[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/1/20

[Levitt, Justin]

A Happy New Year to All<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108615>
Posted on December 31, 2019 2:11 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108615> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

You’re not writing checks, but if you were, you’d be crossing out the year you just wrote down wrong.

May your ’20s be even better than you allow yourself to imagine.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108615&title=A%20Happy%20New%20Year%20to%20All>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Federal court issues preliminary injunction against 2018 NC voter ID law<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108630>
Posted on January 1, 2020 3:21 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108630> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

The law, enacted over the Governor’s veto, usually requires a qualifying photo ID to vote.  As compared to the previous ID law passed in the wake of Shelby County and invalidated in 2016, it expands the list of acceptable IDs (to a list of 10 different types, though with limits on student and government employee IDs) and the means of getting a free ID, applies to absentee as well as in-person ballots, and allows for a voter with a reasonable impediment to getting a photo ID to say so at the polls in order to vote a ballot that should count … if the administrative process works smoothly.

The court enjoined the law as the product of discriminatory intent, but found that the proven impact was (at least at the preliminary stage) insufficient to make out a “results” violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Stay tuned for the inevitable appeal.

Coverage of the federal court’s decision is here<https://abc11.com/politics/nc-judge-formally-strikes-down-voter-id-law/5802798/>, here<https://www.journalnow.com/news/local/judge-blocks-state-s-voter-id-law-calling-it-racially/article_f354e194-519c-558f-86b7-9f0c6a28fb1e.html>, and here<https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article238870598.html>.  The order itself is here<http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wtvd/docs/voter%20ID%20order.pdf>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108630&title=Federal%20court%20issues%20preliminary%20injunction%20against%202018%20NC%20voter%20ID%20law>
Posted in The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>

Chief Justice Roberts’s year-end report on the judiciary<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108628>
Posted on January 1, 2020 3:20 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108628> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

It starts with a tie<https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/year-end/2019year-endreport.pdf> between the Federalist Papers and the danger of fake news (which started a riot which earned John Jay a rock to the head), and includes a brief paean to the independence of the judiciary from the gentleman about to preside over an impeachment trial.  7 pages, but there’s a fair amount of there in there.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108628&title=Chief%20Justice%20Roberts%E2%80%99s%20year-end%20report%20on%20the%20judiciary>
Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

“We can’t assume Virginia Democrats will keep their promise on redistricting reform”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108626>
Posted on January 1, 2020 3:19 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108626> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

The Post’s editorial board<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-cant-assume-that-virginia-democrats-will-keep-their-promise-on-redistricting-reform/2019/12/31/91d74124-2b47-11ea-9b60-817cc18cf173_story.html> laments the potential change of heart after the change in electoral fortunes.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108626&title=%E2%80%9CWe%20can%E2%80%99t%20assume%20Virginia%20Democrats%20will%20keep%20their%20promise%20on%20redistricting%20reform%E2%80%9D>
Posted in political parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“New York Dems Are Redrawing Congressional Districts and It Could Put Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Out of a Job”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108624>
Posted on January 1, 2020 3:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108624> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

The Daily Wire<https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-dems-are-redrawing-congressional-districts-and-it-could-put-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-out-of-a-job> ties the census, redistricting, and (perhaps) a bit of wish fulfillment.  They’re not wrong about legislative leadership use of redistricting to enforce party discipline, though.

It’ll be interesting to see the extent to which New York’s new redistricting structure<http://redistricting.lls.edu/states-NY.php> mitigates the iron fist of party leadership in redistricting season.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108624&title=%E2%80%9CNew%20York%20Dems%20Are%20Redrawing%20Congressional%20Districts%20and%20It%20Could%20Put%20Alexandria%20Ocasio-Cortez%20Out%20of%20a%20Job%E2%80%9D>
Posted in census litigation<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=125>, political parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“The Constitution in 2020″ in 2020”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108622>
Posted on January 1, 2020 3:16 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108622> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Josh Blackman<https://reason.com/2020/01/01/the-constitution-in-2020-in-2020/>, at the Volokh Conspiracy, offers a timely reminder of the 2009 ACS essay compilation - “The Constitution in 2020” - with a progressive vision of future constitutional law.  The compilation included, among others, a piece by Pam Karlan on voting rights<https://web.archive.org/web/20170619123554/http:/www.constitution2020.org/chapters/14_Voting%20Rights%20and%20the%20Third%20Reconstruction.pdf> and one by Larry Kramer on political organization and mobilization<https://web.archive.org/web/20170619123554/http:/www.constitution2020.org/chapters/15_Political%20Organization%20and%20the%20Future%20of%20Democracy.pdf>.

The future, naturally, is now.  And Josh flags the value in evaluating the blueprint vision against the present reality.  I’ll be looking forward to the continuing discussion.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108622&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Constitution%20in%202020%E2%80%B3%20in%202020%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election law and constitutional law<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=55>, political parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>

“Cash, claims of illegality already flying in Michigan’s Senate race”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108620>
Posted on January 1, 2020 3:15 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108620> by Justin Levitt<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=4>

Here come<https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/01/cash-claims-illegality-flying-michigan-senate-race/2741263001/> the allegations of unlawful coordination.

And with it, your reminder that, as Dan Tokaji and Renata Strause explained years ago<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/thenewsoftmoney/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2014/06/the-new-soft-money-WEB.pdf#page=71>, in assessing the legality of campaign coordination, there’s often a “gap between the line the law draws and the line outside observers expect it to draw.”
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D108620&title=%E2%80%9CCash%2C%20claims%20of%20illegality%20already%20flying%20in%20Michigan%E2%80%99s%20Senate%20race%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, political parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20200101/72c3e2aa/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/20200101/72c3e2aa/attachment.png>