Electionlawblog news and commentary 7/27/06

"Jonah Goldberg: We Don't Need Beavis and Butt-head Voters"

See this LA Times commentary on the Arizona lottery for voters idea. Goldberg's column is not nearly as thoughtful as this SF Chronicle commentary by my colleague Lauren Willis.

Just to remind readers about Goldberg's views on voting, the following is from a footnote in my Washington and Lee piece on election reform(to support the statement: "at least some Republicans maintain the notion that it should not be so easy for people to vote."):
140. See, e.g., Jonah Goldberg, The Cellblock Voting Bloc, L.A. TIMES, Mar. 8, 2005, at B11 (suggesting that making voting easier would weaken government). Goldberg argues that:

[V]oting should be harder, not easierâ€”for everybody. . . . If you are having an intelligent conversation with somebody, is it enriched if a mob of uninformed louts, never mind ex-cons and rapists, barges in? People who want to make voting easier are in effect saying that those who previously didnâ€™t care or know enough about the country to vote are exactly the kind of voters this country needs now.

"Texas GOPers Have Faith in DeLay"

Roll Call offers this report (paid subscription required), which begins: "While former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) stays mum on his political future, Texas Republicans say they fully expect him to run for his old seat should a court ruling force him to remain on the November ballot."

"Bush Signs Extension of Voting Rights Act"

AP offers this report. The White House has also posted this transcript of the President's statement at the signing ceremony and this "fact sheet" on reauthorization. A reader notes that the "fact sheet" fails to mention preclearance at all in describing what the Act extends. That's quite odd.

"Recount the Votes -- and Be Patient"

Jorge de los Santos has written this Washington Post oped on the Mexico election controversy.

"Presidential Public Financing Report Released as New Legislation is Introduced"

The Campaign Legal Center has issued this press release, which begins: "In conjunction with the introduction of the presidential public financing legislation in the House and Senate, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 released a report, "Presidential Public Financing: Repairing the System." The report made public today is based on the December 2005 conference that brought together a bipartisan group of experts to discuss the system and how to bring it into line with the realities of Presidential elections in the 21st Century. The report highlights the importance of the presidential public financing system, defines some of the current problems the system faces, and offers guidance on how to begin addressing these problems." See also this letter on the new legislation.

"Amicus of the 68th Lege in the DeLay Case"

Capitol Annex has this interesting post on this brief filed in the DeLay case.

"Election? What election?"

The Palm Beach Post offers this editorial, which begins: "What if they gave an election, and nobody needed to vote? Florida isn't at that point, but the story again this election year is how few elections there are when it comes to the Legislature. After last week's qualifying, a majority of the 2007 Legislature had been elected." Thanks to Dan Smith for the pointer.

Republican Party Reply Brief Filed in Texas Tom DeLay Ballot Access Case

You can find it here (via Capitol Annex).

"If you're consulting for John McCain's PAC, you ought to tell your readers (updated)"

Jim Geraghty has this post at NRO Online. Thanks to Adam Bonin for the pointer. Regular readers of my blog know that I was in the minority calling for the FEC to mandate such disclosure in blog posts.

-- 
Rick Hasen
William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA  90015-1211
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rick.hasen@lls.edu
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