A Huge Thank You to Dan Tokaji...

who did an excellent job filling in for me while I dealt with some pressing deadlines. Thanks Dan!

"In midterm elections, Washington lobbying becomes a line of attack for both parties"

The Washington Post offers this very interesting report. Coincidentally, I've just finished the first draft of a paper on lobbying (soon to be posted on SSRN) that begins with this point about lobbyists being excoriated by left and right.

"Republicans See a Political Motive in I.R.S. Audits"

The NY Times offers this report and this related blog post. In somewhat related news, the Washington Post offers Treasury Watchdog to Probe Austan Goolsbee.

"Confronting the Impact of Citizens United"

Justin Levitt has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Yale Law & Policy Review). Here is the abstract:

Perceived corporate power has spurred a recent populist backlash, on both political left and political right. In this atmosphere, the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, granting corporations the right to spend directly on express political advocacy, has become the target of particularly heated critique.

This Essay confronts the impact of Citizens United in two respects. Part I first reviews Citizens United's place in the campaign finance constellation. It argues that although the decision was a bold stroke in many ways, its impact on the scope of permissible campaign finance regulation is far less substantial than commonly assumed.

Even if Citizens United's incremental impact is mild, it nevertheless seems to have the feel of a final straw. The decision has provoked first furor, and then fear, with opponents invoking a broad vision of a dystopian political process overwhelmed by corporations. Yet rarely is the fear of corporate political spending articulated at a level of specificity conducive to assessing, or confronting, the perceived damage. Part II takes up the challenge, parsing the pragmatic concerns at the root of opposition to corporate political spending. It then offers responsive policy proposals - including an approach to protect against monopolization of media channels, an appealingly straightforward disclaimer label to mitigate voter misperception, and a novel application of a recusal obligation to combat the appearance of corruption - all well within the regulatory space undisturbed by Citizens United.

Important and provocative!

"Approximating Democracy: A Proposal for Proportional Representation in the California Legislature"

Allan Ides has posted this draft on SSRN (recently presented at the Reboot CA conference here at Loyola). Here is the abstract:

The State of California elects a bicameral legislature through a first-past-the-post electoral system. Beginning in 2012, the election of California state legislators will be through an open primary, two-round system. Neither of these electoral systems provides for proportional representation in the legislature. Accordingly, neither system leads to a truly representative democracy. The author recommends that the state adopt a proportional representation electoral system – specifically, a mixed-member system – as a more democratic alternative plurality/majority systems now in place or projected to be implemented in 2012. In addition, the author explains why the state legislature should be unicameral and increased in size from the current 120 legislators to 320.

I read an earlier draft of this piece. Recommended!

"Donor names stay secret as nonprofits politick"

The Boston Globe offers this report.

"TX: Houston tea party group King Street Patriots may risk violating state, federal laws, experts say"

The Texas Independent offers this report.

"New Black Panthers: Coates' Testimony a 'Bombshell' -- Of the Self-Exploding Kind"

Michael Yaki of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has written this blog post.

"Supporters Say They Fear Hill Watchdog Will Be Killed or Gutted in Next Congress"

BNA offers this report.

"Late Ballots May Put Congress in Limbo"

AP offers this report.

Voting Group Complains About RNC Mailer That May Compromise Voter Privacy

A nonprofit called Long Distance Voter (LDV) has written this open letter to the RNC, complaining about an RNC mailer that included an LDV registration form. The forms are public and available for anyone to distribute. So what's the problem? The form was reprinted on postcard. Bcause it requires sensitive information, this could compromise voters' privacy and leave them vulnerable to identity theft, LDV complains. Also, the form has LDV's email address but doesn't mention the RNC, leading some recipients to believe it came from the nonprofit.

DC BOEE Response to Hacking of Online Voting Trial

Paul Stenbjorn, Director Information Services for the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, has written this response to the hacking of its digital vote by mail test.

McDonald's VAP and VEP Estimates

Not to be missed: Michael McDonald has released his estimates of the Voting-Age and Voting Eligible Population for 2010. See this post on Huffpost/Pollster, as well as this page on the US Elections Project website with a state-by-state VAP and VEP breakdown -- as well as columns on turnout to be filled in after the election.

"Feingold: Principled or Naive?"

In Politico's Arena, Rick Hasen weighs in on Senator Feingold's statement that he doesn't want help from the DSCC.

CCP Responds to Crossroads GPS and U.S. Chamber Allegations

The Center for Competitive Politics has issued this memo, responding to the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21's complaint against Crossroad GPS and Think Progress' allegation of foreign funding for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's political activities, both noted here.

NIST Voting Systems Job Postings

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has two job postings, here and here, for computer security experts to work on HAVA voting systems issues, including the development of security standards.

-- 
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