[EL] Election Law Blog: ELB News and Commentary

[Stephanie F Singer]

Ned Foley asks: 
"why is it unreasonable to think that a deal [for structured electoral reform] might have been possible if focused on the specific idea of helping the traditional GOP avoid a hostile takeover from the MAGA movement? It would have been in the rational self-interest of traditional Republicans, like Senator Roy Blunt (ranking member of the Rules Committee) and even Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to be open to that kind of conversation if pursued by Democrats in good faith."

Here’s why: Republicans have demonstrated an uncanny ability to keep all members of their caucus in line, voting as a block, despite what might be reasonably expected of individual legislators based on their track records or self-interest. One example on the state level is the eventual capitulation of State Senator Jake Corman of Pennsylvania, whose level-headed financial discipline led him to waver on the 2012 Voter ID bill in that state. Corman was skeptical of spending $6M from the treasury for legislation whose effectiveness in protecting elections was undemonstrated. But after a retreat of the Republican caucus he fell into line, and the bill passed into law. I’ve often wondered what happened at that retreat.

This is hardly an isolated example, just one I followed closely at the time. I’m sure others could supply Congressional examples, and examples in other states, as well as more recent examples. 

> On Dec 23, 2021, at 8:34 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:
> 
> Could bipartisan democracy-protection have worked? Could it still? <https://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=182830876&f=1116553&c=8096036&u=102231511>
> By Ned Foley, December 23, 2021
> There has been skepticism voiced by some about my suggestion that, after January 6, Democrats in Congress should have pursued a strategy of finding at least ten GOP Senators to support the kind of structural electoral reform, like a majority-winner  <https://p.feedblitz.com/t3.asp?/1116553/102231511/8096036_/~electionlawblog.org/?p=126436>… Continue reading <https://p.feedblitz.com/t3.asp?/1116553/102231511/8096036_/~electionlawblog.org/?p=126453>
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