[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/3/19

Thu May 2 21:19:29 PDT 2019

Off the Grid Through Monday; Dan Tokaji Guest Blogging Sunday and Monday<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104991>
Posted on May 2, 2019 9:10 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104991> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Direct your #ELB pitches to Dan<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/professor/daniel-p-tokaji/>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Florida: “Legislators make a deal on Amendment 4. Felons must pay but judges can waive costs.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104989>
Posted on May 2, 2019 9:04 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104989> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Miami Herald<https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article229969709.html>:

Florida lawmakers say they’ve settled on a way to implement Amendment 4 that requires felons to pay all court fees, fines and restitution before voting, but allows judges to waive those costs or convert them into community service hours.

The agreement between the House and Senate, reached Thursday night and near the end of Florida’s legislative session, provides an unclear path for felons with financial obligations to vote.

But the bill could prevent tens of thousands of felons — or more — from voting while creating an unequal system across the state for restoring their voting rights.

The deal will go to a vote on Friday, the last full day of the legislative session….

But the idea was criticized by former Miami-Dade circuit court judge Stanford Blake, who called the Legislature’s attempts to implement Amendment 4 a “fiasco.”

Should the state give judges broader discretion to alter sentences, Blake wondered if that might put a strain on the courts.

“If you have potentially 1.5 million people [seeking changes to their sentence], is that going to create such a backlog that each court would have to designate a judge to hear all the applications for a waiver?” Blake said. “And is that really the intent of Amendment 4 being carried?”

In November, nearly 65 percent of voters approved Amendment 4, which was supposed to restore the right to vote to more than a million felons.

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Posted in felon voting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>

“Are states equipped to tackle partisan gerrymandering on their own?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104986>
Posted on May 2, 2019 8:52 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104986> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Steve Mazie<https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2019/05/02/are-states-equipped-to-tackle-partisan-gerrymandering-on-their-own> for the Economist.

Yet the difficulty of replicating Michigan’s transition in most other states is a hard reality. And the Wolverine state’s success is allowing some justices to believe that the courts can sit back and let democracy take its course. Ms Fahy bristles when she hears this. But she and activists in other states with independent commissions may have more disappointments ahead. In 2015, a redistricting commission in Arizona barely survived a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court. The decision was written<https://www.economist.com/united-states/2015/07/02/one-for-the-people> by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and clinched by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who left the bench last summer. Chief Justice John Roberts’s dissent accused the majority of “deliberate constitutional evasion”: Article I empowers only state legislatures to draw electoral lines, he wrote. With a more conservative Justice Kavanaugh now in Justice Kennedy’s seat, and the pointed dissenter in the Arizona case now the swing justice, independent commissions—and America’s electoral democracy—remain vulnerable.
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Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“Why wasn’t Donald Trump Jr. indicted? Look to Mueller’s ‘exercise of caution’”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104984>
Posted on May 2, 2019 8:45 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104984> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bob Egelko<https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Why-wasn-t-Donald-Trump-Jr-indicted-Look-to-13814184.php?psid=1BDZa> for the SF Chronicle.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Democratic Candidates Are Preparing For A Contested Convention — By Courting Superdelegates”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104982>
Posted on May 2, 2019 8:43 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104982> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

BuzzFeed reports<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/superdelegates-2020-convention-democrats>.
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Posted in political parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>

“In long-winding case, court considers federal oversight of Texas redistricting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104980>
Posted on May 2, 2019 6:55 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104980> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Alexa Ura<https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/02/texas-redistricting-federal-lawsuit-hearing-preclearance/> for the Texas Tribune:

Back in the federal courthouse where most of an eight year-long case has played out, the fight over forcing Texas back under federal oversight of its mapmaking appeared to hinge on whether the state should be held accountable for political maps that never took effect.

The arguments for a return to the days when Texas needed approval of its political districts diverged significantly during a Thursday court hearing before a panel of three federal judges. The state and the plaintiffs — voters of color, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers — each appeared to have a judge on their side. One judge was skeptical of any sort of supervision for state lawmakers, while another judge openly considered why Texas should be allowed to redraw its maps without any sort of guardianship given its recent discrimination against voters of color.

But the high-stakes fight — and ultimately the ruling from the three-judge panel overseeing the case — may very well rest on Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, who made few remarks during the hearing but summed up the issue in one question.

“Is it actual injury or threatened harm that controls the issue?” Garcia asked.

See also Michael Li’s thread<https://twitter.com/mcpli/status/1124019030933872641>:
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/757344014/mail_bigger.jpeg]<https://twitter.com/mcpli>
<https://twitter.com/mcpli>
Michael Li 李之樸<https://twitter.com/mcpli>
✔@mcpli<https://twitter.com/mcpli>

<https://twitter.com/mcpli/status/1124019030933872641>

The Texas bail-in hearing is underway - but first the court will take up the redrawn HD 90 (which the state and plaintiffs have agreed on). #txlege<https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash> #fairmaps<https://twitter.com/hashtag/fairmaps?src=hash> 1/
<https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1124019030933872641>
13<https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1124019030933872641>
11:33 AM - May 2, 2019<https://twitter.com/mcpli/status/1124019030933872641>
Twitter Ads info and privacy<https://support.twitter.com/articles/20175256>
<https://twitter.com/mcpli>
See Michael Li 李之樸's other Tweets<https://twitter.com/mcpli>

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Posted in Voting Rights Act<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

Lawsuit Filed Against New Strict Tennessee Voter Registration Restrictions<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104978>
Posted on May 2, 2019 6:52 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104978> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Release via email:

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP, pro bono firm Hogan Lovells US LLP, Memphis-based firm Burch, Porter, & Johnson PLLC, Bromberg Law LLC, and community practitioner Daniel Ayoade Yoon filed suit today challenging Tennessee’s new third-party registration law. The complaint alleges<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=G62jSYfZdO-2F12d8lSllQB-2FhkIDvr3xVW5f7tp8mMZjTj-2FXFiXMgzhrUr-2FOkNU5KH1svj1bErO6sS8Mc38iqm-2FJPmMk7ept0pSCSp4qrSwul8BGjGurhX-2Ft1mhpBwINzgn0JLDFSkO7oX4k406ei3vA-3D-3D_MxsnV1nFJ0N6iaI6ROK3eERHn3LdCNHdSOXIWZIS7emdCL7qgLxomjj8kUTWmnLqivtU1uvjyHhIRItNuGWmup2Cp35qHyMV2OBNrjDwdt6CyL4i8tF1ShKmBOg9HbzFyy-2FeKpbTtTsFBF1TLtBaHjvPcYT9ma8HSfZEkwAknR7OQYWg2t0iHlKNRur2pjQK1l-2F-2F0n51H-2B84HS6Z0XejeDEgW4FV76o9I8fjr8sgeNijDlK4yzXomcHuOeHjjlLe9IMoWV2fC9nXy1KM7i0EhNvv2V1KmCQ8D-2FlEL6Rq0LCPDD-2F5K5h0tfJDdgv0lDNILsagwgE9K9FAxHwJdCZgy4OdlKaFKaYtq3dd6A6tgvg-3D> that the law, which imposes burdensome requirements on persons and organizations who seek to help people register to vote, violates fundamental rights of free speech, free association, the right to vote, and due process. The suit was filed on behalf of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, Democracy Nashville-Democratic Communities, The Equity Alliance, and The Andrew Goodman Foundation, all of whom engage in voter registration activities.
The law, signed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee today, introduces a whole host of restrictions on third-party voter registration groups. It requires them to comply with preregistration, training, and affirmation requirements or face draconian criminal and civil penalties ranging in the tens of thousands of dollars. The statute stiffly penalizes groups for actions of voters who do not satisfy a vaguely-defined requirement that registration forms be “complete.” The statute also criminalizes “any public communication” made by a third-party group to a voter about the voter’s registration status if it is not accompanied by a disclosure that the communication was not authorized by the Secretary of State.
“Tennessee’s law is one of the most restrictive voter suppression measures that we have seen this year. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to discourage and deter people from helping others to register to vote,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “There is no basis for the law’s draconian provisions that will chill basic First Amendment rights. We will use every tool in our arsenal to fight a law that would undermine the work of voter registration organizations and advocates across the state. Tennessee has one of the lowest voter registration rates of any state in the country — lawmakers should be working to address this and instead have chosen to exacerbate the crisis.”
“While voter participation in Tennessee continues to rank among the lowest in the nation, the state of Tennessee has today taken unprecedented steps to make it more difficult – and risky – for individuals and groups to assist Tennesseans in registering to vote. Aside from having its priorities badly misplaced, the state’s actions conflict with some of our nation’s most fundamental ideals and, we believe, violate the U.S. Constitution. The NAACP is committed to having this badly flawed legislation overturned by the courts,” said Bradford Berry, general counsel of the NAACP.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter registration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=37>

Tennessee: “Did House Speaker’s office attempt to frame activist? DA asks for special prosecutor to investigate”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104976>
Posted on May 2, 2019 1:07 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104976> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WTVF<https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/did-house-speakers-office-attempt-to-frame-activist-da-asks-for-special-prosecutor-to-investigate>:

Did Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada’s office try to frame a young activist who had challenged Republican lawmakers during this year’s legislative session?

An exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has uncovered new evidence – including racist text messages – that raise questions about the Speaker’s $200,000-a-year chief of staff, Cade Cothren.

Now, Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk has requested a special prosecutor to take a hard look at the case.

“This was an extreme form of retaliation where you are willing to lie to take away somebody’s freedom,” said Justin Jones, the student activist who was targeted by the Speaker’s office.

This year, Casada repeatedly found himself at the center of protests — protests over voting rights issues, as well as the legislature’s refusal to remove the bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol.

One of the main thorns in the Speaker’s side has been Jones, a Vanderbilt divinity student and civil rights activist.
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Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

Today’s Must-Listen from Pam Fessler: “Trips To Vegas And Chocolate-Covered Pretzels: Election Vendors Come Under Scrutiny”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104973>
Posted on May 2, 2019 8:02 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104973> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NPR Morning Edition.<https://www.npr.org/2019/05/02/718270183/trips-to-vegas-and-chocolate-covered-pretzels-election-vendors-come-under-scruti?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=politics&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190502>
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Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, voting technology<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>

“FEC Dysfunction Now Threatens Democracy”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104971>
Posted on May 2, 2019 7:56 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=104971> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TAP<https://prospect.org/article/fec-dysfunction-now-threatens-democracy>:

Of all the Federal Election Commission’s many chronic breakdowns in recent years, its failure to take the slightest action to either stave off or respond to Russian meddling in the 2016 election is the most damaging to American democracy.

The FEC repeatedly considered but never approved<https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_04_FECV_Final.pdf> straightforward new rules to require internet advertisers to better identify themselves, a move that could have helped deter Russian disinformation on social media. And now that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has concluded that the Russian government interfered in the election “in sweeping and systematic fashion,”<https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf> the FEC remains missing in action.

That the FEC is precisely the gridlocked and ineffectual agency that Congress intended it to be is nothing new. What’s new is that the FEC’s well-documented partisan stalemates have become so routine, and its staff so hollowed-out and demoralized, that the commission has moved from dysfunctional to essentially inoperative. Two new reports, from Issue One<https://www.issueone.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FEC-REPORT-2019.pdf> and the Brennan Center for Justice<https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_04_FECV_Final.pdf> at New York University, portray an agency in shambles, no longer able to function at even the most basic level.

Also new is the nature of the threat facing American elections. Even as President Donald Trump plays down the danger of Russian interference, U.S. national security officials are bracing for a new round<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/as-security-officials-prepare-for-russian-attack-on-2020-presidential-race-trump-and-aides-play-down-threat/2019/04/29/275af37c-6766-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6> of Russian cyber attacks and disinformation in 2020. Mueller’s report disclosed for the first time that, within hours of Trump’s appeal to Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s missing emails, Russian government hackers compromised election systems<https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/18/politics/russian-hacking-mueller-report/index.html> in a Florida county.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal election commission<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

--
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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