"New Orleans elections may be held in April; Three lawsuits seek earlier date for voting postponed by governor."

The Shreveport Times offers this report.

"Photo ID bus gets little use; Tour averages fewer than 11 cards a county"

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution offers this important report, which begins: "The Georgia Licensing On Wheels bus was supposed to make it easier for elderly and poor people to get the photo identification they need to vote under a controversial new law. The idea was to bring photo IDs to the estimated 300,000 voting age people who don't have driver's licenses. When announced by Gov. Sonny Perdue's office in August, officials said the bus could issue up to 200 ID cards per day. But in three months of traveling the state, the aging bus has broken down three times and issued just 471 photo IDs. That's fewer than 11 per county visited. Critics say the low numbers show that one 15-year-old bus is a feeble response to concerns that the law will disenfranchise poor, elderly and minority voters. Perdue says the numbers show ID cards for voting are not in great demand. Either way, Georgians getting IDs from the bus are happy not to stand in long lines at driver's license service centers."

"Experts: Hispanic district is challenge"

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel offers this report, which begins: "KISSIMMEE -- Osceola County officials wonder how they can satisfy the concerns of the U.S. Justice Department about Hispanic voting rights without creating a commission district so oddly shaped that it might invite legal challenges."

"Bar codes on ballots proposed to fight voter fraud"

See this news from New Hampshire.

"Elections Canada talking with Greens"

See this report in the Ottowa Citizen, which begins: "Elections Canada is in talks with the federal Green Party over possible violations of federal election law by its leader, Jim Harris, The Canadian Press has learned. The discussions are based on a letter of complaint filed by Matthew Pollesel, the party's former assistant national organizer. Pollesel alleges that the former grassroots party has been hijacked to gain access to federal election subsidies provided under the new elections-financing law."

Texas Redistricting Commentaries

Ron Brownstein writes Redistricting Case is Court's Chance to Stop Partisan Excess in the LA Times. The Christian Science Monitor editorializes "Let Voters Fix a Gerrymander." The Washington Times responds to an earlier NY Times editorial on the topic. My own views on the Texas cases will appear soon.

Lenhard FEC Appointment as "Payback" for Novak Testimony?

I was waiting to see who was going to be the first to mention that new FEC nominee Robert Lenhard is married to Viveca Novak, a reporter for Time magazine who recently testified before the grand jury investigating the Plame Affair and potential liability for President Bush's Chief of Staff, Karl Rove. The first mention I have seen comes in this post by Arianna Huffington on the "Huffington Post" blog. But she not only mentions the connection; she suggests the FEC appointment was motivated to thank Novak for her testimony, which some believe has helped Karl Rove. "Imagine that: Novak provides Bush's Brain with a possible get-out-of-jail-free card and -- just weeks after she tells Fitzgerald things Rove's lawyer desperately wants the special prosecutor to hear -- Bush taps her hubby for the FEC post. Now I'm not saying that one is payback for the other. But it sure is convenient. It may not be a case of quid pro quo but, if you were to make a list of things that would begin to repair the damage done to the credibility of the media, this sure wouldn't be among them."

One problem with this theory is that Lenhard's name has been in play for this position for a year and a half, well before anyone could have imagined such "payback." On June 2, 2004, I linked to this AP report on efforts by Senator McCain to block Lenhard's appointment to the FEC as a replacement for the pro-reform FEC commissioner, Scott Thomas.

I suppose the Lenhard-Novak story is an illustration of the occupational hazard of both spouses being Washington players. But the Huffington Post allegation is unfortunate, and does not appear to be based on reality.

"The right to vote is the key to good government"

Ed Packard, author of the Election Administration blog, has written this commentary in the Birmingham News.

"AP: Frist AIDS Charity Paid Consultants"

See this report, which begins: "WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's AIDS charity paid nearly a half-million dollars in consulting fees to members of his political inner circle, according to tax returns providing the first financial accounting of the presidential hopeful's nonprofit."

"McCain, Shays Offer Lobby Reform Bill, Minus Feingold, Meehan"

Roll Call offers this breaking news report (paid subscription required), which begins: "Fresh off a victory over the White House on anti-torture legislation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday afternoon teamed up with Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) in introducing a measure to overhaul lobbying laws, becoming the first Congressional Republicans to join a growing Democratic chorus for reform. But conspicuously absent from their efforts are Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) and Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.), their longtime partners in tightening campaign finance rules. The four had planned to co-sponsor the measures, but Feingold and Meehan backed off after they failed to resolve fundamental differences with the Republicans. McCain and Shays favor new disclosure requirements, while Feingold and Meehan want to go further and reign in lobbyists’ contact with lawmakers."

"House GOP Drops Campaign Finance Measure"

A.P. offers this report.

Bauer on von Spakovsky nomination to the FEC

Bob Bauer offers this insightful analysis. A snippet:

And yet: von Spakovsy is an agent, not a principal, whose actions in the Voting Section, one can be sure, were faithful to the expectations and directives of his superiors. Now these same superiors wish to move him to the FEC where, replacing a Republican Commissioner, he may well prove to be a reliable Republican vote on issues important to his party. No surprise there: the President would not conceivably appoint to a Republican seat an individual without ties to the party or demonstrated sympathy for its outlook. This is the likely significance of his laments about Democratic campaign finance, written in l997: this was the Republican party line at the time, and he will most probably follow it now, as would any other individual named by the President to that Smith seat.

Democrats can assume, then, that von Spakovsy will lend a friendly ear to the Republican complaints about "527s." This is a true shift in the alignment of Republicans on this issue: his predecessor, Brad Smith, defied Republican orthodoxy on this issue, remaining true to his constitutional objections to regulatory overreach and to his distaste for partisan manipulation of the rules. Smith’s was a refreshing presence in this way. But all such good things must end because terms, such as Smith’s, must end; and the change would have come with anyone named to Smith’s seat. In this respect, a nominee such as von Spakovsky is no surprise: not at all out of the ordinary. Democrats can have no real complaint. And there is some cause for holiday cheer that von Spakovsky will trade his apparent influence at the Voting Section for one of six votes at the FEC.

Mike Krempasky of Redstate is upbeat on the four nominations.

"The Business of Voting"

The New York Times offers this editorial on the Diebold controversies.

"Criminal probes entangle numerous fund-raisers; 8 Pioneers and Rangers face wide range of allegations"

The Toledo Blade offers this report.

"Gerrymanders and Judges"

The Wall Street Journal offers this editorial.

"Bush Picks Controversial Nominees for FEC"

The Washington Post offers this report. See also this Dallas Morning News report.

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