"Lawmakers Driven to Stop Special Election"

A.P. offers this report, which begins: "Two California House members from opposite parties are asking a federal elections panel for permission to raise unlimited money to oppose Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's redistricting measure." Bob Bauer provides more coverage at his site.

"The vote is first priority"

Adrian Walker writes this Boston Globe oped on voting problems in Boston.

Does California's New Secretary of State Not Know that Making Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Permanent May Doom Its Constitutionality in the Supreme Court?

Apparently not. Here is a snippet from this oped in the SF Chronicle by Bruce McPherson:

In 2002, Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the historic Help America Vote Act to ensure all eligible Americans the right of access, accuracy, independence and privacy in voting. But a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over these precious rights as Congress travels around the nation to hold hearings on the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. It should save time, energy and airfare and just vote to extend the act permanently.

"Prop. 77 alive, has our backing"

The Pasadena Star-News offers this editorial.

"Jewish groups decry election set for holiday"

The Orange County Register offers this report, with the subhead: "Primary vote for Cox's seat falls on Oct. 4, first day of Rosh Hashanah."

"California Supreme Court is Making a Mess of California's Initiative Law"

The title of this post is what I would have named my commentary in today's Los Angeles Daily Journal (reprinted with permission). The editors there gave it the title, "Redistricting Measure Doesn't Belong on the Ballot," which misses my point. My article begins:

In two cryptic rulings issued in the last few weeks, the state Supreme Court has made a mess of the law governing the initiative process. The result is going to be more lawsuits and greater injection of judges into the political thicket. If the court does not act soon to clarify the law, the Legislature should step in and help fix the problem.

Another Interesting APSA Panel

See this panel on Early Voting and the 2004 Election.

-- 
Rick Hasen
William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
919 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