"Redistricting to test justices; Texas case could change U.S. politics."

Marcia Coyle offers this report in the National Law Journal (paid subscription required).

"Measure to Require I.D.'s Stirs Controversy"

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers this report. It begins: "With statewide elections nine months away, some Missouri Republicans are pushing a controversial bill requiring government-issued photo identification to cast a vote."

Louis Fisher involved in dispute with Congressional Research Service

Louis Fisher who has written excellent reports on election-law related issues for the Congressional Research Service, is involved in a dispute with his superiors. According to CRS Demands Apology, But Researcher Refuses (Roll Call, paid subscription required), Fisher has been asked to apologize for a Jan. 18 memorandum:

Much of Fisher's memo deals with what he call's CRS' "incoherent" policy, which he says advocates neutrality and suppresses the analytical skills of the agency's researchers.

In the memo, addressed to Mulhollan, Fisher wrote that in the 38 times he has been asked to testify before Congress, he is selected "because I have an expert opinion to share. ... I am certainly not partisan in my CRS work or in my outside writings. But I have always considered myself free to analyze an issue on the basis of all available information and reach a professional conclusion. That is what other analysts do. ... That is what the people I work with on the Hill --Republican and Democrat --expect. Anything short of that would be mere descriptive writing."

Fisher, who has written more than a dozen books on separation of powers, wrote that he's seen an increasing push by CRS administrators for "neutrality" in analytical work, a push that is against the agency's core mission.

"Leadership PACs not on lobbying reform radar"

Scripps-Howard News Service offers this report.

"Abramoff's Charity Began at Home"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report, with the subhead: "The lobbyist admits he used nonprofits to evade taxes, pad his pockets and bribe officials."

"Vernon Shoo-Ins Shoo Outsiders"

This front-page article appeared in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. It is not to be missed. It begins:

In most cities, elections happen at least every four years. In Vernon, officeholders haven't faced opposition in a generation.

Twenty-five years after its elected officials last had a contested ballot, eight strangers took up residence in the tiny city four miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Last month, after just a few days in town, three of the newcomers filed petitions to run for City Council in the April 11 election.

Within days, city utility trucks had turned off their power. The building they shared was slapped with red tags by inspectors who said the property was "unsafe and dangerous" as a residence. Strobe lights flashed through their windows. They and some of their relatives were placed under surveillance. Shortly, city police and other officials drilled holes in the locks and evicted the would-be office-seekers.

Having deprived the interlopers of city residence, Vernon officials on Jan. 27 disqualified them from the ballot. In a letter to one of the men, the city clerk accused the three of being part of a plot orchestrated by one of the county's most notorious political figures, Albert Robles, a convicted felon who as treasurer of South Gate nearly bankrupted that city.

The letter also said the county counsel had determined that Vernon officials had legal power to decide who was "a valid elector and legally registered to vote" in the city.

On Thursday, after inquiries by The Times, county officials denied that they had told Vernon officials they could take such an action and released to The Times a Feb. 1 letter to Vernon officials from County Counsel Raymond G. Fortner Jr. The letter declared that the city's effort to disenfranchise the eight residents was "without effect."

"Party Funding and Campaign Financing in International Perspective"

Keith Ewing and Sam Issacharoff have edited this volume that I look forward to reading. Here is a description:

This volume deals with questions of political party funding and campaign financing, issues which arouse controversy in many parts of the world. How are the central actors in the political arena supposed to gather the funds necessary to operate effectively on behalf of their chosen political ends? And, how may they spend money in furtherance of their political objectives? The aim of this volume, the first in a new series of Columbia University/London University collaborative projects, is to explore these issues in the specific context of a number of national settings.The studies presented here show that financing questions cannot be addressed independent of the constitutional conventions of the country, the nature of the political parties in the country, and the means of access to publication and the media in any given nation. The national studies in this volume reveal a rich diversity in the approach to regulation in Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Quebec, the United Kingdom and the United States. The topicality of the issues considered is reflected in the fact that since the book was first mooted there have been major decisions of the US Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as an investigation and report by the Electoral Commission in the United Kingdom, all of which have a direct bearing on the legal and policy issues discussed in this book.

"The People as Legislators: The Influence of Direct Democracy"

Ohio State's Legislation Clinic is holding this conference on March 3. Looks like a very interesting program.

New Jersey Courts Continue to Grapple with DRE Paper Trail Issues

See this unpublished opinion from an appellate court in New Jersey. Thanks to Brian Nelson for the pointer.

"Americans Rate Trust in Computerized Systems Highest Among Current Voting Technologies"

See this news release from Infosentry Services, Inc.

-- 
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