[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/26/19

[Rick Hasen]

“Unlimited Donations to Candidates, Coming Soon? Former Solicitor General Paul Clement may get the Supreme Court closer to killing what’s left of campaign-finance limits.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106634>
Posted on July 26, 2019 6:17 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106634> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I have written this piece <https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/campaign-finance-supreme-court/594751/> for The Atlantic. It begins:

During the George W. Bush administration, then–Solicitor General Paul Clement successfully defended the constitutionality of the 2002 McCain-Feingold law, which tightened electioneering and fundraising regulations. Can Clement now get traction on a new case that could partially reverse that earlier victory and help lead to more big money in politics? It seems possible, if not likely, that he will get the Supreme Court closer to killing what’s left of campaign-finance limits….

And so it is somewhat of a mystery why the Court has not taken more campaign-finance cases as vehicles to free up more big money in politics. The Court turned down numerous challenges to the soft-money portion of McConnell, which still stands. It has repeatedly turned down an attempt to reverse a 2003 case, which held that corporations cannot contribute money directly to candidates. (Citizens United concerned only corporate spending independent of candidates.) And just this past term, the Court turned down a case from the Ninth Circuit upholding strict Montana contribution limits, and another from the Fifth Circuit, upholding low contribution limits in Austin, Texas. The latter case garnered a scathing dissenting opinion from Fifth Circuit Judge (and former Thomas clerk) James Ho, who said that if people don’t like too much money in politics, the solution was to shrink the size of government.

Perhaps the justices did not take these cases because they did not see them as ideal for overturning more precedent. Perhaps the Court is gun-shy about taking on more controversial issues that it could choose to avoid, when cases about guns, abortion, and LGBTQ rights wait in the wings.


Maybe Paul Clement can change that. He has just filed a petition <http://www.adfmedia.org/files/ThompsonCertPetition.pdf> on behalf of a conservative group, the Alliance Defending Freedom, asking the Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision upholding Alaska’s $500 contribution limits in candidate elections. The petition argues that the limits are too low under existing precedent, but Clement also drops a footnote suggesting that if existing precedent would allow such low limits, the Court should consider overturning such precedent. He hammers home the point, which Roberts reiterated in McCutcheon, that ingratiation and access are not a form of corruption.

Clement’s petition will be noticed at the Court, and not only because he argued the other side of these issues in the McConnell case, defending McCain-Feingold. A new study finds that repeat players have much greater success at the Supreme Court than novices, and Clement is one of the most talented lawyers I have ever seen argue a case. He argues without notes and has a casual, direct, conversational style with the justices. It is pretty remarkable.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106634&title=%E2%80%9CUnlimited%20Donations%20to%20Candidates%2C%20Coming%20Soon%3F%20Former%20Solicitor%20General%20Paul%20Clement%20may%20get%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20closer%20to%20killing%20what%E2%80%99s%20left%20of%20campaign-finance%20limits.%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


Senate Intelligence Committee Report: “Russia Targeted Elections Systems in All 50 States, Report Finds”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106632>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:41 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106632> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<http://%20https/www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/us/politics/russian-hack-of-elections-system-was-far-reaching-report-finds.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage>

The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded Thursday that election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016, an effort more far-reaching than previously acknowledged and one largely undetected by the states and federal officials at the time.

But while the bipartisan report’s warning that the United States remains vulnerable in the next election is clear, its findings were so heavily redacted at the insistence of American intelligence agencies that even some key recommendations for 2020 were blacked out.

The report — the first volume of several to be released from the committee’s investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference — came 24 hours after the former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III warned that Russia<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/us/politics/trump-mueller-testimony.html?module=inline> was moving again to interfere “as we sit here.”
While details of many of the hackings directed by Russian intelligence, particularly in Illinois and Arizona, are well known, the committee described “an unprecedented level of activity against state election infrastructure” intended largely to search for vulnerabilities in the security of the election systems.

A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. And a guiding hand through the endless news cycle, telling you what you really need to know.


[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106632&title=Senate%20Intelligence%20Committee%20Report%3A%20%E2%80%9CRussia%20Targeted%20Elections%20Systems%20in%20All%2050%20States%2C%20Report%20Finds%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, voting technology<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>


“Despite A History Of Discrimination, Feds Won’t Oversee Redrawing Of Texas Political Districts”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106629>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:35 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106629> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Listen<http://%20https/www.texasstandard.org/stories/despite-history-of-discrimination-feds-wont-oversee-redrawing-of-texas-political-districts/> to my interview with Texas Standard on the 3-judge court decision to deny bail-in of Texas under the Voting Rights Act section 3c.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106629&title=%E2%80%9CDespite%20A%20History%20Of%20Discrimination%2C%20Feds%20Won%E2%80%99t%20Oversee%20Redrawing%20Of%20Texas%20Political%20Districts%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Voting Rights Act<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


“Releasing Citizenship Data Threatens Representative Democracy”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106627>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:32 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106627> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Eliza Newlin Carney for TAP.<https://prospect.org/article/releasing-citizenship-data-threatens-representative-democracy>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106627&title=%E2%80%9CReleasing%20Citizenship%20Data%20Threatens%20Representative%20Democracy%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Threats To U.S. Elections Aren’t Going Away. What Have The 2020 Democrats Proposed?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106625>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:30 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106625> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NPR reports<http://%20%20https/www.npr.org/2019/07/25/744587413/threats-to-u-s-elections-arent-going-away-what-have-the-2020-democrats-proposed>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106625&title=%E2%80%9CThreats%20To%20U.S.%20Elections%20Aren%E2%80%99t%20Going%20Away.%20What%20Have%20The%202020%20Democrats%20Proposed%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“IVP Sues California Secretary of State For Disenfranchising More Than 5 Million Voters”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106623>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:26 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106623> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Release<https://independentvoterproject.org/updates/ivp-sues-california-secretary-of-state-for-disenfranchising-more-than-5-million-voters?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=e3a48ee960-IVN_Newsletter_072519&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_24d080cf45-e3a48ee960-78899945&mc_cid=e3a48ee960&mc_eid=2f25dd85eb>:

The Independent Voter Project (IVP), author of California’s nonpartisan statewide primary system, is one of 7 plaintiffs suing the California Secretary of State, claiming that the State is violating the state’s constitution by failing to conduct an open primary for Presidential elections.

The complaint alleges 6 distinct violations of state and federal voting rights laws.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106623&title=%E2%80%9CIVP%20Sues%20California%20Secretary%20of%20State%20For%20Disenfranchising%20More%20Than%205%20Million%20Voters%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Redrawing Maps the Right Way”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106621>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:19 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106621> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Frank Strigari, general counsel for the Ohio Senate, and Jeff Wice, an attorney for the New York Assembly have written Redrawing Maps the Right Way<http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/magazine/articles/2019/Toolbox_July-Aug2019.pdf>. It’s in NCSL’s magazine, State Legislature. A rare bipartisan piece.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106621&title=%E2%80%9CRedrawing%20Maps%20the%20Right%20Way%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


“Should Regulators Let Jett-Setting Tom Price Use Campaign Cash for Nonprofit Travel and Expenses?<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106619>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:16 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106619> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI reports.<https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/tom-price-fec-travel-nonprofit/>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106619&title=%E2%80%9CShould%20Regulators%20Let%20Jett-Setting%20Tom%20Price%20Use%20Campaign%20Cash%20for%20Nonprofit%20Travel%20and%20Expenses%3F>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law and election law<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>


“Election warnings blare, but action stalls in Congress”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106617>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:09 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106617> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports.<https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/election-security-divides-congress-after-muellers-testimony/>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106617&title=%E2%80%9CElection%20warnings%20blare%2C%20but%20action%20stalls%20in%20Congress%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Women, nonwhites wanted: California redistricting panel struggles for diversity”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106615>
Posted on July 25, 2019 10:08 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106615> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The SF Chronicle reports<https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Women-nonwhites-wanted-California-redistricting-14132140.php?utm_campaign=CMS&psid=ehL6B>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106615&title=%E2%80%9CWomen%2C%20nonwhites%20wanted%3A%20California%20redistricting%20panel%20struggles%20for%20diversity%E2%80%9D>
Posted in citizen commissions<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=7>, redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


2019 Supplement to Lowenstein, Hasen, Tokaji, and Stephanaopoulos, Election Law–Cases and Materials, Now Available for Free Download (Password Protected)<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106611>
Posted on July 25, 2019 9:57 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106611> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CAP<https://caplaw.com/el2019/>:

Election Law 2019 Supplement
Updated July 25, 2019.
The 2019 Supplement is up-to-date through the end of the Supreme Court’s October 2018 term ending June 2019. The new material includes a completely rewritten section on partisan gerrymandering, including an edited version of the Supreme Court’s June 2019 decision in Rucho v. Common Cause. It also includes coverage of cases and developments concerning the census, partisan gerrymandering, voter purges, voter identification laws, political apparel at the polling place, campaign finance, bribery, and Voting Rights Act challenges to redistricting.
This supplement is available for instructors and students who have adopted Election Law, Cases and Materials, Sixth Edition. Please contact us at remeier at cap-press.com<mailto:remeier at cap-press.com> if you have not yet received the username and password.
Click here to download the 2019 supplement PDF (password required)<https://caplaw.com/el2019/dl/el2019.pdf>

Instructors adopting the book may share the supplement with their students at no charge.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106611&title=2019%20Supplement%20to%20Lowenstein%2C%20Hasen%2C%20Tokaji%2C%20and%20Stephanaopoulos%2C%20Election%20Law%E2%80%93Cases%20and%20Materials%2C%20Now%20Available%20for%20Free%20Download%20(Password%20Protected)>
Posted in pedagogy<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=23>


“Requiem for a Lone Star Bail-in”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106609>
Posted on July 25, 2019 7:15 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=106609> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Travis Crum at Take Care<https://takecareblog.com/blog/requiem-for-a-lone-star-bail-in>:

In a surprise decision<https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/texas-3c-order.pdf>, the three-judge district court overseeing the Texas redistricting litigation unanimously held that the State of Texas should not be “bailed-in” under Section 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act for its unconstitutional conduct during the 2011 redistricting cycle. The district court’s refusal to impose preclearance means that the 2020 redistricting cycle will be the first time since the early 1970s that Texas will be free to draw statewide redistricting plans without federal supervision. Given Texas’s recent and pervasive history of racial discrimination in voting, that is a very worrisome development. The district court’s decision is thus a huge loss for minority voters and is particularly shocking given that Texas is a poster child for bail-in.

Read the whole thing.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D106609&title=%E2%80%9CRequiem%20for%20a%20Lone%20Star%20Bail-in%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Voting Rights Act<https://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/>
[signature_416045886]


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20190726/c05c7f93/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2021 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20190726/c05c7f93/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 92163 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20190726/c05c7f93/attachment-0001.png>