As Rick Hasen noted, Paul Blumenthal reports for HuffPo that some in the U.S. Senate are attempting to completely eliminate the limits on coordinated spending by political parties on candidate campaigns. This is a problem because it would give political … Continue reading
Spencer Overton
Today, J. Christian Adams @ElectionLawCtr tweeted the following: “‘If there was justice in the world they’d be suppressing white people’ says @jointcenter staffer. What says @donnabrazile @SpencerOverton?” He elaborated on the tweet in a blog post. The Daily Beast attributed … Continue reading
Earlier today, Heritage Sr. Legal Fellow John Malcolm and I had a lively discussion on the Voting Rights Amendment Act and the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s recommendations on NPR’s Tell Me More. You can listen here. My take in … Continue reading
Right now, the Commission is here at GW Law, discussing their report in detail for the first time. Watch live video of event on C-Span 2 by clicking here! … Continue reading
Moments ago, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration released its report, which is here. We’ve already got thoughts from Rick Hasen, Heather Gerken, and Rick Pildes. At 2:30 pm ET today, immediately after meeting with President Obama, the co-chairs of … Continue reading
I expand on my thoughts from earlier today in my new piece on the front page of the Huffington Post, “A Bipartisan Voting Rights Act is Possible.” Some excerpts . . . Conventional wisdom among some liberals, conservatives, and moderates … Continue reading
The proposed legislation (Berman summary here, bill text here) is just a first draft, but it shows that a bipartisan Voting Rights Act is possible. In a nutshell, here’s what it means . . . . Recent Discrimination: The new bill … Continue reading
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to Rick’s blog, but I disagree with his skepticism about the Voting Rights Act update. My take is that Republicans and Democrats can come together to update the Voting Rights Act. Rick and some … Continue reading
As Rick mentioned in an earlier post, this morning at 9:30 am ET Professor Michael Miller is talking on his public financing book “Subsidizing Democracy” at the New America Foundation, and I’ll comment along with Michael Malbin and Matt Heinz … Continue reading
Many scholars, conference organizers, and reporters who focus on our increasingly diverse democracy want to ensure their reading, citations, panels, and quotations reflect diverse perspectives. We’ve created a new tool to help. Professors of Color on Political Law features abstracts and … Continue reading
The Advancement Project’s Penda Hair (who is representing the NC NAACP) and I were on Karen Finney’s most recent show to talk about NC’s new law (ID, cuts to early voting and same day registration, and more). Last week a federal … Continue reading
In my Harvard Law Review Forum piece Voting Rights Disclosure, I articulate my differences with NYU Professor Sam Issacharoff’s “non-civil rights” approach to voting rights (abstract below), and I propose detailed disclosure of voting changes for federal, state, and local … Continue reading
I discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s McCutcheon case Saturday on Karen Finney’s MSNBC show Disrupt, and also last week in this HuffPo commentary. “Aggregate limits” seem technical, but the issue is simple. Invalidating aggregate limits would allow an elected official to … Continue reading
I was at the U.S. Supreme Court’s campaign finance oral argument today. Please click here to find my latest on the front page of the Huffington Post, “Million Dollar Contributions Corrupt Democracy.” Based on my academic work and practical experiences fundraising, I … Continue reading
Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 1:00 pm-3:00 pm: Protecting the Right to Vote Chairman John Conyers Judiciary Braintrust Advancing the Civil Rights Agenda Washington Convention Center: Room 143-A Moderator: Prof. Spencer Overton, George Washington University Law School Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive … Continue reading
Click here for my recent piece in The American Prospect, Against a “Post-Racial” Voting Rights Act. A summary: Some have used the debate about updating the Voting Rights Act as an opportunity to argue that Congress should “look beyond” measures that prevent … Continue reading
In defending North Carolina’s new photo ID requirement, Republican Governor Pat McCrory claims “[t]hirty-four states currently require some sort of identification, and so we’re doing what the majority of states are doing right now throughout the United States of America.” He … Continue reading
Here’s video of my spot on Karen Finney’s MSNBC show “Disrupt” with Nia-Malika Henderson. The anti-VRA arguments that transcend time: voting protections are unnecessary, promoting voting rights stokes racial division, voting protections infringe on the 10th Amendment, and voting restrictions … Continue reading
Thanks to Rick for inviting me to serve as a regular contributor at the Election Law Blog! Click here for my latest at The Huffington Post. An excerpt: “A recent court action against Texas is important, but it should not … Continue reading