Subject: news of the day 3/2/05
From: Rick Hasen
Date: 3/29/2005, 9:45 AM
To: election-law

Addendum to CGS-Demos Redistricting Report

Back in February I reported on a CGS-Demos report on various redistricting reform proposals being considered in California. The two groups have just issued this addendum to take into account current proposals. From their press release: "The analysis finds that while clearly making progress, all have room for improvement to serve the public interest more effectively."


Wisconsin Right to Life Case Back to Life

Blog readers may recall the WRTL case, where an incorporated non-profit launched an "as applied" challenge to some of BCRA's electioneering communications provisions. The effort for preliminary relief failed (see my earlier coverage here, here, here, here, and here.)

The case is now back on summary judgment motions. The Campaign Legal Center has collected the relevant documents, including its amicus brief, through links at the bottom of this page.


"Partisan Polarization Intensified in 2004 Election"

The Washington Post offers this report, with the subhead: "Only 59 of the Nation's 435 Congressional Districts Split Their Vote for President and House." It includes the following paragraph: "How would Bush and Kerry have fared if the electoral college determined its allocation of electoral votes on the basis of who won each congressional district, as some advocate, rather than on who wins the popular vote in each state? Bensen crunched those numbers and concluded that Bush would have won by an even larger margin, with 317 electoral votes rather than the 286 he actually captured." 
-- 
Professor Rick Hasen 
Loyola Law School 
919 Albany Street 
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211 
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http://electionlawblog.org