[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/29/19

[Rick Hasen]

New Cert Petition Out of Disputed Connecticut Assembly Race Asks Supreme Court to Resolve an Apparent Circuit Split Over the Meaning of Bush v. Gore<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105331>
Posted on May 28, 2019 9:00 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105331> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The case is Feehan v. Marcone<https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/18-1470.html> and the cert petition is here<https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/18-1470.html>.
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Posted in Bush v. Gore reflections<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=5>, election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


“Georgia’s strictest possible reading of the law to stop felons from voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105329>
Posted on May 28, 2019 8:50 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105329> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/georigia-s-strictest-possible-reading-law-stop-felons-voting-n1011056>

Brown and tens of thousands of other Georgia residents are cut off from voting due to a vaguely worded law that state election officials interpret in the strictest possible manner.

Georgia strips voting rights from people convicted of all felonies, from murder to drug possession, even though a straightforward reading of the law suggests not all felons deserve such punishment.

Felons seeking to restore their voting rights must not only finish their prison sentences, but also any parole or probation, as well as pay any outstanding court fines. That has a big effect in Georgia, which has more people on probation than any other state.
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Posted in felon voting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>


Sen. Kamala Harris Proposes Voting Rights Act-Style Preclearance for State and Local Abortion Laws; I’m Skeptical It Could Pass and Be Upheld<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105326>
Posted on May 28, 2019 8:35 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105326> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LAT:<https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-kamala-harris-abortion-rights-20190528-story.html>

The policy is modeled on the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which said that jurisdictions with a history of discrimination must get preapproval from the attorney general to make any changes to voting laws that could affect minorities. That provision, known as the “preclearance” process, was struck down in a 2013 Supreme Court ruling.

Harris would mirror that approach for abortion rights, which would require a new law passed by Congress in order to give the Department of Justice that authority.

Harris’ proposal would shift the burden to the law’s authors to prove it is constitutional before it goes into effect. Her plan would apply to jurisdictions that in the last 25 years have been found by court ruling or settlement to have violated Roe vs. Wade,the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protected abortion rights.

The idea faces a number of hurdles, especially its need for a new federal law to give the Justice Department that oversight power.

“Until recent years, there was consensus in Congress about the need for a strong Voting Rights Act,” said Rick Hasen, a voting rights expert and law professor at UC Irvine. “In the last 40 years, there has not been any consensus in Congress on anything regarding abortion.”

Even if Harris did manage to enact a new law, there’s no guarantee the Supreme Court, particularly with its current conservative lean, would uphold it.

“I give it points for creativity,” Hasen said. “I would still say the odds of this ever being enacted or upheld are quite slim.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“McConnell confirms he would help Trump fill another Supreme Court vacancy in 2020”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105324>
Posted on May 28, 2019 8:28 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105324> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/29/mcconnell-says-he-would-fill-supreme-court-vacancy/?utm_term=.8de3cb5a0f6a>:

When President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to consider him, blocking the nominee until after the year’s presidential election.

He said then<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/13/can-republicans-really-block-obamas-supreme-court-nomination-for-a-year-probably/?utm_term=.59807f4fb7cf> that “the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.” The tactic cost Garland his spot on the court.

With his party now in the White House, McConnell said Tuesday he’d try to push through any nomination that President Trump might make to the high court — even if it comes during an election year. Some saw that stance, which McConnell has signaled before<https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mcconnell-signals-he-would-push-to-fill-a-supreme-court-vacancy-in-2020-despite-2016-example/2018/10/08/75ee6fce-cb2a-11e8-a360-85875bac0b1f_story.html?utm_term=.4bf718189d8d>, as disingenuous.
McConnell responded to the hypothetical question at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Paducah, Ky.

“Should a Supreme Court justice die next year, what will your position be on filling that spot?” an attendee asked, setting up a scenario that would mirror 2016, when Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly in February.


“Uh, we’d fill it,” McConnell said with a wry, tight-lipped smile.
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Posted in Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


“Voting Reforms and Implementation: A New York Story”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105322>
Posted on May 28, 2019 4:44 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105322> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Civics Center:<https://thecivicscenter.org/blog/2019/5/27/what-comes-next>

On the second day of a legislative session that introduced a squad of newcomers who had campaigned against disenfranchisement and corruption in Albany, the New York State legislature passed a sweeping raft of voter reforms<https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/policy/new-york-makes-moves-against-restrictive-voting-laws.html> that will establish the right for 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote, among other critical changes. The new law represents an immense victory for advocates of voter engagement and election modernization, who had long noted that New York was stuck in an elections Dark Age<https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/new-yorks-worst-in-the-country-voting-system/570223/>. But how will these reforms be implemented and will there be adequate funding to do so?
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Broad Georgia ethics investigation targets Abrams — and her supporters”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105320>
Posted on May 28, 2019 9:08 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105320> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AJC<https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/broad-georgia-ethics-investigation-targets-abrams-and-her-supporters/NBT2JDLOZqDgUq1vTz4xOO/>:

The head of Georgia’s ethics commission has filed a spate of subpoenas targeting groups led by Stacey Abrams and the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, prompting criticism that he’s trying to exact political revenge against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s political opponents.

The subpoenas obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution were filed on April 26 by new ethics chief David Emadi and seek extensive financial, bank and payroll records from the Abrams’ campaign, which raised roughly $30 million in last year’s race against Kemp.

The ethics office also wants all correspondence between the Abrams campaign and a constellation of left-leaning groups that registered and mobilized voters, many with a focus on energizing minorities. They include the voting rights group Abrams helped launch and a nonprofit co-founded by state Sen. Nikema Williams, the new leader<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiyvJ6rwrriAhVPwFkKHWaqAqUQFjAAegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Fnews%2Fstate--regional-govt--politics%2Fmeet-nikema-williams-the-newly-elected-leader-georgia-democrats%2FaO7iTKsTyelrt9jrNRJ7qK%2F&usg=AOvVaw0iksY74lv90kjr3XDjnlWX> of the state Democratic Party.

In the documents, Emadi reveals that investigators intend to present evidence that the Abrams campaign accepted donations from four of the groups that exceeded maximum contribution limits for a statewide campaign.

Abrams’ attorney has vigorously denied that claim, said that investigators have failed to prove any wrongdoing and offered full cooperation to clear up any technical violations. She also questioned why investigators only demanded records from groups “led by black or Latinx Georgians working to increase election participation among voters of color.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“A resignation in Texas is a reminder of how Trump’s vote-fraud claims come up empty”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105318>
Posted on May 28, 2019 8:48 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=105318> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Philip Bump<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/28/resignation-texas-is-reminder-how-trumps-vote-fraud-claims-come-up-empty/?utm_term=.7621bb9f80fa> for WaPo.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


--
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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