"Bilingual ballot fate debated; English-only bills gain; Voting Act scrutinized"

See this report in the LA Daily News.

"Marie Cocco: Ohio toughens balloting rules for naturalized voters"

See this opinion piece appearing in the Sacramento Bee.

"The GOP and Campaign Finance Reform"

Bob Bauer has this new post.

Single Subject Challenges to Remove Controversial Ballot Measures from the Ballot

Howard Bashman links to this news coverage from Colorado about this decision of the Colorado Supreme Court to keep a measure related to benefits for illegal immigrants off the ballot. (Howard also provides this link about an attempt---though apparently not on single subject grounds---to have the Michigan Supreme Court keep a controversial affirmative action measure off the ballot in November as well.)

I thought a lot about the single subject rule this year, teaching the subject in both my election law and legislation courses. I am coming to the conclusion that states should simply amend their constitutions to eliminate the rule. I am beginning to think (though I'm open to contrary arguments) that the rule leaves too much discretion in the hands of judges to remove measures from the ballot they don't like as a matter of substance, and that voters are smart enough not to vote for a measure that has significant unpalatable parts just to get a provision they like. (In any case, so long as the unpalatable and palatable parts are on the same subject, the single subject rule does nothing to police this problem.)

I would be interested in hearing about initiatives in jurisdictions that don't have the single subject rule, or where it is not enforced.

Georgetown Law Journal Symposium on the Law of Politics

The following announcement has arrived via email:

The Georgetown Law Journal invites paper submissions for its on-campus Symposium, "The Law of Politics," to be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2006. Taking advantage of the unique prestige of a scholarly publication and the political excitement of being located in Washington, D.C., during an election year, we will be convening legal scholars and political practitioners to have a substantive discussion of the role the law plays in our democracy.
For this event--and its corresponding publication in issue 95.4 of The Journal--we are looking for submissions on topics such as campaign finance, FEC regulation of campaigns, the FCC's possible role in regulating availability of the public airwaves involved in the political process, gerrymandering, the Voting Rights Act, lobbying, increased sidestepping of the legislative process, and an international perspective on any or all of the above. Submissions are not restricted to these topics; if you feel you have a pertinent paper about a topic not listed here, please do not hold back as we are open to other perspectives. We will be especially interested in topics that call attention to issues that may be unfolding in specific 2006 electoral races.
Accepted authors will publish with The Georgetown Law Journal and present their views during an event at the Georgetown University Law Center that will also include experts from outside the field of academia. A major aim of the Symposium is to stimulate the debate on elections and politics on the eve of important mid-term elections.
Because of this opportunity to participate in this exciting pre-election discussion and because of our tight production schedule, we are asking that completed pieces--as opposed to paper proposals--be submitted to The Journal no later than September 1, 2006, for consideration. However, we will make offers on a rolling basis, so earlier submissions may have a higher probability of acceptance.
Submissions should be around 30 to 40 pages (double spaced, including footnotes) of a Microsoft Word document. Send electronic copies of your paper to gljsyposium@gmail.com. Please also submit a copy of your curriculum vitae with your paper. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at jra34@law.georgetown.edu. I will be happy to answer questions about the event or the topic about which you plan to write. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Allen
Senior Symposium and Development Editor
The Georgetown Law Journal

"Good Hearings Today [Roger Clegg]"

See this post at NRO's "The Corner," about this hearing held today by the Senate Judiciary Committee on renewal of section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.

"Voting Rights Act is still needed to build on progress"

Rep. Artur Davis has this oped in The Hill.

"Don't throw redistricting stones at Voting Rights Act"

Laughlin McDonald has this opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

More Answers to Senate Judiciary Committee Questions

Nate Persily's answers are here. I received Ted Shaw's answers, but the file is too large for me to post (I hope to get a link later). I'll post other witness answers when I receive them.

"Online Voter Registration is the Answer"

Ned Foley has written this comment, which begins: "Controversy currently rages in both Florida and Ohio over their new laws regulating voter registration efforts by third-party groups. Civil rights organizations and other non-partisan entities, like the League of Women Voters, have long engaged in voter registration drives in order to increase participation in the franchise by eligible citizens. The practice of recruiting new registrants, however, has intensified recently, especially during presidential elections in battleground states, and some of the newer groups involved in the process, like Moveon.org, clearly favor one political party and its candidates."

"Suit: Open up judicial races"

The Cincinnati Post offers this report. You can find the plaintiff's documents in this lawsuit here.

-- 
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