news of the day 5/4/05

Following up on this post, David J. Becker writes on the election law listserv that new voter i.d. rules in Georgia and Indiana may be open to attack if defended by the state as a valid anti-fraud measure because the measures exclude absentee ballots from the requirement. As noted by Hans von Spakovsky (who wrote this submission to the Caltech-MIT voting project before working for the Justice Department on voting integrity issues---see this unflattering New Yorker profile), absentee ballots likely present the greatest risk of election fraud from voters. So it could be that a court applying even a low level of scrutiny to a voter i.d. requirement from one of these states could strike it down as not rationally related to the undoubtedly legitimate state purpose of preventing fraud and promoting voter integrity.

There is also a potential racial disparity to the extent that minorities are less likely to use absentee ballots (as I have heard, without seeing evidence, is true in Georgia). If the voter i.d. change in a covered jurisdiction like Georgia can be said to retrogress the position of minorities with respect to the exercise of the franchise, there's a strong argument the Justice Department should deny preclearance to the Georgia i.d. rule under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. For more on the potential racial disparities of a voter i.d. requirement, see Spencer Overton's recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution oped.

These criticisms do not apply to proposals like mine for universal voter registration coupled with a government issued voter identification, particularly where (as I advocate) the government takes affirmative steps to find voters and register them to vote. I'd require that those wishing to vote by absentee ballot include a readable thumb print on their ballots, which could be checked against voter i.d. records.

"Bill to Give Washington a House Vote is Proposed"

The New York Times offers this report. See also Give D.C. a Vote (Roll Call oped--paid subscription required).

"Liberals Wary of 527 Reform"

Roll Call offers this report (paid subscription required), which begins: "Democrats are growing increasingly concerned that legislation aimed at curtailing the activities of largely unregulated 527 groups will cripple their voter registration and turnout efforts in the 2006 election and beyond."

Interesting Post at Daily Kos on Paid Blogger Disclosure Issue

See here. The writer states that he is preparing a formal response to the FEC rulemaking on behalf of the founder of Daily Kos, Atrios, and others. Here is what I find most signficicant. The writer asks for reactions to a number of proposed policy positions incluing the following: "However, when a campaign pays a blogger for the explicit purpose of publishing favorable stories, this would be 'paid advertising' by the campaign (or, alternatively, the blogger is a de facto agent of the campaign), and in those circumstances, a 'paid for by' disclaimer is likely appropriate." (Original emphasis)

Redistricting reform in California

Today's San Francisco Chronicle features this editorial and opeds here and here on the topic.

"The Supreme Court and Voting Rights: A More Complete Exit Strategy"

Grant Hayden has posted this article (forthcoming, North Carolina Law Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

To the great relief of many observers, the Supreme Court has recently become more deferential to state legislatures with respect to their political redistricting plans. The only problem is that the Court appears to be in no mood to revisit some of the cases that got entangled in the political thicket to begin with - the ones rigorously applying the one person, one vote standard. Indeed, it recently issued a summary affirmance of a lower court decision that tightened up its already exacting standards regarding population equality. As a result, the Court's partial retreat from politics is doing more harm than good, as it is abdicating its responsibility to protect minority voters but leaving certain constitutional rules intact that limit the ability of Congress or the states to do so. For that and other reasons, the Court should make its exit from politics more complete by relaxing its application of the one person, one vote requirement in many situations.

Exempting Absentee Voters as a Reason to Strike Down Voter I.D. Rules?

"Bill to Give Washington a House Vote is Proposed"

"Liberals Wary of 527 Reform"

Interesting Post at Daily Kos on Paid Blogger Disclosure Issue

Redistricting reform in California

"The Supreme Court and Voting Rights: A More Complete Exit Strategy"

McDonald's Mea Culpa on Analysis of Washington State Expert Testimony