289>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Politifactsays otherwise 
<http://www.politifact.com/north-carolina/statements/2017/oct/05/phil-berger/berger-says-nc-has-strictest-anti-gerrymandering-s/>.

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Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


    Redistricting and campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95287>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:44 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95287>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Eliza Newlin Carney goes deep 
<http://prospect.org/article/redistricting-fuels-big-money-arms-race>on 
the funding of redistricting fights.

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Posted incampaign finance 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,redistricting 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


    “Trump supporters eager to ‘drain the swamp’ help fill Republican
    Party coffers” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95285>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:44 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95285>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Matea Goldreports in the WaPo 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-supporters-eager-to-drain-the-swamp-help-fill-gop-coffers/2017/10/05/ec214f22-a53d-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html?utm_term=.ce8210c59f06>on 
a wave of small-dollar contributions to the RNC.

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Posted incampaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>


    Further parsing the Gill oral argument
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95283>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:44 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95283>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Mike Parsons 
<https://moderndemocracyblog.com/2017/10/06/the-value-of-gerrymandering/>on 
an exchange prompted by Justice Sotomayor.

Rick Esenberg 
<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/on-redistricting-and-gill-v-whitford-the-best-course-of-action-for-the-courts-is-no-action-at-all/article/2636691>says 
the court should just stay out entirely.

CNN 
<http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/06/politics/supreme-court-tv-cameras-transparency/index.html>talks 
about the cameras that weren’t inside.

And Eric McGhee, who claims the much-discussed “efficiency gap” as his 
own,blogs about the argument 
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/10/06/the-supreme-court-discussed-my-research-on-gerrymandering-there-were-some-misconceptions/?utm_term=.78222de435f4>with 
the driest of dry headlines:

    The Supreme Court discussed my research on gerrymandering. There
    were some misconceptions.

UPDATE:  Here’s theaudio of the argument 
<https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2017/16-1161>, for 
those that want to hear for themselves.

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Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


    “Politicians should get over their allergy to academia”
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95281>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:43 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95281>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Thisop-ed about politicians 
<https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/10/06/politicians-should-get-over-their-allergy-to-academia.html>actually 
takes off from Chief Justice Roberts’ “gobbledygook” quote in/Gill/.  I 
also had astrong reaction 
<https://twitter.com/_justinlevitt_/status/915363083291258881>to the 
“fake folksiness.”  (It’s immune to Benadryl.)

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Posted inredistricting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


    “Trump-Tied Florida Lobbying Firm Made $5.2 Million Windfall Since
    the Election” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95278>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 3:41 pm 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95278>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

 From theMiami New Times 
<http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida-trump-lobbying-firm-ballard-made-52-million-since-the-election-9725938>.

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Posted inlobbying <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>


    Trouble finding vendor to build Travis County voting system
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95273>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 10:41 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95273>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

There have been a few efforts to supplement the existing voting system 
market with new systems, built more-or-less ground-up by counties with a 
blue-sky approach.  The counties start with a list of attributes and 
functions rather than grafting new features to an existing product: if 
we could build a voting system from scratch, what would it look like?

These are crucially important efforts at innovation.  Even better, the 
work to build a system anew tends to be as innovative in process and 
approach and design as it is in outcome.  I’ve been involved with a 
version ofone of these efforts in Los Angeles <http://vsap.lavote.net/>, 
and it’s been a revelation.

FromelectionLine this week 
<http://electionline.org/index.php/electionline-weekly>comes an 
unfortunate report from Travis County, TX, which had another one of 
these exceptional efforts: it looks like they’ve been unable to find a 
vendor or package of vendors to fulfill the RFP.  Still, the Travis 
County leadership deserves heaping helpings of praise for the effort, 
undertaking as much work as they did to try to make it happen, and 
leaving themselves enough time and space to do it right.  I share the 
hopes of Dana DeBeauvoir, county clerk in Travis:

    While disappointed that the county was not able to move forward with
    STAR Vote, DeBeauvoir is optimistic that someone will create such a
    system.

    “I hope it will be picked up in the future by a non-profit or
    another county,” DeBeauvoir said. “The 2016 election was a watershed
    that should cause new developments in voter verified paper trails
    and new security programming for future voting systems. Voting
    system manufacturers will have to listen and respond to these latest
    demands.”

(h/tDoug Chapin 
<http://editions.lib.umn.edu/electionacademy/2017/10/06/stars-not-aligned-electionlineweekly-on-travis-countys-unsuccessful-voting-system-rfp/>)

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Posted invoting technology <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>


    MPSA Conference Proposals Due Today
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95271>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 10:23 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95271>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Conference proposals — papers, roundtables, panels —due today 
<http://www.mpsanet.org/>for the 2018 MPSA conference.

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


    Facebook and Russia <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95267>

Posted onOctober 6, 2017 12:26 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95267>byJustin Levitt 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

WSJ 
<https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-cut-russia-out-of-april-report-on-election-influence-1507253503>:

    Facebook Inc. cut references to Russia from a public report in April
    about manipulation of its platform around the presidential election
    because of concerns among the company’s lawyers and members of its
    policy team, according to people familiar with the matter.

I wonder whether this will come up at theNov. 1 House Intelligence 
Committee hearing 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-socialmedia/social-media-executives-to-testify-nov-1-about-russia-and-u-s-election-idUSKBN1CA2VC>.

UPDATE:More from Recode 
<https://www.recode.net/2017/10/6/16438164/house-senate-investigation-facebook-russia-ads-2016-election>about 
what Facebook has disclosed to investigators and what they have not.

FURTHER UPDATE: Afascinating CNN story 
<http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/05/politics/heart-of-texas-russia-event/index.html>about 
a Houston protest sponsored by “Heart of Texas,” a group organizing the 
Houston rally via a Facebook page originating in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Posted inchicanery <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

-- 
Justin Levitt
Professor of Law
Associate Dean for Research
Loyola Law School | Los Angeles
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA  90015
213-736-7417
ssrn.com/author=698321
@_justinlevitt_

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