| Subject: [EL] Electionlawblog news and commentary 10/1/10 |
| From: DANIEL TOKAJI |
| Date: 10/1/2010, 8:41 AM |
| To: Election Law |
Barry Burden, David Canon, Stephane Lavertu, Ken Mayer, and Donald Moynihan have posted this paper. (Thanks to Ned Foley for the pointer.) Here's the abstract:
The method by which we select public officials can have a significant effect on their incentives, the constraints they face, and ultimately the policy goals they pursue. We explore this phenomenon using election administration as a case. We examine differences in the policy preferences among elected and appointed election officials, and explore the relationship between those attitudes and the administrative outcomes they may engender. We employ a uniquely rich dataset that includes the survey responses of over 1,200 Wisconsin election officials, structured interviews with dozens of these officials, and data from the 2008 presidential election. Drawing upon a natural experiment in how clerks are selected, we find that elected officials support policies that emphasize voter access rather than ballot security, and that their municipalities are associated with higher voter turnout. For appointed officials, we find that voter turnout in a municipality is noticeably lower when the local election official's partisanship differs from the partisanship of the electorate. Overall, our results support the notion that selection methods, and the incentives that flow from those methods, matter a great deal. Elected officials are more likely to express attitudes and generate outcomes that reflect their direct exposure to voters, in contrast to the more insulated position of appointed officials.As I've argued here (and, at greater length, in this article and a forthcoming ELJ article that draws on the work of Dan Lowenstein), party-affiliated election officials face an inherent conflict of interest. But until now, there's been little research on exactly how selection methods affect local election administrators' decisionmaking. This paper appears to be an important contribution to the debate over whether and how to reform the institutions that runs American elections.
Abby Thernstrom and Roger Clegg have these thoughts on the broader implications of Coates' testimony last week.
BNA reports here($) on the House's passage of FEIA (H.R. 512), which would prohibit state chief election officials from serving in a leadership role in federal campaigns. The bill required -- and received -- a two-thirds vote because it was passed under suspension of the rules, but faces an uncertain fate the in Senate. The same story reports on the House's passage of the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act (S. 3196, already approved by the Senate), authorizing GSA to provide transition resources to major-party nominees before the general election.
BNA has this report ($) and WSJ blog this one on Senator Patrick Leahy's introduction of a bill to amend the "honest services" statute. This is the statute that was at issue in Skilling v. United States, which held that it reaches only bribery and kickbacks, not undisclosed self-dealing. Although the main focus of this week's Senate Judiciary Committee appears to have been on self-dealing by corporate officers and directors, the statute would also cover public officials.
See here, here, here, and here for reports on the case challenging a law that dates back to 1912. Arguments on cross-motions for summary judgment were heard yesterday, and a decision is expected by November.
Politico reports here on a decision of the DC District Court, denying Judicial Watch's request for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's records concerning campaign contributions.
Legal Ethics Forum has this post on the indictment of a former NJ state legislator, arising from money his law firm received, purportedly for legal services but really (the indictment alleges) for supporting a development project. The linked story reports that state law doesn't require legislators to disclose their clients, the nature of their work, or how much they're getting, thus opening the door to conflicts and even bribery.
The Center for Responsive Politics opensecrets.org website has launched a two-week series on the money behind the 2010 congressional elections. It includes this story on Republicans' financial advantages in races for open House seats.
SCOTUS Blog reports here on the order denying Herb Lux's request for an order requiring Virginia to count petition signatures that he personally collected and witnessed, in an effort to run as an independent candidate for Virginia's Seventh CD.
See here for a description of and link to an interesting ALJ decision from Colorado, mentioned in this NYT editorial. The decision concludes that a group advocating against the retention of state judges must register as a political committee, thus limiting it to contributions of $525 per person -- but doesn't address the First Amendment issue raised by this requirement, apparently because state ALJ's aren't permitted to do so.
The NYT reports here on the remarks of George Gonzalez, NYC Board of Elections ED, at a state senate hearing.
The EAC has issued this release, noting that 30.3% of people vote early in 2008.
National Law Journal reports here on challenges to judicial campaign speech limits in Indiana and Wisconsin, brought by Jim Bopp.
Tomorrow, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania will be hosting a conference entitled "Citizens United and the Changing Political Role of the Corporation." The program may be found here. Thanks to Rick Piides, who will be presenting at the opening session, for the pointer.
TPMMuckraker reports.
Today, the University of Baltimore School of Law will host a symposium entitled "A Vision for Voting:
Celebrating 45 Years, Creating a Vision for the Future," organized by Prof. Gilda Daniels. The agenda is here. The symposium includes panels on election administration, redistricting, and campaign finance (the last of which I'll be on).
Daniel P. Tokaji
Professor of Law
The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
55 W. 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
614.292.6566