[EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/12/18

Mon Mar 12 09:52:51 PDT 2018

Free Access the Preface to My New Book: The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98114>
Posted on March 12, 2018 9:49 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98114> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

My Yale University Press book<https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300228649/justice-contradictions> is officially out next week (available to buy now at Amazon<https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Contradictions-Antonin-Politics-Disruption/dp/0300228643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516904231&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+l.+hasen>, on Audible audiobook<https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Contradictions-Antonin-Politics-Disruption/dp/B0797LZWZH/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1516904231&sr=8-1>, and for Kindle<https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Contradictions-Antonin-Politics-Disruption-ebook/dp/B07B51C83D/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1516904231&sr=8-1>)  , but you can now freely download the five-page preface<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3137220> at SSRN.

Here is how it opens:

[http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2018-03-12-at-9.48.42-AM.png]<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2018-03-12-at-9.48.42-AM.png>
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Posted in Scalia<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=123>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“Claims Of Leading Voter Fraud Alarmist Picked Apart In Kansas Trial”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98112>
Posted on March 12, 2018 9:36 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98112> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TPM:<https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/von-spakovsky-testimony-aclu-picked-apart>

A prominent voter fraud alarmist who had prepared a report defending Kansas’ proof-of-citizenship law admitted in testimony Friday that he did not investigate the circumstances surrounding the registrations of a handful of non-citizens that were central to his allegations.

The witness, Hans von Spakovsky, relied on a spreadsheet provided to him by the state. The spreadsheet showed that in Kansas’ second most populous county, there were only 38 alleged cases of non-citizens registering or attempting to register to vote in the last two decades. That spreadsheet, which also showed that only five of those non-citizens cast votes, had already come under extreme scrutiny earlier in the trial.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“An Ohio congressional map that makes sense – un-gerrymandered”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98110>
Posted on March 12, 2018 9:26 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98110> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Cleveland.com with maps.<http://www.cleveland.com/expo/erry-2018/03/794937fb8f/an_ohio_congressional_map_that.html>
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“Count all the people, just as the Constitution says”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98108>
Posted on March 12, 2018 9:24 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98108> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

David Gans oped:<https://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/Count-all-the-people-just-as-the-Constitution-12742298.php?utm_campaign=twitter-desktop&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social>

Under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has repeatedly turned its back on our Constitution’s promise of an inclusive democracy, seeking<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/08/jeff_sessions_doj_just_gave_states_the_green_light_to_purge_voter_rolls.html> to make it harder for citizens to exercise their right to vote. Now, the department has another trick up its sleeve. If successful, its ploy would undermine the fabric of our representative democracy for the next 10 years, and possibly beyond.

The Justice Department has requested that a mandatory citizenship question be added to the 2020 census. This would chill participation by immigrants across the country and result in bad data, biasing congressional apportionment, redistricting and funding decisions for an entire decade.

The Constitution imposes a clear duty on the Census Bureau: It requires a count of all people living in the United States, whether they are citizens or noncitizens, whether they were born in the United States or in a distant part of the world.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“A super PAC has raised millions to mobilize black voters. Does it matter that its funders are white?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98106>
Posted on March 12, 2018 9:19 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98106> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Very interesting CPI report.<https://www.publicintegrity.org/2018/03/12/21558/super-pac-has-raised-millions-mobilize-black-voters-does-it-matter-its-funders-are>
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

“The Consequences of Citizens United: What Do the Lawyers Say?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98104>
Posted on March 12, 2018 9:11 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98104> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ann Southworth has posted this fascinating draft<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3137211> on SSRN (forthcoming, Chicago-Kent Law Review). Here is the abstract:

Drawing on confidential interviews with thirty-one lawyers who participated in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission as counsel for parties and amici, this essay explores what the lawyers say about how the decision has affected the political process. It shows that lawyers on opposing sides of the case generally agree about the direct consequences of the decision but strongly disagree about its broader repercussions and what lessons the public should draw. Their competing perspectives show not only differences in how the lawyers deploy language and frames to advance their clients’ positions but also a deep divide in their worldviews, reflecting the contrasting perspectives of the polarized elites of which the lawyers are a part.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“Trump wants new authority over polling places. Top election officials say no”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98102>
Posted on March 11, 2018 1:33 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98102> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Boston Globe:<https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2018/03/09/top-elections-officials-raise-alarm-over-allowing-trump-new-authority-over-polling-places/qvdmfTe7N7AFZXl0k4CwEO/story.html>

President Trump would be able to dispatch Secret Service agents to polling places nationwide during a federal election, a vast expansion of executive authority, if a provision in a Homeland Security reauthorization bill remains intact.

The rider has prompted outrage from more than a dozen top elections officials around the country, including Secretary of State William F. Galvin of Massachusetts, a Democrat, who says he is worried that it could be used to intimidate voters and said there is “no basis” for providing Trump with this new authority….

“There is no discernible need for federal secret service agents to intrude, at the direction of the president, who may also be a candidate in that election, into thousands of citadels where democracy is enshrined,” according to a letter opposing the provision that was signed by 19 bipartisan secretaries of state and elections commissioners.

The letter — sent to the Senate’s majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and its minority leader, Charles Schumer, on Friday afternoon —requests that the Senate keep the Secret Service provision from the final legislation. The elections officials described the proposal as “unprecedented and shocking.”

“This is an alarming proposal which raises the possibility that armed federal agents will be patrolling neighborhood precincts and vote centers,” according to the letter, which was obtained by the Globe.

This is a very good article, but it contains a misleading paragraph:

Trump has also said that illegal ballots cast in other parts of the country cost him the popular vote, which he lost by nearly 3 million ballots. There has also been no evidence that nearly so many votes were cast improperly.

“Nearly so many?”  How about “There has been no evidence that more than a handful of votes were cast improperly.”?
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Vote. That’s Just What They Don’t Want You to Do.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98100>
Posted on March 11, 2018 12:52 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98100> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Powerful NYT editorial.<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/opinion/sunday/go-vote.html>
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“No Republican candidates on the Utah ballot this year? It’s a possibility after planned fix falters.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98098>
Posted on March 11, 2018 11:52 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98098> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Salt Lake Tribune reports.<https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/03/09/no-republican-candidates-on-the-utah-ballot-this-year-its-a-possibility-after-planned-fix-falters/>
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Posted in political parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, primaries<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>

“Democrats take first step toward curtailing superdelegates”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98096>
Posted on March 10, 2018 7:05 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98096> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-take-first-step-toward-curtailing-superdelegates/2018/03/10/1ba4eeb6-23f6-11e8-badd-7c9f29a55815_story.html?utm_term=.ed726b8c5def>

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Posted in political parties<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, primaries<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>

“What is Your View on Who Should Vote?” Fascinating Survey from @axios/survey monkey<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98092>
Posted on March 10, 2018 10:48 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98092> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

 Via Mike Allen.<https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-am-95a6013f-3e1a-46b2-a973-ac81aae5ce31.html?chunk=2&utm_term=twsocialshare#story2>

Mike, Rep. Terri Sewell, and I had a great panel at SXSW.  When the video posts, I’ll post a link.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Hans von Spakovsky admits he can’t name an election that turned on noncitizen ballots in a trial over proof-of-citizenship law.”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98090>
Posted on March 10, 2018 6:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98090> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

That’s the subhead of this Sam Levine piece<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aclu-hans-von-spakovsky_us_5aa33fe0e4b01b9b0a3b7c9b> on Dale Ho’s examination of von Spakovksy yesterday.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

Joaquin Avila, R.I.P.<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98088>
Posted on March 10, 2018 5:59 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=98088> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I am very sad to report that Joaquin Avila, one of the country’s leading voting rights attorneys<http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/meet-voting-rights-champ-and-genius-joaquin-avila/article_b9c30bee-4854-11e5-b03b-77584fe8beb7.html> and activists, has died.  Avila, a MacArthur genius award winner<https://www.macfound.org/fellows/528/>, was known as the father of the California Voting Rights Act.

In coming days, I hope to post some remembrances from those in the election law community who worked with him.

May his family and friends find comfort in one another at this difficult time.
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Posted in election law biz<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>

--
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>
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http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
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