news of the day 2/27/04

Subject: news of the day 2/27/04

From: Rick Hasen

Date: 2/27/2004, 7:26 AM

To: election-law

Gun Makers' Immunity and Renewal of the Preclearance Provisions of the Voting Rights Act

As part of the maneuvering over passage of a bill providing immunity to gun manufacturers for certain tort suits, Senate majority leader Bill Frist introduced an amendment that would renew the preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Here's a snippet from a New York Times report:

Other Democrats were not so generous; they called the move a political ploy to give Republicans a chance to demonstrate their commitment to civil rights, while forcing Democrats who oppose the gun bill to vote against an issue dear to them.

"It's a convenient way to play `gotcha,' " said Senator Jon Corzine, Democrat of New Jersey.

Ed Still has some other coverage of this issue here.
To the extent that Senators are serious about moving such legislation, they need to move very carefully. Because it is just about inevitable that a renewed preclearance provision would be challenged in court as exceeding Congressional power to enact legislation under its powers granted by the 14th and 15th amendments, Congress will need to craft a careful evidentiary record showing that the legislation is "congruent and proportional" to covered jurisdictions' violations of the voting rights of protected minority groups. Congress might also try alternative bases of power, such as the Guarantee Clause. (I consider these issues in in this working paper.) In any case, renewal will require careful consideration by Congress if Congress wants its legislation upheld by the courts.

"Fewer Gifts Flowing to Lawmakers in Trenton"

See this NJ.com report.

Another false speech controversy in Ohio

See this report in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"CAMPAIGN ETHICS: Bill banning votes on donor interest dies"

See this news from Minnesota.

Follow up on Boston redistricting ruling

Following up on this development, see news stories here, here (with a strong defense of incumbency protection by the Mass. House Speaker), and here (indicating that the state does not plan to appeal the ruling). Thanks to Bill McGeveran for the pointers.

"$how Them the Money"

The Business Gazette offers this report on federal campaign financing out of Maryland.

"Investigation Zeroes in on DeLay's PAC"

A.P. offers this report. Thanks to David Ettinger for the pointer.

-- 
Rick Hasen
Professor of Law and William M. Rains Fellow
Loyola Law School
919 South Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211
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rick.hasen@lls.edu
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http://electionlawblog.org