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Election Law--Cases and Materials (5th edition 2012) (with Daniel Hays Lowenstein and Daniel P. Tokaji)
The Supreme Court and Election Law: Judging Equality from Baker v. Carr to Bush v. Gore (NYU Press 2003) NOW IN PAPER
Book introduction
Table of Contents
Order from Amazon.com
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Journal of Legislation Symposium on book
The Glannon Guide to Torts: Learning Torts Through Multiple-Choice Questions and Analysis (Aspen Publishers 2d ed. 2011)
Remedies: Examples & Explanations (Aspen Publishers, 2d ed. 2010)Election Law Resources
Election Law--Cases and Materials (4th edition 2008) (with Daniel Hays Lowenstein and Daniel P. Tokaji)
Election Law Journal
Election Law Listserv homepage
Election Law Teacher Database
Repository of Election Law Teaching Materials (2011 update)
Blogroll/Political News Sites
All About Redistricting (Justin Levitt)
American Constitution Society
Balkinization
Ballot Access News
Brennan Center for Justice
The Brookings Institution's Campaign Finance Page
Buzzfeed Politics
California Election Law (Randy Riddle)
Caltech-MIT/Voting Technology Project (and link to voting technology listserv)
The Caucus (NY Times)
Campaign Legal Center (Blog)
Campaign Finance Institute
Center for Competitive Politics (Blog)
Center for Governmental Studies
Doug Chapin (HHH program)
Concurring Opinions
CQ Politics
Demos
Election Updates
Fairvote
Election Law@Moritz
Electionline.org
Equal Vote (Dan Tokaji)
Federal Election Commission
The Fix (WaPo)
The Hill
How Appealing
Initiative and Referendum Institute
Legal Theory (Larry Solum)
Political Activity Law
Political Wire
Politico
Prawfsblawg
Roll Call
SCOTUSblog
Summary Judgments (Loyola Law faculty blog)
Talking Points Memo
UC Irvine Center for the Study of Democracy
UC Irvine School of Law
USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics
The Volokh Conspiracy
Votelaw blog (Ed Still)
Washington Post Politics
Why Tuesday?
Recent Newspapers and Magazine Commentaries
Big Money Lost, But Don't Be Relieved, CNN Opinion, Nov. 9, 2012
A Better Way to Vote: Nationalize Oversight and Control, NY Times, "Room for Debate" blog, Nov. 9, 2012
Election Day Dispatches Entry 5: Black Panthers, Navy Seals, and Mysterious Voting Machines, Slate, Nov. 6, 2012
Behind the Voting Wars, A Clash of Philosophies, Sacramento Bee, Nov. 4, 2012
How Many More Near-Election Disasters Before Congress Wakes Up?, The Daily Beast, Oct. 30, 2012
Will Bush v. Gore Save Barack Obama? If Obama Narrowly Wins Ohio, He Can Thank Scalia and the Court's Conservatives, Slate, Oct. 26, 2012
Will Voter Suppression and Dirty Tricks Swing the Election?, Salon, Oct. 22, 2012
Is the Supreme Court About to Swing Another Presidential Election? If the Court Cuts Early Voting in Ohio, It Could Be a Difference Maker in the Buckeye State, Slate, Oct. 15, 2012
Election Truthers: Will Republicans Accept an Obama Election Victory?, Slate, Oct. 9, 2012
Wrong Number: The Crucial Ohio Voting Battle You Haven't Heard About, Slate, Oct. 1, 2012
Litigating the Vote, National Law Journal, Aug. 27, 2012
Military Voters as Political Pawns, San Diego Union-Tribune, August 19, 2012
Tweeting the Next Election Meltdown: If the Next Presidential Election Goes into Overtime, Heaven Help Us. It’s Gonna Get Ugly, Slate, Aug. 14, 2012
A Detente Before the Election, New York Times, August 5, 2012
Worse Than Watergate: The New Campaign Finance Order Puts the Corruption of the 1970s to Shame, Slate, July 19, 2012
Has SCOTUS OK'd Campaign Dirty Tricks?, Politico, July 10, 2012
End the Voting Wars: Take our elections out of the hands of the partisan and the incompetent, Slate, June 13, 2012
Citizens: Speech, No Consequences, Politico, May 31, 2012
Is Campaign Disclosure Heading Back to the Supreme Court? Don’t expect to see Karl Rove’s Rolodex just yet, Slate, May 16, 2012
Unleash the Hounds Why Justice Souter should publish his secret dissent in Citizens United, Slate, May 16, 2012
Why Washington Can’t Be Fixed; And is about to get a lot worse, Slate, May 9, 2012
Let John Edwards Go! Edwards may be a liar and a philanderer, but his conviction will do more harm than good, Slate, April 23, 2012
The Real Loser of the Scott Walker Recall? The State of Wisconsin, The New Republic, April 13, 2012
A Court of Radicals: If the justices strike down Obamacare, it may have grave political implications for the court itself, Slate, March 30, 2012
Of Super PACs and Corruption, Politico, March 22, 2012
Texas Voter ID Law May Be Headed to the Supreme Court, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Mar. 13, 2012
“The Numbers Don’t Lie: If you aren’t sure Citizens United gave rise to the Super PACs, just follow the money, Slate, Mar. 9, 2012
Stephen Colbert: Presidential Kingmaker?, Politico, Mar. 5 2012
Occupy the Super PACs; Justice Ginsburg knows the Citizens United decision was a mistake. Now she appears to be ready to speak truth to power, Slate, Feb. 20, 2012
Kill the Caucuses! Maine, Nevada, and Iowa were embarrassing. It’s time to make primaries the rule, Slate, Feb. 15, 2012
The Biggest Danger of Super PACs, CNN Politics, Jan. 9, 2012
This Case is a Trojan Horse, New York Times "Room for Debate" blog, Jan. 6, 2012 (forum on Bluman v. FEC)
Holder's Voting Rights Gamble: The Supreme Court's Voter ID Showdown, Slate, Dec. 30, 2011
Will Foreigners Decide the 2012 Election? The Extreme Unintended Consequences of Citizens United, The New Republic (online), Dec. 6, 2011
Disenfranchise No More, New York Times, Nov. 17, 2011
A Democracy Deficit at Americans Elect?, Politico, Nov. 9, 2011
Super-Soft Money: How Justice Kennedy paved the way for ‘SuperPACS’ and the return of soft money, Slate, Oct. 25, 2012
The Arizona Campaign Finance Law: The Surprisingly Good News in the Supreme Court’s New Decision, The New Republic (online), June 27, 2011
New York City as a Model?, New York Times Room for Debate, June 27, 2011
A Cover-Up, Not a Crime. Why the Case Against John Edwards May Be Hard to Prove, Slate, Jun. 3, 2011
Wisconsin Court Election Courts Disaster, Politico, Apr. 11, 2011
Rich Candidate Expected to Win Again, Slate, Mar. 25, 2011
Health Care and the Voting Rights Act, Politico, Feb. 4, 2011
The FEC is as Good as Dead, Slate, Jan. 25, 2011
Let Rahm Run!, Slate, Jan. 24, 2011
Lobbypalooza,The American Interest, Jan-Feb. 2011(with Ellen P. Aprill)
Election Hangover: The Real Legacy of Bush v. Gore, Slate, Dec. 3, 2010
Alaska's Big Spelling Test: How strong is Joe Miller's argument against the Leeza Markovsky vote?, Slate, Nov. 11, 2010
Kirk Offers Hope vs. Secret Donors, Politico, November 5, 2010
Evil Men in Black Robes: Slate's Judicial Election Campaign Ad Spooktackular!, Slate, October 26, 2010 (with Dahlia Lithwick)
Show Me the Donors: What's the point of disclosing campaign donations? Let's review, Slate, October 14, 2010
Un-American Influence: Could Foreign Spending on Elections Really Be Legal?, Slate, October 11, 2010
Toppled Castle: The real loser in the Tea Party wins is election reform, Slate, Sept. 16, 2010
Citizens United: What the Court Did--and Why, American Interest, July/August 2010
The Big Ban Theory: Does Elena Kagan Want to Ban Books? No, and She Might Even Be a Free Speech Zealot", Slate, May 24, 2010
Crush Democracy But Save the Kittens: Justice Alito's Double Standard for the First Amendment, Slate, Apr. 30, 2010
Some Skepticism About the "Separable Preferences" Approach to the Single Subject Rule: A Comment on Cooter & Gilbert, Columbia Law Review Sidebar, Apr. 19, 2010
Scalia's Retirement Party: Looking ahead to a conservative vacancy can help the Democrats at the polls, Slate, Apr. 12, 2010
Hushed Money: Could Karl Rove's New 527 Avoid Campaign-Finance Disclosure Requirements?, Slate, Apr. 6, 2010
Money Grubbers: The Supreme Court Kills Campaign Finance Reform, Slate, Jan. 21, 2010
Bad News for Judicial Elections, N.Y. Times "Room for Debate" Blog, Jan., 21, 2010
Read more opeds from 2006-2009
Forthcoming Publications, Recent Articles, and Working Papers
The 2012 Voting Wars, Judicial Backstops, and the Resurrection of Bush v. Gore, George Washington Law Review (forthcoming 2013) (draft available)
A Constitutional Right to Lie in Campaigns and Elections?, Montana Law Review (forthcoming 2013) (draft available)
End of the Dialogue? Political Polarization, the Supreme Court, and Congress, 86 Southern California Law Review (forthcoming 2013) (draft available)
Fixing Washington, 126 Harvard Law Review (forthcoming 2012) (draf available)
What to Expect When You’re Electing: Federal Courts and the Political Thicket in 2012, Federal Lawyer, (forthcoming 2012)( draft available)
Chill Out: A Qualified Defense of Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws in the Internet Age, Journal of Law and Politics (forthcoming 2012) (draft available)
Lobbying, Rent Seeking, and the Constitution, 64 Stanford Law Review (forthcoming 2012) (draft available)
Anticipatory Overrulings, Invitations, Time Bombs, and Inadvertence: How Supreme Court Justices Move the Law, Emory Law Journal (forthcoming 2012) (draft available)
Teaching Bush v. Gore as History, St. Louis University Law Review (forthcoming 2012) (symposium on teaching election law) (draft available)
The Supreme Court’s Shrinking Election Law Docket: A Legacy of Bush v. Gore or Fear of the Roberts Court?, Election Law Journal (forthcoming 2011) (draft available)
Citizens United and the Orphaned Antidistortion Rationale, 27 Georgia State Law Review 989 (2011) (symposium on Citizens United)
The Nine Lives of Buckley v. Valeo, in First Amendment Stories, Richard Garnett and Andrew Koppelman, eds., Foundation 2011)
The Transformation of the Campaign Financing Regime for U.S. Presidential Elections, in The Funding of Political Parties (Keith Ewing, Jacob Rowbottom, and Joo-Cheong Tham, eds., Routledge 2011)
Judges as Political Regulators: Evidence and Options for Institutional Change, in Race, Reform and Regulation of the Electoral Process, (Gerken, Charles, and Kang eds., Cambridge 2011)
Citizens United and the Illusion of Coherence, 109 Michigan Law Review 581 (2011)
Aggressive Enforcement of the Single Subject Rule, 9 Election Law Journal 399 (2010) (co-authored with John G. Matsusaka)
The Benefits of the Democracy Canon and the Virtues of Simplicity: A Reply to Professor Elmendorf, 95 Cornell Law Review 1173 (2010)
Constitutional Avoidance and Anti-Avoidance on the Roberts Court, 2009 Supreme Court Review 181 (2010)
Election Administration Reform and the New Institutionalism, California Law Review 1075 (2010) (reviewing Gerken, The Democracy Index)
You Don't Have to Be a Structuralist to Hate the Supreme Court's Dignitary Harm Election Law Cases, 64 University of Miami Law Review 465 (2010)
The Democracy Canon, 62 Stanford Law Review 69 (2009)
Review Essay: Assessing California's Hybrid Democracy, 97 California Law Review 1501 (2009)
Bush v. Gore and the Lawlessness Principle: A Comment on Professor Amar, 61 Florida Law Review 979 (2009)
Introduction: Developments in Election Law, 42 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 565 (2009)
Book Review (reviewing Christopher P. Manfredi and Mark Rush, Judging Democracy (2008)), 124 Political Science Quarterly 213 (2009).
"Regulation of Campaign Finance," in Vikram Amar and Mark Tushnet, Global Perspectives on Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press (2009)
More Supply, More Demand: The Changing Nature of Campaign Financing for Presidential Primary Candidates (working paper, Sept. 2008)
When 'Legislature' May Mean More than''Legislature': Initiated Electoral College Reform and the Ghost of Bush v. Gore, 35 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 599 (2008) (draft available)
"Too Plain for Argument?" The Uncertain Congressional Power to Require Parties to Choose Presidential Nominees Through Direct and Equal Primaries, 102 Northwestern University Law Review 2009 (2008)
Political Equality, the Internet, and Campaign Finance Regulation, The Forum, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Art. 7 (2008)
Justice Souter: Campaign Finance Law's Emerging Egalitarian, 1 Albany Government Law Review 169 (2008)
Beyond Incoherence: The Roberts Court's Deregulatory Turn in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 92 Minnesota Law Review 1064 (2008) (draft available)
The Untimely Death of Bush v. Gore, 60 Stanford Law Review 1 (2007)
Articles 2004-2007
Author Archives: Dan Tokaji
Election Law Journal 12:1 Now Available, International Election Observation
The new issue of Election Law Journal is now available. The featured topic is International Eleciton Observation, with a set of papers co-edited by Emily Beaulieu. Here’s the table of contents:
The Party Line: The Value of Election Observation, by Paul Gronke, Daniel Tokaji
Articles
Political Consultants and Party-Centered Campaigning: Evidence from the 2010 U.S. House Primary Election Campaigns, Sean A. Cain
Ballot Design as Fail-Safe: An Ounce of Rotation Is Worth a Pound of Litigation, by Mary Beth Beazley
Is Money in Politics Harming Trust in Government? Evidence from Two Survey Experiments, by Michael W. Sances
Featured Topic: International Election Observation
Introduction, by Emily Beaulieu
The Role of International Electoral Observation Missions in the Promotion of the Political Rights of Women: The Case of the OAS, by Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian
Democracy Post-2011 Arab Spring: Perceptions and Election Fairness in Egypt, by Saud Kabli
The Carter Center and Election Observation: An Obligations-Based Approach for Assessing Elections, by David J. Carroll, Avery Davis-Roberts
Citizen Election Observation Towards a New Era, by Domenico Tuccinardi, Franck Balme
Book Reviews
International Election Observers and the Democratic Quality of Elections, by Emily Beaulieu (reviewing Susan D. Hyde, The Pseudo-Democrat’s Dilemma: Why Election Observation Became an International Norm and Judith G. Kelley, Monitoring Democracy: When International Election Observation Works, and Why It Often Fails)
Australian Electoral Reform and Administration: Partisanship and Independence, by Paul Rodan (reviewing Norm Kelly, Directions in Australian Electoral Reform)
Our next issue will feature papers from the HAVA at 10 conference hosted by Election Law @ Moritz last year, marking the 10th anniversary of the Help America Vote Act.
Conference: Under the Influence? Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Campaign Finance
The Baldy Center at SUNY Buffalo is sponsoring a conference this Friday and Saturday, March 8 and 9, 2013 on the interaction between lobbying and campaign finance. Michael Halberstam of SUNY Buffalo Law School is the lead organizer of the conference, which has a stellar lineup, including Nick Allard, Frank Baumgartner, Richard Briffault, Matthew Dimick, Lee Drutman, James Gardner, Heather Gerken, Craig Holman, Robert Jackson, Anthony Johnstone, Michael Kang, Stuart Lazar, Susan Lerner, Lloyd Mayer, Amy McKay, Zephyr Teachout, Dan Tokaji, and Ciara Torres-Spelliscy. Papers from the conference will be published in Election Law Journal. More information is available here.
Election Law Journal 11:4 Now Available: Major Developments in Redistricting
The latest issue of Election Law Journal is now available. The featured topic is redistricting, with eight articles on the subject. The issue also articles on Alvin Greene’s surprising victory in the 2010 Democratic primary in South Carolina and Americans’ perceptions of corruption, as well as a forum on Argentinian electoral reforms and a book review of Race, Reform, and Regulation of the Electoral Process. The full table of contents appears below.
The Party Line: Dimensions of Redistricting, by Daniel P. Tokaji, Paul Gronke, Michael Halberstam
Articles
Alvin Greene? Who? How Did He Win the United States Senate Nomination in South Carolina?, by Joseph Bafumi, Michael C. Herron, Seth J. Hill & Jeffrey B. Lewis
Corruption, Political Participation, and Appetite for Reform: Americans’ Assessment of the Role of Money in Politics, by Daron Shaw, Brian Roberts, Abby Blass
Featured Topic: Major Developments in Redistricting
How to Do Things with Boundaries: Redistricting and the Construction of Politics, by James A. Gardner
On Overreaching, or Why Rick Perry May Save the Voting Rights Act but Destroy Affirmative Action, by Ellen D. Katz
Court Deference to State Legislatures in Redistricting After Perry v. Perez, by Jeffrey M. Wice & Leonard M. Kohen
Process Failure and Transparency Reform in Local Redistricting, by Michael Halberstam
Adventures in Redistricting: A Look at the California Redistricting Commission, by Karin Mac Donald
The Effects of Redistricting on Incumbents, by Stephen Ansolabehere & James M. Snyder Jr.
Defining Communities of Interest in Redistricting Through Initiative Voting, by Todd Makse
Electoral Constituencies and Political Parties in Kuwait: An Assessment, by Abdullah Al-Remaidhi & Bob Watt
Forum: Argentina’s Electoral Reforms
Prologue, by Samuel Issacharoff
The Move Toward State-Run Mass Media Electoral Campaigns in Latin America: An Evaluation of the First Implementation in the 2011 Argentine Presidential Elections, by Maria Page & Julia Pomares
Book Review
The Bright Future of Elections Scholarship, by Grant M. Hayden, reviewing Race, Reform, and Regulation of the Electoral Process: Recurring Puzzles in American Democracy (Guy Charles, Heather Gerken, and Michael Kang, eds.)
Election Law Journal 11:3 Now Available; Preview of 11:4
The new issue of ELJ (11:3) is out now. Here’s the table of contents:
The Party Line: The Shifting Electoral Landscape, by Paul Gronke and Daniel P. Tokaji
ARTICLES
The Effect of Prepaid Postage on Turnout: A Cautionary Tale for Election Administrators, byMelissa R. Michelson, Neil Malhotra, Andrew Healy, Donald P. Green, Allison Carnegie, and Ali Adam Valenzuela
Effect of Election Day Vote Centers on Voter Participation, by Robert M. Stein and Greg Vonnahme
Does Public Financing Chill Political Speech? Exploiting a Court Injunction as a Natural Experiment, by Conor M. Dowling, Ryan D. Enos, Anthony Fowler, and Costas Panagopoulos
Forcing Parliamentary Rollback: High Court Intervention in Australian Electoral Legislative Reform, by Sarah Murray
FORUM
Souls to the Polls: Early Voting in Florida in the Shadow of House Bill 1355, by Michael C. Herron and Daniel A. Smith
BOOK REVIEWS
Advancing ‘‘A Charter for a Vibrant Democracy, ” by Daniel R. Ortiz (reviewing Monica Youn, ed. Money, Politics, and the Constitution: Beyond Citizens United)
Bankrolling Parties, Bankrupting Democracy: Money in Australian Politics, by Zim G. Nwokora (reviewing Joo-Cheong Tham, Money and Politics: The Democracy We Can’t Afford)
Our next issue (11:4) will feature articles on major developments in redistricting. It will include contributions from James Gardner, Ellen Katz, Todd Makse, and Bob Watt & Abdullah Al-Remaidhi, with articles on other topics by Michael Herron and Daron Shaw, Brian Roberts & Abby Blass. The issue will also feature a forum piece on state-funded campaigns in Argentina by Julia Pomares and Maria Page with a prologue by Sam Issacharoff, and Grant Hayden’s review of Race, Reform, and the Electoral Process(edited by Guy Charles, Heather Gerken, and Michael Kang).
Over to You, Justin . . .
Thanks to Rick for letting me guest blog. Justin Levitt will be taking over though July 3, when Rick returns.
“The Supreme Court’s Cowardice”
Bloomberg View’s take on the ATP decision. Wonder who (if anyone) will be talking about “cowardice” after tomorrow’s health care decision?
“General Mills Boycott Draws Dozens of Amendment Supporters”
The Star Tribune’s blog reports that the ”lead group pushing an amendment to ban same-sex marriage staged a boycott outside the General Mills headquarters Tuesday, urging other Minnesota companies to stay out of the amendment fight.”
“Voting shouldn’t require a credit report
MSNBC Lean Forward’s perspective on Iowa’s process for restoring felon voting rights.
“Occupy Activists Map D.C’s Campaign ‘bundles’”
Mike DeBonis has this post on the Post’s blog.
“Tens of Thousands of Service Members’ Votes Not Counted”
McClatchy has this story on a report from the Military Voter Protection Project.
“Two Texas Billionaires Are Nation’s Top Super PAC Donors”
From the San Antonio Express-News.
DCCC Using Voting Rights Appeal from Rep. Lewis to Raise Funds
USA Today reports here that “[t]he campaign arm for House Democrats has turned to Rep. John Lewis to make the pitch for money to stop voter suppression tactics,” with an email that reads: “I’ve been marching and preaching and fighting for voting rights for over 50 years. Today, we’re seeing a deliberate and systematic effort on the part of Republican officials to prevent minorities, seniors, the young, and the poor from casting their ballots….”
Florida Wants Voter Registration Group to Stop Sending Forms
The Miami Herald reports here that the Florida Secretary of State is seeking to stop the Voter Participation Center from sending out registration forms to Floridians, to avoid confusing and misleading voters. The group, which is based in Washington State, claims to have registered 200,000 Florida voters in the past eight years and to have sent out 420,000 more forms already this year.
Mondale, Carlson to Lead Opposition to Minnesota Voter ID
Minnesota Public Radio reports here on the effort to defeat a state constitutional amendment to require photo ID.
“Redistricting: Are You Smarter than a 3rd Grader?”
Plunderbund has this post on the Voters First proposal to create an independent redistricting commission in Ohio. (Dislosure: I’m part of this coalition.)
“Hispanics Looking for November Gains in US House”
The AP has this story, reporting that the current number of Hispanic-held seats is “virtually guaranteed to increase by at least three or four seats because of once-a-decade redistricting that’s created new Hispanic-majority districts in California and Texas” and that “Hispanics could win more seats in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Florida.”
NY State AG Investigating Chamber’s Campaign Spending
The NYT reports that: “Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York has begun investigating contributions to tax-exempt groups that are heavily involved in political campaigns, focusing on a case involving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been one of the largest outside groups seeking to influence recent elections but is not required to disclose its donors.”
“Campaign Money Case Could Propel More Deregulation”
The AP reports here on potential fallout from Montana.
“High Court Ruling Throws State Campaign Law into Doubt”
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports here on the Swanson case, pending before the en banc Eighth Circuit since September.
“Obama Prepping Thousands of Lawyers for Election”
The AP has this report.
Hearing on Alaska Section 5 Case
The three-judge district court in Samuelson v. Treadwell (Kozinski, Beistline, and Singleton) has issued this order setting forth the issues to be addressed at Thursday’s hearing. The complaint challenges the use of an as-yet unprecleared state legislative redistricting plan. Alaska’s argument that Section 5 is unconstitutional – noted here — is not among the issues to be addressed Thursday.
“After Winning Right to Spend, Political Groups Fight for Secrecy”
The LA Times has this report.
New Challenge to Federal Contribution Limits
A big new case filed Friday in D.C. federal district court: Plaintiffs in McCutcheon v. FEC, represented by Jim Bopp and Steve Hoersting, seek a preliminary injunction against:
a. the limits on contributions to non-candidate committees at 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(3)(B), as applied to contributions to national party committees and facially, and
b. the limit on contributions to candidate committees at 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(3)(A).
The moving papers may be found here. Plaintiffs have requested a three-judge court per BCRA.
Update: BNA has this report.
More on ATP v. Bullock
Additional analysis of and reaction to yesterday’s decision in the Atlantic, Daily Beast, National Law Journal, National Review, NYT, Roll Call, WaPo, and WSJ, plus a round-up of some other editorials from McClatchy.
Quote of the Day
From Political Wire:
“Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation — abortion facility regulations — in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.”
– Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R), quoted by Politics PA, citing a voter ID law as an accomplishment which critics claim was never about preventing fraud.
Think Progress comments here.
Update: You can find video of the remark here, and more on this story from The Caucus, Politico, and Salon. According to John Baer’s Philly Daily News blog, the (not very helpful) defense from Turzai’s spokesman is that he was “simply playing to a partisan audience.”
DOJ to Monitor Tuesday Elections in NY State
The NYT reports here that the “Justice Department will send federal officials to observe Congressional primary elections on Tuesday in Queens and the Hudson Valley.”
Few Iowa Felons Have Voting Rights Reinstated
The AP reports that fewer than twelve of the over 8000 felons released have regained their right to vote, since the state’s automatic reenfranchisement policy was reversed last year by Gov. Branstad. According to the story, reenfranchisement now requires a full credit report (not just a summary), a criminal history report (which costs $15), and completion of a ”31-question application that asks for information such as the address of the judge who handled the conviction,” and “the review can take up to six months.” No surprise that few ex-felons successfully run this gauntlet.
Early Roundup on ATP v. Bullock
Reports on today’s summary affirmance and dissents from the Billings Gazette, Bloomberg, The Hill, LAT, MSNBC, NPR, NYT, Politico, Reuters, USA Today, WaPo, WSJ. Reaction from ATP, Cato, Huffpost, Jennifer Rubin, and Justice at Stake, in addition to the posts below from Rick Hasen and Rick Pildes.
Update: More reaction from Brennan, CCP, CLC, Common Cause, Demos (and Dellinger), Public Citizen.
Another Alaska Redistricting Dispute
Today’s Juneau Empire has this report on a dissent from two of the five state supreme court justices, arguing that the maps to be used this year violate the state constitution. The order and dissenting opinions may be found here. The dispute hinges on whether departure from the state’s compactness and contiguity requirements was required to comply with Section 5 of the VRA, which is the subject of another case in which the state reportedly intends to challenge the statute’s constitutionality.
$5000 in FEC Fines Against Rep. Roscoe Bartlett
The Baltimore Sun reports here on the fines against the Maryland Congressman, noting that its “review of FEC data … found that Bartlett has received 25 letters from the agency for incomplete reports since 2009 — more than any other current member of the House of Representatives.”
SCOTUS Affirms Decision Upholding Maryland Law on “Prison Gerrymandering”
The summary disposition in Fletcher v. Lamone affirms a three-judge district court ruling upholding the state’s “No Representation Without Population Act,” which requires that, for redistricting purposes, prisoners be counted at their legal home addresses rather than where they’re incarcerated. Demos’ press release heralding the ruling is here.
Update: The Baltimore Sun has this story on the ruling, and the AP this one.
Canadian Court Hearing Motions to Overturn Election Results Because of Robocalls
According to this report: “The Federal Court is hearing preliminary motions today in the Council of Canadians’ bid to have the federal election results overturned” in seven ridings, on the ground that “misleading or harassing phone calls in those ridings kept some people from voting and may have affected the outcomes.”
“With Cuomo, a New Group Will Push for Publicly Financed Elections”
The NYT reports that: “Frustrated with Albany’s tepid reaction to the idea of publicly financed elections, the Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his fiancé are financing a new campaign to press the issue in coordination with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.”
“SuperPACs as a Check on the Special Interests and the Lobbyists”
The perspective of Tim Carney in the Washington Examiner.
“Suddenly, Elections Supervisor Becomes a Tempting Job”
From Florida comes this very interesting story on “seasoned political players are looking to parlay their years of experience in partisan battles into an advantage in becoming elections overseers” at the county level. Thanks to David Kimball, who’s done some excellent work on partisanship in state and local election administration, for the pointer.
Breaking News: Summary Reversal in Montana
5-4 according to SCOTUS blog, which is live-blogging. Justice Breyer wrote the dissent.
Update: You can find the short per curiam and dissenting opinions here.
“Law Loophole Keeps Other Voters out of Seminole GOP Primary”
The Orlando Sentinel has this story on a state law that allows all voters to vote in a party’s primary where only that party fields candidates, unless there’s a write-in candidate. It reports that “Republicans and Democrats alike have used the write-in tactic to keep voters from other parties out of their primaries.”
“For Wealthy Romney Donors, Up Close and Personal Access”
The NYT has this report.
“Members of Congress Trade in Companies While Making Laws That Affect Those Same Firms”
The Washington Post reports here that: “One-hundred-thirty members of Congress or their families have traded stocks collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars in companies lobbying on bills that came before their committees, a practice that is permitted under current ethics rules….”
Alaska Challenging Constitutionality of Section 5
Add Alaska to the list of state and local jurisdictions challenging Section 5′s constitutionality. Alaska Public Radio and the Alaska Dispatch report on the state’s argument, in defense of a lawsuit challenging its failure to obtain preclearance of the state legislative redistricting plan. A federal district judge had previously denied a motion to enjoin preparation for the August 28 primary for failure to obtain preclearance.
New Hampshire Voter ID Developments
The AP, MSNBC, and the Nation report on possible next steps on proposed voter ID legislation, a version of which (SB 289) was vetoed by Gov. John Lynch this week because he thought it too restrictive.
“Do Democrats Have a Shot at the House?”
Nate Silver analyzes the question in this post, which considers the impact of redistricting and independent expenditures.
McConnell v. Washington Post on Campaign Finance
The Hill reports here on Senator McConnell’s response to criticism from WaPo’s Fred Hiatt and Ruth Marcus, asserting that the Senator had been inconsistent in his positions on disclosure and independent expenditures.
I See Dead People (on the Voting Rolls)
In Maryland . . . the Voting Wars continue.
“With Elections Awash in Cash, There’s Plenty of Blame to Go Around”
The NYT has this story on CU, Super PACs, and the demise of federal public financing.
Opp. Cert. Briefs in Washington State Grange II
Richard Winger has links to the briefs and commentary here.
“Mitt Romney’s Hidden Campaign Cash”
From The Fix at WaPo: “Mitt Romney is quickly closing the cash gap on President Obama. But as of right now, we don’t know exactly how close it is.”
“IRS Questionnaire on 501(c)(4) Advocacy, Other Politically Active Exempts on the Way”
BNA reports here that the IRS “plans to ask social welfare organizations, labor unions, and trade associations a number of questions about their activities and compliance with annual filing requirements in an upcoming questionnaire.”
Election Law Journal 11:2, Symposium on Election Law in India, Now Available; Preview of 11:3
The new issue of Election Law Journal is out now. It features a symposium on Election Law in India, the world’s largest democracy, guest co-edited by Robert Moog and David Gilmartin of North Carolina State University. The symposium includes an article by Ellen Weintraub and Samuel Brown comparing campaign finance disclosure in India and the U.S. The table of contents appears below.
This is our first issue devoted to another country’s election system, part of our effort to enhance the journal’s international coverage. In that same vein, we’ve added Graeme Orr of the University of Queensland Law School as our International Editor, a new position for this issue.
Our next issue (11:3) will include articles by Donald Green, Melissa Michelson, Neil Malhotra, Andrew Healy, Allison Sovey Carnegie, and Ali Valenzuela; Bob Stein and Greg Vonnahme; Anthony Fowler, Conor Dowling, Ryan Enos, and Costas Panagopoulos; and Sarah Murray. It also includes a paper on Florida’s recent early voting changes by Dan Smith and Michael Herron, and book reviews by Dan Ortiz and Zim Nwokora.
ELJ 11:2 – Table of Contents
The Party Line: Election Law Goes Global, by Daniel P. Tokaji and Paul Gronke
Symposium: Election Law in India
Introduction to “Election Law in India,” by David Gilmartin and Robert Moog
Between Moral Force and Supplementary Legality: A Model Code of Conduct and the Election Commission of India, by Ujjwal Kumar Singh
Identifying Citizens: Electoral Rolls, the Right to Vote, and the Election Commission of India, by Anupama Roy
The Election Commission of India and the Regulation and Administration of Electoral Politics, by Alistair McMillan
A Seat at the Table: Reservations and Representation in India’s Electoral System, by Wendy Singer
Identifying Criminals and Crorepatis in Indian Politics: An Analysis of Two Supreme Court Rulings, by Ronojoy Sen
Reforming India’s Party Financing and Election Expenditure Laws, by M. V. Rajeev Gowda and E. Sridharan
Following the Money: Campaign Finance Disclosure in India and the United States, by Ellen L. Weintraub andSamuel C. Brown
Book Reviews
A Study of Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada, by Mark Rush (reviewing Robert Boatright, Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada)
Diagnosing Delicate Systems: A Review of Three Books, by Kelly McNicholas (reviewing David M. Farrell, Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction, Alan Renwick, The Politics of Electoral Reform, and Andrew Reynolds, Designing Democracy in a Dangerous World).
Democracy Now on “Dark Money”
A recording of today’s show on outside money in the 2012 election (Pt. 1 of 2) may be found here.
