"Electoral College Shift No Barrier Yet"

Roll Call offers this report (paid subscription required), which begins: "In 2004, President Bush won 72 percent of the vote in Utah, earning him five of the magical 270 electoral votes he needed to win re-election. Whoever takes Bush's place as the GOP's standard-bearer in 2008, it is assumed, will fare similarly in the overwhelmingly Republican Beehive State. But in that election, Utah could well be worth six electoral votes to the '08 GOP nominee. Utah's extra electoral vote may be the most consequential, and potentially controversial, side effect of bipartisan legislation that would provide for full House representation for the District of Columbia."

Coverage of Supreme Court's Denial of Request to Expedite Maine Campaign Finance Case

Here is a story in AP. Here is Roll Call. See also this NY Sun editorial.

"Democracy's Revenge? Bush v. Gore and the National Popular Vote"

Peter Shane has written ths comment at the OSU election law site.

Today's Senate Judiciary Hearing on VRA Renewal

Today's hearing is being webcast (click on the link on this page from one of the hearings last week). The committee has put up the statements, but they are not in a reader friendly format. Here is an easier-to-read version of Rick Pildes's testimony. I invite others testifying this week to send me their testimony for posting.

Compulsory Voting Debates

Via the e-newsletter of the excellent Democratic Audit of Australia:

Compulsory voting

Following the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matter's recommendation that compulsory voting be scrapped, the Australian Electoral Commission has published this review of the arguments and includes some information from abroad.

* Read AEC compulsory voting paper

Ironically, the influential British think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Reform, has recently recommended that compulsory voting is the best solution for the ongoing problem of poor turnout.

* Read IPPR compulsory voting paper

Grouping Together All Posts in VRA Renewal Guest Blogging Category

Rick Pildes had the excellent suggestion to provide a link so that someone can see all the guest blogging posts on VRA renewal. You can find those posts (and only those posts) by clicking here. This link will also appear on the right side of the blog under "Guest Law Professor Bloggers on Voting Rights Act Renewal."

-- 
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