[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/19/18

Wed Jul 18 21:54:14 PDT 2018

“House GOP refuses to renew election security funding as Democrats fume over Russian interference”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100171>
Posted on July 18, 2018 9:50 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100171> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/house-gop-refuses-to-renew-election-security-funding-as-democrats-fume-over-russian-meddling/2018/07/18/20761f88-8abb-11e8-8aea-86e88ae760d8_story.html?utm_term=.0b292fee9a1d>

House Republicans plan to vote Thursday on a spending bill that excludes new money for election security grants to states, provoking a furious reaction from Democrats amid a national controversy over Russian election interference.

At issue is a grants program overseen by the federal Election Assistance Commission and aimed at helping states administer their elections and improve voting systems; Democrats want to continue grant funding through 2019, while Republicans say the program already has been fully funded.

Republicans argued strenuously in floor debate Wednesday that states had plenty of money from prior congressional allocations to spend on election improvements. But Democrats accused the Republicans of abetting President Trump in his refusal to take a hard line against Russian President Vladimir Putin at this week’s summit in Helsinki.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Tribal leaders tell Senate voting barriers are persistent, systemic”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100169>
Posted on July 18, 2018 9:46 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100169> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Cronkite News reports.<https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2018/07/17/tribal-leaders-tell-senate-voting-barriers-are-persistent-systemic/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

California Supreme Court Unanimously and Unsurprisingly Removes Measure to Split CA into 3 States from the Ballot, At Least For Now<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100167>
Posted on July 18, 2018 4:21 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100167> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This unanimous order<http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/dockets.cfm?dist=0&doc_id=2256486&doc_no=S249859&request_token=NiIwLSIkXkw4WyAtSSFdSE5JQFA0UDxTJyBOJz9RICAgCg%3D%3D> is unsurprising and welcome (given the analysis I put forward in this LA Times oped<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hasen-split-california-proposition-legal-problems-20180625-story.html>):

Time constraints require the court to decide immediately whether to permit Proposition 9 to be placed on the November 6, 2018, ballot pending final resolution of this matter. Although our past decisions establish that it is usually more appropriate to review challenges to ballot propositions or initiative measures after an election (Costa v. Superior Court (2006) 37 Cal.4th 986, 1005), we have also made clear that in some instances, when a substantial question has been raised regarding the proposition’s validity and the “hardships from permitting an invalid measure to remain on the ballot” outweigh the harm potentially posed by “delaying a proposition to a future election, ” it may be appropriate to review a proposed measure before it is placed on the ballot. (Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. Padilla (2016) 62 Cal.4th 486, 494; see also id., at pp. 496-497; accord, American Federation of Labor v. Eu (1984) 36 Cal.3d 687, 697.) Because significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition’s validity, and because we conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election, respondent Alex Padilla, as Secretary of State of the State of California, is directed to refrain from placing Proposition 9 on the November 6, 2018, ballot. Both respondent Padilla and real party in interest Timothy Draper are ordered to show cause before this court, when the above matter is called on calendar, why the relief sought by petitioner, Planning and Conservation League, should not be granted. The returns of respondent and real party in interest are to be served and filed on or before Monday, August 20, 2018. Petitioner is ordered to serve and file its reply within 30 days of the timely-filed returns. Votes: Cantil-Sakauye, C.J., Chin, Corrigan, Liu, Cuéllar and Kruger, JJ.

I expect this measure will never be placed before California voters.  It is inconceivable to me that anyone could reasonably read the California Constitution to permit the state of California to be broken into three different states through the passage of a simple statute passed by a bare majority of California voters.
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Posted in direct democracy<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=62>

“Federal voter fraud commission documents finally headed to Maine secretary of state”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100165>
Posted on July 18, 2018 1:06 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100165> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Popcorn time coming:<https://www.pressherald.com/2018/07/18/federal-voter-fraud-commission-documents-finally-headed-to-maine-secretary-of-state-dunlap/>

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap was notified Wednesday that he will receive, within 24 hours, documents related to a presidential commission on voting integrity he served on last year.

Dunlap, one of 11 members appointed by the Trump administration, sued the commission last year after he was excluded from information, including state voting data….

“The attorneys will be reviewing the material and Secretary Dunlap plans to publicly release what we can when that process is complete, making sure not to share any personally identifying information or proprietary information contained therein,” she said in a statement. “We will have a web-based platform on which we plan to make the materials available to the public and will issue a press release when we are ready to do so.”

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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“The Increasingly United States: How and Why American Political Behavior Nationalized”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100163>
Posted on July 18, 2018 12:26 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100163> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I just got a copy of what looks to be a very interesting new book<http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo27596045.html> by Daniel J. Hopkins:

In a campaign for state or local office these days, you’re as likely today to hear accusations that an opponent advanced Obamacare or supported Donald Trump as you are to hear about issues affecting the state or local community. This is because American political behavior has become substantially more nationalized. American voters are far more engaged with and knowledgeable about what’s happening in Washington, DC, than in similar messages whether they are in the South, the Northeast, or the Midwest. Gone are the days when all politics was local.

With The Increasingly United States, Daniel J. Hopkins explores this trend and its implications for the American political system. The change is significant in part because it works against a key rationale of America’s federalist system, which was built on the assumption that citizens would be more strongly attached to their states and localities. It also has profound implications for how voters are represented. If voters are well informed about state politics, for example, the governor has an incentive to deliver what voters—or at least a pivotal segment of them—want. But if voters are likely to back the same party in gubernatorial as in presidential elections irrespective of the governor’s actions in office, governors may instead come to see their ambitions as tethered more closely to their status in the national party.
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Posted in political polarization<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=68>

“States slow to prepare for hacking threats”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100161>
Posted on July 18, 2018 11:54 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100161> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico reports.<https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/18/hackers-states-elections-upgrades-729054>
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Foes, fans take redistricting fight to Michigan Supreme Court”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100159>
Posted on July 18, 2018 10:43 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=100159> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Detroit News reports on oral arguments. <https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/07/18/michigan-supreme-court-redistricting-arguments/793022002/>

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

--
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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