Election Law Blog

The Columbus Dispatch reports.

McClatchy:

Gov. Rick Scott has finished the fix of the flawed election law that relegated Florida to a late-night joke in 2012 by signing an elections clean-up bill passed on the final day of the legislative session.

The measure, signed by Scott late Monday before he left for a trade mission to Chile, reverses several provisions implemented in 2011 by GOP lawmakers in anticipation of the 2012 presidential election.

Those changes, criticized by Democrats as an attempt to suppress votes for President Barack Obama, limited the early voting that the president’s campaign capitalized on in 2008. The 2011 law also prevented early voting on the Sunday before Election Day and prohibited voters, particularly students, from changing their voting address at the polls.

MSNBC reports.

Here is the press release from the Commission.  And now here’s a release from the White House:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 21, 2013

President Obama Announces His Intent to Appoint Individuals to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint ten individuals to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.  The Presidential Commission on Election Administration was created following President Obama’s State of the Union pledge to identify non-partisan ways to shorten lines at polling places, promote the efficient conduct of elections, and provide better access to the polls for all voters.

 

• Robert F. Bauer –  Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Benjamin L. Ginsberg  – Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Brian Britton – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Joe Echevarria – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Trey Grayson – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Larry Lomax – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Michele Coleman Mayes – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Ann McGeehan – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Tammy Patrick – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Christopher Thomas – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

President Obama said, “The right to vote is one of the most essential rights provided by the Constitution.  As I said in my State of the Union Address, when any American, no matter where they live or what their party, is denied that right simply because too many obstacles stand in their way, we are betraying our ideals.  We have an obligation to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots without unwarranted obstructions or unnecessary delay. I am pleased that these committed individuals have agreed to offer their expertise to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration and I look forward to working with them in the coming months.”

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration:

 

Robert F. Bauer, Appointee for Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Robert F. Bauer is currently a partner at Perkins Coie LLP and General Counsel to the Democratic National Committee.  He previously served as General Counsel to Obama for America and served as White House Counsel from 2009 to 2011.  In his 30 years of practice, Mr. Bauer has provided counseling and representation on matters involving regulation of political activity before courts and administrative agencies for national party committees, candidates, political committees, individuals, Federal officeholders, corporations and trade associations, and tax-exempt groups.  He received a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

 

Benjamin L. Ginsberg, Appointee for Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Benjamin L. Ginsberg is currently a partner at Patton Boggs LLP where he represents campaigns, candidates, members of Congress and state legislatures, Governors, corporations, trade associations and individuals participating in the political process.  He was formerly General Counsel to the Republican National Committee, and currently represents the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.  He also serves as Counsel to the Republican Governors Association.  Mr. Ginsberg recently served as National Counsel to the Romney for President campaign and previously served as National Counsel to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign in 2000 and 2004.  He received an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

 

Brian Britton, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Brian Britton is currently the Vice President of Global Park Operations and Initiatives at Walt Disney World Company.  He joined Disney in 1999 and was previously the Vice President of Labor Operations, Operations Strategy, and Operations Support.  He is a board member of Community Based Care of Central Florida, a non-profit organization that manages Central Florida’s foster care program, and a board member for the Florida Attractions Association, a tourism industry trade association.  Mr. Britton is a Navy veteran and a former Naval Aviator.  He received a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master’s degree equivalent in the theory and operation of avionic systems in Naval Flight Officer School, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

 

Joe Echevarria, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Joe Echevarria has served as Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte LLP since June 2011.  Mr. Echevarria joined Deloitte in 1978 and became an audit partner in 1988.  Since that time, he has held a wide range of leadership positions, most recently as U.S. Managing Partner for Operations.  As part of his current role, Mr. Echevarria chairs the U.S. Executive Committee, and is a member of the U.S. Board of Directors, the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited Board, and the Americas Executive Committee.  Mr. Echevarria serves on the Board of Trustees and chairs the University of Miami School of Business’s Board of Overseers.  He received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Miami.

 

Trey Grayson, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Trey Grayson is currently the Director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  Mr. Grayson previously served as Secretary of State for Kentucky, elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007.  Prior to his election, Mr. Grayson practiced law at the law firms of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald and Keating Muething & Klekamp.  Mr. Grayson has served as the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), chair of the NASS Elections Committee, and vice chair of the NASS Committee on Voter Participation.  He received an A.B. from Harvard College, and a J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Kentucky.

 

Larry Lomax, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Larry Lomax is currently the Clark County Registrar in Nevada, a position he has held since 1999.  Mr. Lomax serves as Nevada’s representative to the Election Assistance Commission’s Standards Board, was elected by the board’s members to the Standards Board Executive Board, and served on a Pew Foundation Committee focused on modernizing our nation’s system of registering voters.  He previously served as Assistant Registrar in Clark County from 1998 to 1999.  Prior to working in Clark County, Mr. Lomax was a Professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Air War College.  As a former Air Force pilot, he accumulated over 4,000 hours of flying time in a 30-year career.  He served two tours on the Joint Staff in Washington D.C. and was chosen to serve as the Air Force Colonel on the staff group supporting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Mr. Lomax received a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the University of North Dakota.  He is a Distinguished Graduate from the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School.

 

Michele Coleman Mayes, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Michele Coleman Mayes is currently Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for the New York Public Library (NYPL).  Ms. Mayes joined NYPL in August 2012 after serving as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Allstate Insurance Company since 2007.  She served as a Senior Vice President and the General Counsel of Pitney Bowes Inc. from 2003 to 2007 and in several legal capacities at Colgate-Palmolive from 1992 to 2003.  In 1982, Ms. Mayes entered the corporate sector as managing attorney of Burroughs Corporation.  After Burroughs and Sperry Corporation merged, creating Unisys Corporation, she was appointed Staff Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Worldwide Litigation.  From 1976 through 1982, she served in the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in Detroit and Brooklyn, eventually assuming the role of Chief of the Civil Division in Detroit.  Ms. Mayes received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

 

Ann McGeehan, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Ann McGeehan is currently the Assistant General Counsel of the Texas County and District Retirement System.  Previously, she served 22 years in the Elections Division of the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, including as the Director of Elections from 1995 to 2011 and the Director of the Elections Legal Section from 1991 to 1995.  Ms. McGeehan is a past president of the National Association of State Election Directors, and a former member of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board and Technical Guidelines Development Committee.  Ms. McGeehan also served on an advisory group to the Pew Center on the States’ Election Initiative.  She received a B.A. from the University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

 

Tammy Patrick, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Tammy Patrick is currently a Federal Compliance Officer for the Maricopa County Elections Department in Arizona.  In 2013, she became a voting member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ working group on developing standards for a universal format for election results reporting.  She is also a representative on the Mailer’s Technical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Post Office and serves as the co-chair of the Postal Task Force for the Election Center.  She has previously served as a member of the Election Assistance Commission’s working group on Language Assistance for Unwritten Language, as an organizer of the 2007 Native American Voter Outreach Summit, and as a member of the Election Center’s National Task Force on Education and Training.  Ms. Patrick received her B.A. from Purdue University.

 

Christopher Thomas, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration

Christopher Thomas is the Director of Elections in the Michigan Department of State, a position he has held since 1981.  Mr. Thomas also teaches election law as an Adjunct Professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan.  From 1977 to 1981, Mr. Thomas served as Director of Campaign Finance Information and Director of Campaign Finance Operations for the State of Michigan.  Mr. Thomas served as the Director of Public Communications at the Federal Election Commission from 1975 to 1977.  He began his election administration career in 1974 in Washington, D.C. where he was a Staff Assistant responsible for managing campaign finance filings in the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.  Mr. Thomas is a founding member of the National Association of State Election Directors and currently serves as President.  Mr. Thomas has served on the Board of Advisors to the Election Assistance Commission since 2005.  He received a B.A. from Michigan State University, an M.A. from St. Louis University, and a J.D. from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

 

Study Finds Election Officials Biased Against Latino Voters: “A new Harvard study contacted over 7,000 election administrators in 28 states and found they provide different information about voter ID requirements to voters of different ethnicities.”

Majority of Republicans Don’t Think Election Was Fair: A new Hamilton College poll finds that heading into the 2012 election, “both Democrats and Republicans expressed concerns about the fairness of the election. Only 15% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats were very confident that the election would be decided fairly.”

The latter study is consistent with research I report in The Voting Wars: winners tend to retrospectively view the fairness of elections in much rosier ways than losers.  If my guy won, the election was fair and square; if the other guy won, there was fraud or chicanery.