"Man Bankrolls Initiative to Change 3-Strikes Law"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report, with the following subhead: "He spends $1.56 million in a bid that would mean fewer long terms, offer hope to his inmate son."

"Campaign Catching Hands in the Till"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report, with the following subhead: "Amid record donations and little oversight, more candidates and PACs become victims of embezzlement. They'd rather not talk about it."

"Common Cause Looks for New Battle to Fight"

The Washington Post offers this report.

Brad Smith: Person of Principle?

Back in this post, I linked to a New York Times story in which Democracy 21's Fred Wertheimer was quoted as saying that FEC Chair Brad Smith "was acting out of principle, too" in failing to go along with new regulations of 527 organizations.

Today, Werthheimer has this letter to the editor in which he retracts his earlier statement: Smith's vote "not a real act of principle but rather a failure to properly enforce the campaign finance laws he has sworn to uphold."

In my view, Wertheimer had it right the first time and went too far the second time. The 527 issue, as readers of this blog know, raises complex statutory and constitutional questions. Brad Smith resolved the 527 issue against regulation, taking a respectable position on the issue that is certainly in line with his own ideology not to reach out and do more than the Supreme Court and Congress have required. It is the same position taken by other members of the FEC, and it is a position that put Smith, a Republican, at odds with the RNC and others.

Back when Smith was up for nomination to the FEC, I took a position against his nomination. I agreed with others that Smith is honest and a person of principle, but thought his ideological position should disqualify him from the job. (I believe we had a debate on the listserv over whether ideology should be relevant for nomination to the FEC.)

The Werheimer statement shows how personal and bitter the campaign finance debate has become in Washington. It should still be possible to take a position on a campaign finance issue contrary to others without having one's personal integrity attacked.

RNC "Super Rangers Meet DNC "Trustees"

The New York Times offers a report on the latest fundraising controversies.

"Who Tests Voting Machines"

The New York Times offers this editorial.

"Bush's Reelection Campaign Hogs the Stash of GOP Cash"

Tom Campbell offers this Los Angeles Times commentary.

"Cuts at FPPC May Halt Probes"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report, with the following subhead: "The 30-year-old state ethics watchdog agency, which is looking into the governor's use of campaign funds, is targeted for reductions."

"Soft-Money Groups Pomote Ties to GOP Leaders Despite Warnings"

The Washington Post offers this report.

More on Napa County Ballot Tampering Trial

Following up on this post, you can find additional coverage of this trial here, here, here, here, here, and here.

"Buyer's Remorse: Recalls Gain Popularity to the Dismay of Many"

The Battle Creek Enquirer (Michigan) offers this report. Thanks to a reader for passing the link along.

A judicially manageable standard for Texas redistricting?

Mitchell Berman offers an oped in today's Los Angeles Times, Putting Fairness on the Map. A snippet: "This difference between the Texas and Pennsylvania gerrymanders serves up precisely what the Vieth case didn't: a judicially manageable standard. The court should declare that mid-decade redistricting is unconstitutional when adopted by a single-party-dominated legislature, unless narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest."

For reasons I gave yesterday, I don't expect Justice Kennedy to bite.

Penalty for Private Spending by Presidential Candidates During General Election

Following up on this post and particularly on Trevor Potter's reply, a blog reader writes:

Trevor says, "The FEC audits all publicly funded Presidential campaigns, and this issue has come up in those audits with some frequency, with a repayment of public funds required where such prepayment has occurred."

Am I all that wrong to interpret that as meaning that you can't pre-"pay" the expenses, but for all practical purposes you can LOAN your campaign the money from the funds raised before the convention? After all, that's what a loan is, money given to you when you need it, that you have to pay back later.

It's a question I've often wondered about: When the penalty for accepting an illegal donation is to return it, generally long after the urgent need for the money has passed, how's that different from a loan? Do they require that you pay back extra, so that it's at least not an interest free loan?

Will Kerry Ask FEC for an Exception to the Rules on Fundraising?

See this Boston Globe report, which states: "One idea under consideration within the Kerry campaign is petitioning the FEC for permission to continue raising and spending private funds until Bush receives his federal allotment in early September, according to campaign spokesman Michael Meehan. The FEC has not indicated how it would rule on Kerry's campaign spending options. But Republicans are almost certain to oppose a rules change in the midst of a campaign." I'll be interested to hear what the statutory basis would be for such an exception to the rule that prevents party nominees accepting public financing in the general election from soliciting or spending private funds for their own campaigns.

The Next Partisan Gerrymandering Cases Before the Supreme Court

Following the Vieth decision (for my post on the decision, see here and for my Roll Call oped, see here), at least two partisan redistricting cases are pending before the Supreme Court. Colorado General Assemby v. Salazar has been listed four times for conference, and we may know something as early as Monday on this case. Over at SCOTUSBlog, Tom Goldstein writes:
"When cases are relisted that many times, the most likely outcomes are (a) a dissent from the denial of cert., and (b) a summary reversal. The question in this case involves the responsibility under the U.S. Constitution of the Colorado Legislature to design congressional districts. It has the feel of many of the issues presented by Bush v. Gore. Because that sounds like an unlikely candidate for summary reversal (including because we believe most members of the Court would strongly prefer to avoid revisiting issues related to Bush v. Gore), we predict a dissent from the denial of cert. by one or two Justices."

The Texas redistricting cases (here's a link to the docket sheet for one of the cases, Jackson v. Perry) are scheduled for conference on June 3. Following Vieth, the appellees declined to file a response. So the Supreme Court could summarily affirm, set the case for argument next term, or ask for a response from the appellees. Or, as with the Colorado case, the case could be put over.

Given that Vieth was a 5-4 decision, a dissent in the Texas case should there be a majority vote for summary affirmance seems fairly likely. In that case, we could see the case relisted after June 3 and therefore we won't see an order in the Texas case on June 7.

Putting aside the possibility that the Justices are interested in the Voting Rights Act claims in the Texas case, the outcome of the Texas case will depend wholly on Justice Kennedy. There are already four votes on the Court that partisan gerrymandering cases are wholly non-justiciable. In Vieth, Justice Kennedy held the door open ever so slightly for someone to come forward with a manageable standard that would separate the unconstitutional partisan gerrymander from acceptable partisan politics. He suggested a possible claim under the First Amendment.

Justice Kennedy was surely aware of the Texas case when he wrote his Vieth opinion (indeed, the plurality in Vieth cited the lower court opinion in the Texas case, in which the three-judge panel virtually begged the Supreme Court to establish a standard for partisan gerrymandering that it could apply to the case), yet he gave no indication that even the Texas facts would constitute a partisan gerrymander. Remember that Kennedy joined that part of the plurality in Vieth rejecting the Bandemer standard, the plaintiffs' proposed standard, and the alternative standards for gerrymandering proposed separately by Stevens, Souter, and Breyer.

My prediction: unless the Voting Rights Act issues grab the Justices, we'll see a summary affirmance in the Texas cases with a dissent joined by up to four Justices.

UPDATE: I have also been reminded that the Georgia one person, one vote case Larios v. Cox will be considered at the Supreme Court's June 10 conference. See here.

UPDATE 2: Over on the election law listserv, Rick Pildes notes that it takes only four justices to vote probable jurisdiction to get the Texas case heard, and that this would prevent a summary affirmance by a 5-4 vote. Interesting procedural point. If at the conference it is clear that Justice Kennedy will vote with the Vieth plurality to affirm, would it make any sense for the four Vieth dissenters to nonetheless set the case for argument? They may get an even worse result in a full hearing (i.e., Kennedy explicitly agreeing that the Texas facts are not sufficiently egregious to constitute an unconstitutional partian gerrymander).

UPDATE 3: More thoughtful posts on whether four justices may dissent from a summary affirmance by J.J. Gass and Pam Karlan. And Jeff Wice notes that another redistricting case is working its way onto the Supreme Court's plate, Rodriguez v. Pataki out of New York (notice of appeal filed May 14, 2004).

Paying for Post-Convention Advertising

A blog reader sends along the following question:

If Kerry were spend money raised prior to the convention on advertising that would run after the convention, would that violate the spending cap?

I notice that Bush Cheney has already purchased Olympics spots, which will run in August between the conventions.

Could the Kerry camp do the same with pre-nomination raised funds?

Could they do the same with other campaign expenditures? Like salaries, fuel contracts for his plane, signage contracts, rent and other media buys?

"New Questions Arise About Touch-Screen Voting Machines"

Law.com offers this report, with the following subhead: "In audit of iVotronic's performance in a Florida city, 162 ballots failed to appear, flaw was slow to surface." Link via How Appealing.

Buying One's Way Out of 527 Disclosure

The Center for Responsive Politics has issued this interesting press release, which notes:

The tax code provision at issue was included in legislation signed into law in 2000 that requires groups organized under code section 527 to file regular reports with the IRS that detail their contributions and expenditures.

These groups must identify the name and address of contributors of $200 or more and recipients of $500 or more. If the donor or recipient is a person, the group is supposed to list the employer and occupation of that individual.

However, section 527(j) of the tax code, as amended in 2000, allows groups to omit disclosure information as long as they pay a tax on the amount not disclosed. 527 groups do not pay taxes on income that is properly disclosed.

"Federal Judge Throws Out Dems Suit on New Legislative Maps"

The Arizona Daily Sun offers this report.

"New Law Ends Secrecy on Campaign Donations"

The Miami Herald offers this report, with the following subhead: "Political committees operated by legislators or special-interest groups are required under a new Florida law to disclose their contributors."

More on Kerry decision

The New York Times article is here. The Washington Post is here. Among other things, the Times article notes:

To compensate for the financial disadvantage, Democrats are expected to work harder to raise money through the national party, which can continue to solicit after the campaign must stop.

The Democratic National Committee has long been gearing up to counteract Mr. Bush's advantage. Mr. Kerry moved several top members of his financial team into the organization this year, who have since been starting new programs and recruiting donors and fund-raisers to increase the party's collections.

Trial Balloon Shot Down

A.P. offers Kerry to Accept Nomination at Convention.

Bauer on Whether There is Too Much Money in Politics

See here.

For those planning ahead...some network outages

This blog, the election law listserv, and my e-mail will be down as Loyola conducts maintenance on its network on 5/28/04 and intermittently the weekend of 6/18/04. Messages sent to me or to the election law list during the downtime will likely not be received.

"Kerry Should Reject Nomination Ruse"

The Seattle Times offers this editorial. See also Kerry's Boneheaded Scheme in the St. Petersburg Times and this Washington Post report.

"Bush's Third-Party Threat"

CBSNews offers this report, which begins: "While Democrats fret over the possibility of Ralph Nader causing them to lose another election by stealing votes on the left, President Bush may face an even greater third-party threat from the right wing. The Libertarian Party nominee could cost Mr. Bush his job in 2004." Link via Politicalwire.com.

"Kerry to Decide Soon on Nomination Delay"

A.P. offers this report.

"Leaders back Republican 527; Support from Hastert, Santorum gives group a leg up"

The Hill offers this report.

"Bush 'Mavericks' Buck a Trend"

The Wall Street Journal offers this report, with the following subhead: "Republicans Under 40 Raise Millions For Presidential Campaign." Thanks to Steven Sholk for the link.

Dionne on Election Reform

E.J. Dionne's Washington Post column is here.

"Timing of Gay Marriage Vote Goes to High Court"

A.P. offers this news out of Missouri.

Boston Globe Weighs in Against Kerry Nomination Delay

See here. See also this Palm Beach Post editorial and this Washington Post column by Richard Cohen.

Comparing U.S. and Canadian Supreme Court Campaign Finance Rulings

See this commentary by Luiza Savage.

Reforming Judicial Elections in Ohio

See this Cincinnati Post editorial.

Letters to the Editor on Broder McCain-Feingold oped

See here.

The end of the line for Metts

See here. Thanks to Bill McGeveran for the pointer.

"Feingold Wastes No Time Cashing in On Decision"

McCain-Feingold as a fundraising tool? See here.

"G.O.P. Creating Own '527' Groups"

The Washington Post offers this report.

"Campaign Ads are Under Fire for Inaccuracy"

The New York Times offers this report.

Finding a Way to Get the FEC's 527 Inaction before the Courts

For some time I have wondered what strategy Republicans or that segment of the reform community that wishes greater regulation of 527s might pursue to get review of the FEC's inaction on the 527 issue. Although Republicans have now done an about-face on the 527 issue and are urging that 527s (formerly declared illegal) be set up in earnest to benefit Republicans, at least one reform group continues the fight. See this Campaign Legal Center press release. It appears that the CLC has intervened in an existing lawsuit over an earlier FEC action on 527s. I have not had a chance to look at the papers, but this looks like a suit based on FEC inaction before the McConnell case issued.

"Gov. Converts Celebrity into Cash; Schwarzenegger's fund-raisers prove a windfall for GOP"

The San Francisco Chronicle offers this report.

FBI Probe of Redistricting continues in Mass.

See here.

"Revisiting Redistricting"

William Rasberry offers this Washington Post column.

"Lawyers Fill Candidate's Coffers"

Legal Times offers this report. Thanks to Steven Sholk for the pointer.

More on Potential Kerry Nomination Delay

The Boston Globe offers this report. The Kerry campaign floated this trial balloon on Friday afternoon. Given how the reaction is decidedly mixed (does it make Kerry look like someone who is out to bend the rules even if there is no "controlling legal authority" on the question? will it affect network coverage of what is in essence a four-day-long infomercial for the Democratic Party?), would it not be in Kerry's interest to instead borrow from the George Bush playbook for "super rangers?" Kerry need not borrow Bush's bundling strategy, but can simply allow the Democratic Party to push donors (especially those donors with somewhat larger incomes) to give to the Democratic Party (in larger amounts than they may give to Kerry directly by the way). Though Kerry would not have the same direct control over the money for the five week period after his primary season ends but Bush's does, the Democrats can (like the unconnected 527s) follow Kerry's lead in advertising. Surely the Democrats can figure out how to spend their money in ways that help Kerry.

"Bipartisan Bill Aims to Restructure the FEC"

The Washington Times offers this report.

Mutch on Corporations

At the 2003 American Political Science Association annual meeting, Robert Mutch presented a very interesting paper, Corporations and Elections: A Century of Debate. The paper for some reason is no longer accessible on APSA's website, so with Bob's permission I am posting a copy here.

"Wall St. Firms Funnel Millions to Bush"

The Washington Post offers this report.

"U.S. Churches Cautious on Politics to Keep Tax Exemptions"

NPR offers this audio report.

"Reassurance for Florida Voters Made Wary by Chaos of 2000"

The New York Times offers this report.

"Demand Grows to Require Paper Trails for Electronic Votes"

The New York Times offers this report. Thanks to David Ettinger for the pointer.

More on Possible Kerry Nomination Delay

The New York Times report is here. The Washington Post story is here. Both look like they'll make tomorrow's front pages.

Missouri Gay Marriage Election Law Controversy

Dan Lowenstein passes on the following:

It seems that in Missouri, the legislature has passed a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent transformation of the institution of marriage by allowing members of the sex to be married to each other. The Democratic governor, hoping to prevent a boost to Republican turnout in November, would like to call a special election, but his deadline for doing so is next Tuesday. The legislative leadership, apparently very busy on other things, has not gotten around to officially certifying the resolution to put the amendment to a vote.

The attorney general, also a Democrat, failed to get a lower court judge to require the Secretary of State to set an election date. The attorney general is now seeking relief from the state supreme court. Here is an article on this from today's Columbia Daily Tribune.

"Lawyer Refutes Voter Fraud as 'Outrageous'"

The Napa Valley Register offers this report.

"AP: Kerry Considers Delaying Nomination"

A.P. offers this report, which begins: "John Kerry is considering delaying his acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's July convention so that he can keep spending the millions of dollars that he raised during the primaries, The Associated Press has learned."

Metts v. Murphy Heading for Settlement

A.P. offers this report. A snippet: "The suit claims Rhode Island's plan to redraw state boundaries made it harder for voters in the newly-mapped District 2 to elect a black candidate in South Providence. The Senate map created a district that pitted Rhode Island's first and only black senator, Charles Walton, against Juan Pichardo, who was elected the state's first and only Hispanic senator. The proposed settlement would change the configuration of 12 Senate districts while putting Walton and Pichardo in different districts, according to senators and plaintiffs." See also this report from the Providence Journal.
This case, which made it all the way to an en banc court of the First Circuit, raised some very interesting and unresolved issues under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

"Move to Save Blank Ballots of 2000 Fails'

The Miami Herald offers this report, with the following subhead: "A circuit judge didn't accept the argument that the state should save its unused punch card ballots from the disputed 2000 election to help historians and researchers."

FEC Commissioners Appear Before House Committee

You can find the Commissioners' statements, as well as a report on the hearing, at Bob Bauer's website.

"Kerry's Funding Surges Past Bush"

The Washington Post offers this report.

"Wall Street To Toast Its G.O.P. Overseers During Convention"

The New York Times offers this report.

Bush's $126 Million in Spending

See this A.P. report.

Blogging Election Law: A Response to Bob Bauer

Over on the election law list, Bob Bauer offers these criticisms of my blogging this morning.

A brief response to Bob's first paragraph. I gave a more extensive excerpt from Corrado/Mann (not Ornstein/Mann) because it is on Roll Call and therefore not accessible for those who don't have a paid subscription, whereas the Broder piece is in the Washington Post, which has free registration. Consistent with copyright laws, I always try to provide more extensive (but fair use excerpts) for those items that readers cannot see without paying.

As for the caustic reader comments, if I had received such comments about Corrado/Mann I certainly would have posted them as well.

This is the second complaint this week about what I choose to link to. Jeffrey Hauser wrote: "in some unintentional and hard-to-fault way, Rick's compilation of GOP 'sky is falling' links -- when the reality is that Bush + 501(c)(4)s surely is >>> Kerry + 527s -- helps further this smokescreen." I have had other complaints in the past (in private messages) about the coverage on my blog, and whether it is biased one way or the other.

Given these complaints, I thought now would be a good time for a response. Perhaps my news coverage is biased in some subconscious way, but my intended criterion for linking has been that I link to all articles in major newspapers that I find on topics broadly of interest to election law. I link to most commentaries on election law as well, whether I disagree with them or not.

A blog is a sui generis type of medium. Part of what I do is link to news (or provide news occasionally that is not covered by the media) and part of what I do is offer opinion. In the "news" component, I try not to link to only those items that support my personal views. Some blogs and websites, even on election law, are different---they link to articles (or to other blogs) that reinforce their own opinions about the state of the world. There is room for both kinds of coverage in cyberspace I think.

Of course, if any listserv member or blog reader comes across articles or viewpoints to which I am not linking, send me a link in an e-mail. Chances are, as those who have done so can attest, I'll link to what you send so long as it is germane to election law.

"Street Maps in Political Hues"

The New York Times offers this report on Fundrace.org. Thanks to David Ettinger for the pointer.
My earlier discussion of Fundrace.org is here.

"Time Off Urged for Voting Work"

A.P. offers this report.

"Banned E-Voting Systems Likely to Be Ready Nov. 2"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report.

"Flap Over 527s Aside, McCain-Feingold is Working as Planned"

Anthony Corrado and Tom Mann have this Roll Call oped (paid subscription required). A snippet:

McCain-Feingold was not written to bring every source of unregulated federal campaign funding within the scope of the law. Rather, it was designed to end the corrupting nexus of soft money that ties together officeholders, party officials and large donors. The law’s principal goal was to prohibit elected officials and party leaders from extracting unregulated gifts from corporations, unions and individual donors in exchange for access to and influence with policymakers.

Indeed, the law has accomplished this objective. Members of Congress and national party officials are no longer soliciting unlimited contributions for the party committees, nor are they involved in the independent fundraising efforts of the leading 527 groups. The FEC’s decision to defer action, therefore, does not pose the same risk of corruption as did the soft-money decisions of the past.

"Hatch Puts on Hold 'Arnold '08"

Roll Call offers this report, which begins: "California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) shouldn’t start planning a 2008 presidential campaign just yet. Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who first raised such a possibility last year, said Wednesday that it may take a while to remove the constitutional obstacle preventing Schwarzenegger or any other foreign-born U.S. citizen from running for president of the United States." I'm sure our governor's reaction will be that the news is "fantastic."

"What McCain-Feingold Didn't Fix"

David Broder offers this column. About the column, a blog reader writes:

Check out this David Broder column today, the upshot of which is the surprising -- and to my mind ridiculous -- conclusion that BCRA has "produce[d] more unintended negative consequences than benefits."

Broder seems to assume -- without even providing any arguments in support on the points -- that the spending of money on elections (including by the candidates) necessarily is in and of itself a bad thing, and that a (or the) purpose of BCRA was to get money out of campaigns. No mention of corruption, of the role of parties in making officeholders beholden to contributors, etc.

And he is shocked, shocked, by the "unanticipated" phenomenon that folks are actually raising hard money (including on the Internet!) in amounts permitted by BCRA, and choosing not to accept public financing when hard money contributions are more lucrative -- as though the statute doesn't contemplate exactly that.

"FEC Ruling Mocks Campaign Reform"

The Virginia Pilot offers this editorial.

Canadian Free Speech Decision Roundup

Brett Marston has it all here.

Solum on Developments in Judicial Appointments Process

Larry Solum concludes that despite much talk about compromise in yesterday's developments, not much has changed. See here.

Corrado on Soft Money

Anthony Corrado has posted National Party Fundraising Remains Strong, Despite Ban on Soft Money on the Brookings website.

Electronic Voting Machine Humor from The Onion

See here.

Anderson and Richie on Vieth

See this commentary by John Anderson and Rob Richie that appeared in this week's Legal Times.

"Skirting law, some shift use of campaign funds for primary"

The Miami Herald offers this report, with the following subhead: "The federal campaign finance law allows candidates to raise -- and sometimes to spend -- money during a primary even if it's earmarked for the general election." Thanks to Dan Smith for the pointer.

"Keeping a Level Playing Field"

Chantal Hebert offers this column in the Toronto Star on yesterday's important campaign finance decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. The Star's news coverage is here.

"Officials Wary of Felon Purge"

The St. Petersburg Times offers this report.

"Republican Leaders Reverse Field, Build New 527 Network"

The Hill offers this report. In other campaign finance news, that newspaper also offers two stories related to Tom DeLay's fundraising: here and here. On that topic, see also this Washington Post report.

The Schumer War Chest and Federal-State Campaign Transfers

See this New York Times report.

"Bush Leads in Negative Ads, But Kerry Has Help"

USA Today offers this report. Thanks to Politicalwire.com for the pointer.

Long awaited campaign finance decision from the Supreme Court of Canada issued

The case, which included a spending limit provision, is Harper v. Canada. Thanks to Nate Persily for the pointer.

Republican Senate Voting Plan Designed to Hurt Kerry

See this very interesting report in The Hill, which begins: "The one-vote defeat of an extension of unemployment benefits last week has sparked fear among Democrats that Republicans have developed a legislative model that will cast Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) repeatedly in a bad light before the election. The extension needed 60 votes to pass in the Senate, and 12 Republicans made sure the final tally was 59-40, with only one absentee, presidential candidate Kerry."

"RNC Offers 'Super Ranger' Status"

The Hill offers this report.

"FEC Fallout?"

Roll Call offers this report (paid registration required).

"Court Rejects McKinney Primary Loss Suit"

A.P. offers this report, which begins: "A federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit filed by supporters of former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who claimed her loss in the 2002 Democratic primary resulted from wide-scale Republican crossover voting." The opinion itself is here.

"Political Games, Judicial Referees"

James Kilpatrick offers this oped, which ends, "Will pigs fly?"

"Probe to Include GOP Donations"

The Washington Post offers this report.

Tennessee v. Lane and the Constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act

Today the Supreme Court decided the important federalism case, Tennessee v. Lane. The case is the latest in a series of cases setting forth the limits of Congressional power to enforce rights under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The constricting of congressional power by the Supreme Court in recent years has called into question whether a renewed Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act would be constitutional. I have written an article on this topic (draft is here on SSRN) forthcoming in the Ohio State Law Journal. I'll need to revise my draft to take Lane into account. Lane is potentially important for two reasons. First, the Court seems to have dismantled the "congruence and proportionality" test in favor of a more "as applied" test. Thus, rather than ask whether Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act is a permissible reach of congressional power against the states in all applications, the Court narrowed the inquiry to whether it was within the permissible reach as applied to access to the Courts. Second, in Justice Scalia's somewhat surprising dissent, the Justice announced that he will henceforth apply a very deferential standard to congressional legislation aimed at end racial discrimination. I'll have to think about the implications of all of this for a renewed section 5 of the VRA.

Somin on Raskin

Ilya Somin reviews (along with two other book's) Jamin Raskin's Overruling Democracy in the Spring 2004 issue of the Green Bag.

In today's Roll Call

GOP Allies Play Catch-Up on 527s, which includes: "Several other well-connected Republicans noted that without a wealthy 'sugar daddy' or two to provide seed money, these organizations may still struggle to raise the necessary funds. But efforts to find individuals willing to bankroll these groups may be hamstrung by an aggressive public relations campaign led by Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and other GOP leaders aimed at spooking potential donors. 'The problem is that Republican lawyers have done such a good job at scaring the donor base and are they going to do as good a job about telling them they were wrong,' said one knowledgeable Republican strategist."

Members Vow Scrutiny After FEC Vote on 527s, which begins: "Members of the Federal Election Commission will have to answer to Congress this week about their rationale for not clamping down on unregulated 527 groups that are pouring millions of dollars into the 2004 elections."

Electronic Assessment, which begins: "Amid media and academic reports that electronic voting systems may be vulnerable to manipulation, more than a dozen House lawmakers have asked the General Accounting Office to conduct a “high priority” study of the security of electronic voting systems."

A Narrow Window of Opportunity for Fair Redistricting, a column by Stuart Rothenberg which urges Congress to "to enact guidelines governing the next round of redistricting so that the mischief that mapmakers can make is limited. Since it’s unlikely that 50 state legislatures will do so, Congress should pass legislation requiring compact and contiguous districts. This would still allow states considerable leeway in the drawing of districts, but it would eliminate the worst examples of abuse."

Paid registration required for all articles.

"Fundraiser Denies Link Between Money, Access"

Here is the second of two Washington Post reports on Bush fundraising bundlers.

"GOP Groups Play 527 Catch-Up"

The Washington Times offers this report.

"Billionaire Aims to Beat Bush"

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers this report on George Soros and his campaign finance activities.

Shays Tells GOP Supporters to Start 527s

See this A.P. report.

"Brad Smith was acting out of principle, too."

See the second item in Sunday's New York Times Political Points column.

The Washington Post on the Bush Fundraising Machine

This first of two parts is not to be missed.

"GOP Backers Urged to Raise, Spend; FEC Ruling Clears Way for Groups' 'Soft Money' Efforts"

The Washington Post offers this report.

The 527 Issue: What's Next?

Yesterday (while I was in Sacramento and unable to blog), the FEC held its meeting to determine what it should do about regulating 527s in this election cycle. The most important votes were the 4-2 vote against the Toner-Thomas proposal, and the 3-3 deadlock on adopting the Toner-Thomas allocation rules. This leaves the FEC with at least another 90 days before they come back to decide what, if anything, to do about the issue.

Press coverage of yesterday's action is as follows:

The New York Times (and see this editorial)

The Washington Post

The Wall Street Journal (thanks to Steven Sholk for the link)

The Los Angeles Times

A.P.

Roll Call

The Financial Times

The FEC's series of decisions means that immediate enforcement action against any of the 527s is unlikely. As I understand it (and my understanding may be incorrect), it will be difficult procedurally now for anyone (e.g., the Bush campaign, the RNC, or that part of the reform community that is pushing for greater regulation of 527s) to challenge the FEC's inaction in court.

Enforcement actions could come later down the line, after there has been significant spending. In the era of uncertainty of what the rules are, it is hard to see significant penalties being levied against those who violate the eventually crafted rules (if rules are indeed eventually crafted).

There may be something uncomfortable about some would-be 527s allied with the Republican party coming into action after the RNC has said that the 527s are engaged in clearly illegal activity. But I don't expect this will stop much of the additional fundraising.

One of the most interesting questions is whether additional Republican spending will matter much on the presidential level. The Democratic-leaning spending has served to counter President Bush's $180 million war chest. But what will additional pro-Bush spending do at this point? See Tom Mann's quote in the Financial Times article above. Of course, 527 spending may be quite influential in certain Senate and House races.

More Florida Voting Problems

Law.com offers Count Crisis? Elections official warns of glitches that may scramble vote auditing, which begins: "A scathing internal review of the iVotronic touch-screen voting machines used in Miami-Dade and Broward, Fla., counties, written by a Miami-Dade County elections official, has raised fresh doubts about how accurately the electronic machines count the vote. The review, contained in a June 6, 2003, memo that came to light last month, concludes there is a "serious bug" in the voting machine software that results in votes potentially being lost and voting machines not being accounted for in the voting system's self-generated post-election audit." Thanks to David Ettinger for the pointer.

"Christian Coalition Tests Judicial Candidates"

Law.com offers this report. Thanks to Steven Sholk for the pointer.

"The Supreme Court Gives Partisan Gerrymandering the Green Light--or at Least a Yellow Light"

Michael Dorf has this Findlaw column.

"Another Fix for the Fixes"

See this editorial on 527s, which originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune.

"How To Spend a Billion Dollars"

CBS News offers this report.

"Nader Wins Endorsement from Reform Party"

A.P. offers this report. Thanks to Dan Smith for the pointer.

Askin on Felon Disenfranchisement

Frank Askin has published "Voting Rights - for Parolees and Probationers," New Jersey Lawyer, May 3, 2004, at 6A (special insert, New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA)Annual meeting Preview).

Washington Monthly Article on Republican Leaning 501(c)s

See here. Thanks to Craig Holman for the link.

Programming Note

I'll be speaking to the Federalist Society of Sacramento tomorrow. For updates on what is happening at the FEC hearing tomorrow morning, see Bob Bauer's website.

More coverage of the 527 issue

The New York Times; The Washington Post. Roll Call---and see this editorial.

"Executive Calls Vote-Machine Letter an Error"

The New York Times offers this report, which begins: "alden W. O'Dell, the chairman and chief executive of Diebold Inc., said on Monday that it had been a "huge mistake" for him, as the head of a voting machine company, to express support for President Bush's re-election in a fund-raising letter last year. Mr. O'Dell also said the company was working to address computer security problems and build voter confidence in its wares."

"527s Scot Free in 2004"

See this report in tomorrow's edition of The Hill.

"FEC Lawyers Ask Agency To Delay New Rules"

The A.P. story is here (thanks to Douglas Greene for the pointer). The General Counsel's memorandum is listed on the agenda but not yet hyperlinked.
So the big question will be whether two more commissioners will go along with the Thomas-Toner proposal to regulate 527s as political committees. By by nose count, it appears that Chair Smith and Vice Chair Weintraub will vote no. So all will depend upon the votes of Commissioners Mason and MacDonald.
Should be an interesting day Thursday.
Update: Bob Bauer has posted the document itself here, once again proving that the FEC cannot get timely material up on its website.

"Pence Blasts Off to Blogosphere"

Roll Call offers this report (paid registration required), which begins: "Today, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), a self-described “Internet geek,” will boldly go where no other Member has gone before: He is launching the first ongoing personal weblog, or “blog,” on a Congressional-office home page."

"States Sharpen Race for PAC Money"

The Hill offers this report.

"Shifting the Money So the Votes Will Follow"

The Washington Post offers this report.

Nader Challenges Texas Ballot

The A.P. story is here. See also this report in The Hill. The latter article suggests I believe that the Texas lawsuit will be unsuccessful. That's not what I told the reporter. I told the reporter that ballot access challenges are usually tough to win, but that I did not know enough about the Texas standards to express an opinion on whether Nader's suit would be successful. I gave the reporter names of others to call.

"Lott Weighs Push to Reform FEC"

Roll Call offers this report (paid registration required), which begins: "Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), furious over the Federal Election Commission’s lack of enforcement capability, said he is ready to take the first step in restructuring the watchdog agency. Just as the FEC is about to weigh in on the controversial issue of so-called 527 organizations, Lott — who chairs the Senate Rules and Administration Committee — said he is considering holding hearings this year on a major reorganization of the FEC. "

Vieth editorials

See The Baltimore Sun; the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"Tenants Say they Traded Votes for Rent"

The Detroit Free Press offers this report.

"Independent Groups Eager to Influence"

The Tampa Tribune offers this report.

"Big Money Politics"

The Albany Times-Union offers this editorial.

Rappaport on Vieth

See this blog entry by Mike Rappaport. Link via Larry Solum.

"Supreme Court Backs Up in Redistricting Dispute"

USA Today offers this report.

"Partisan Redistricting Turns Democracy into a Mirage"

Steve Chapman offers this oped.

"States Order Felons Off Rolls"

See this news out of Florida.

"Bush, Kerry Awash in Money"

The Los Angeles Times offers this report.

"Arizona Tries New Approach to Campaign Financing"

NPR offers this audio report.

"Plugging a Big Leak"

The Christian Science Monitor offers this editorial on 527s.

"Parties Eye New Campaign Option"

The Washington Times offers this report.

"Liberal Net Rules Spawn Political Attack Ads"

CNET's News.com offers this report.

More on Charities and Politicians

See this Washington Post report.

"2-for-1 Voting"

Bruce Ackerman offers this oped in the New York Times on an electoral strategy for Ralph Nader.

Bauer-Lederman Debate on Thomas-Toner Proposal on 527 regulation

See here.

Tokaji on Electronic Voting

Anyone interested in hearing the other side of the electronic voting debate should surf on over to Dan Tokaji's Equal Vote blog. Recent posts include excerpts from Dan's testimony to the Election Assistance Commssion, excerpts from his recent Daily Journal oped, and commentary on Riverside County's recently-filed lawsuit against California's Secretary of State to keep its electronic voting. The Los Angeles Times story on the lawsuit is here.

Programming Note

I'll be away from e-mail and the internet until Thursday evening.

Glass on Vieth

Andrew Glass offers this oped in The Hill.

Two From Mother Jones on Campaign Finance

See here and here.

"E-Voting Oversight Overwhelms U.S. Agency"

A.P. offers this report.

Orr on Australian Electoral Systems

Graeme Orr, for the Democratic Audit of Australia (out of ANU), has published "Australian Electoral Systems---How Well Do They Serve Political Equality?"

Sholk on 501(c)(3)s

Steven Sholk has published "A Guide To Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations," the May 3, 2004 issue of Tax Notes Today (electronic version). Readers interested in a copy can e-mail the author at ssholk@gibbonslaw.com.

"Who Hacked the Voting System? The Teacher"

The New York Times offers this report.

More Vieth opeds

Fred Hiatt writes Time to Draw the Line.. The Christian Science Monitor offers Gerry-Meandering.

"Small Donors Grow Into a Big Political Force"

The Washington Post offers this report.

"FEC Members Seek to Break 527 Deadlock"

Roll Call offers this report (paid subscription required), which begins: "In a last-ditch effort to craft a compromise for the increasingly rancorous debate over 527 groups, one Republican and one Democrat on the Federal Election Commission have unveiled a new proposal to regulate the controversial organizations that are poised to spend millions of largely unregulated dollars on this fall’s elections."
One other snippet: "Left unclear, however, is whether the commission can cobble together the four votes to enact this proposal — or any other."

"Supreme Court Got It Right in Pa. Redistricting Case"

I have an oped in Monday's Roll Call with this title. You can view it (even as a nonsubscriber) here (reprinted with permission).

Palast on Voter Purges following HAVA

See this report by Greg Palast in The Nation.

"Business Enlists Charities for Events at Conventions"

The New York Times offers this report, which begins: "Never mind that the new campaign finance law was intended to keep big-ticket donors from buying access to federal officials. At least one company has figured out how to let corporate donors buy their way into high-dollar events that honor members of Congress at the political conventions. And the contributors receive tax deductions, too."

"The Court Punts"

The Washington Post offers this editorial on Vieth. See also this Newsday editorial.

In somewhat related news, A.P. reports here that "The U.S. Supreme Court could announce next week whether it will settle Colorado's redistricting fight or leave a congressional map favored by Democrats in place for the rest of the decade. The case was among dozens justices reviewed during a private meeting Friday. The court could say as soon as Monday whether it will hear arguments in the case."

"High-Tech Voting System Banned in California"

The New York Times offers this report. See also reports in: the Los Angeles Times; Oakland Tribune; Sacramento Bee; San Francisco Chronicle; San Diego Union-Tribune.

What Will Bush "Rangers" Do After Bush Takes Public Financing and Can't Take Private Contributions in the General Election?

Become a "Super-Ranger," of course, by raising an additional $300,000 in contributions for the Republican Party's victory fund. See this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article (free registration required).