In today's Roll Call

GOP Allies Play Catch-Up on 527s, which includes: "Several other well-connected Republicans noted that without a wealthy 'sugar daddy' or two to provide seed money, these organizations may still struggle to raise the necessary funds. But efforts to find individuals willing to bankroll these groups may be hamstrung by an aggressive public relations campaign led by Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and other GOP leaders aimed at spooking potential donors. 'The problem is that Republican lawyers have done such a good job at scaring the donor base and are they going to do as good a job about telling them they were wrong,' said one knowledgeable Republican strategist."

Members Vow Scrutiny After FEC Vote on 527s, which begins: "Members of the Federal Election Commission will have to answer to Congress this week about their rationale for not clamping down on unregulated 527 groups that are pouring millions of dollars into the 2004 elections."

Electronic Assessment, which begins: "Amid media and academic reports that electronic voting systems may be vulnerable to manipulation, more than a dozen House lawmakers have asked the General Accounting Office to conduct a “high priority” study of the security of electronic voting systems."

A Narrow Window of Opportunity for Fair Redistricting, a column by Stuart Rothenberg which urges Congress to "to enact guidelines governing the next round of redistricting so that the mischief that mapmakers can make is limited. Since it’s unlikely that 50 state legislatures will do so, Congress should pass legislation requiring compact and contiguous districts. This would still allow states considerable leeway in the drawing of districts, but it would eliminate the worst examples of abuse."

Paid registration required for all articles.

-- 
Rick Hasen
Professor of Law and William M. Rains Fellow
Loyola Law School
919 South Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211
(213)736-1466
(213)380-3769 - fax
rick.hasen@lls.edu
http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org