Bauer on the "Curious Request" to FEC on Recount Rules

Those of you who follow the FEC should not miss this post.

"Fix Plan B"

Roll Call offers this editorial, which begins:

Amid all the debate over the numerous shortcomings in the nation’s electoral system — the flawed voting machines, the continuing influence of big money, the allegations of voter fraud — too little attention has been spent on a looming constitutional problem: the “contingent election.”

Under the Constitution, a presidential election in which no candidate receives a majority of the Electoral College vote is thrown into the House of Representatives. There, each of the newly elected state delegations casts a single vote for president, with a 26-state majority required to win. At the same time, a majority of the Senate chooses the vice president.

Even without getting into the system’s more bizarre permutations — delays that could force the Speaker or the President Pro Tem to be named acting president, or a partisan walkout that deprives the majority of a quorum to act — the current design is rife with problems that could become reality this year.

There are HAVA-related issues in Iowa, too

See here, here, and here.

"New Jersey Lawsuit Challenges Electronic Voting"

The New York Times offers this report. Thanks to Doug Greene for the pointer.

Texas Re-redistricting roundup

See reports in The New York Times; The Wall Street Journal; The Washington Post; Los Angeles Times.

Howard Bashman has collected links to more stories, including many from Texas newspapers, here.

"Governor Endorses Open Primary Measure"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report.

Law and Democracy: A Symposium on the Law Governing our Democratic Process

The George Washington Law Review invites you to attend:

Law and Democracy: A Symposium on the Law Governing our Democratic Process

Date: Monday, November 15, 2004

Location: The Library of Congress, First Street and Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C.

Just two weeks after the 2004 elections, the country’s leading election law and political science scholars will gather for a frank and insightful discussion on the state and development of the law governing our democratic process. The George Washington Law Review invites you to join us for what promises to be an exciting and memorable day.

For more information, or to register for the symposium, please contact James Cobb, the Senior Projects Editor of The George Washington Law Review, at jcobb05@law.gwu.edu.

Schedule of Events (subject to change):

8:15 a.m. Welcoming Address
Roger Trangsrud, Interim Dean, The George Washington University Law School
Spencer Overton, The George Washington University Law School
Location: Jefferson Building, The Library of Congress

8:30 a.m. Panel I: Partisan Redistricting and Veith v. Jubelirer
Michael Kang, Emory University School of Law
Ellen Katz, University of Michigan Law School
Justin Driver, Charles Hamilton Houston Fellow, Harvard Law School
Adam Cox, The University of Chicago Law School
Location: Jefferson Building, The Library of Congress

10:30 a.m. Panel II: Campaign Finance
Dennis Thompson, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Richard Briffault, Columbia Law School
Guy Uriel Charles, University of Minnesota Law School
Gregg Polsky, University of Minnesota Law School
Larry Noble, Executive Director, The Center for Responsive Politics, and former General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission
Lillian BeVier, University of Virginia School of Law

Location: Jefferson Building, The Library of Congress

12:30 p.m. Luncheon and Roundtable Discussion: How the Rules Shaped the 2004 Election
Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio
Bill Marshall, The University of North Carolina School of Law
Rick Hasen, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
Samuel Issacharoff, Columbia Law School
Edward Foley, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
Location: Madison Building, The Library of Congress

3:00 p.m. Panel III: Voting Rights and Barriers to Voting
Heather Gerken, Harvard Law School
Daniel Tokaji, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
Daniel Ortiz, University of Virginia School of Law
Grant Hayden, Hoftstra University School of Law
Terry Smith, Fordham University School of Law
Location: Jefferson Building, The Library of Congress

Symposium: Electoral Districting and the Supreme Court

The Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy is putting together the following symposium:

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2004

Place: Room G85, Myron Taylor Hall, Cornell Law School

Agenda:

10:00 a.m. Looking on the Bright Side of Partisan Gerrymandering

11:30 a.m. Vieth v. Jubelirer

1:00 p.m. Keynote Address (Berger Atrium):

Contested Politics/Uncontested Elections,

Samuel Issacharoff, Harold R. Medina Professor in Procedural Jurisprudence, Columbia Law School

2:30 p.m. Redistricting, Review, and Retrenchment

Participants:

Kathryn Abrams, Herma Hill Kay Distinguished Professor of Law, Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Richard Briffault, Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation, Columbia Law School

Guy-Uriel Charles, Visiting Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota

Heather K. Gerken, Assistant Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

Michael Kang, Emory School of Law

Daniel Hays Lowenstein, Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law

Trevor W. Morrison, Assistant Professor of Law, Cornell Law School

For further information, contact Molly Banzuly , Symposium Editor, emb27@cornell.edu.

Glassman on Electoral College Tie

John McCain as spoiler? See here.

"We May HAVA Problem"

See John Fund's column in the Wall Street Journal.

-- 
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