All posts by Justin Levitt

EAC Going Out of Business Sale?

June 27, 2013, 10:26 amelection administration, Election Assistance Commission, voter registrationJustin Levitt

In my mind, Exhibits A and B for keeping (and strengthening) the federal Election Assistance Commission arrived this morning. Draft data from the 2012 Election Administration and Voting Survey — our best national source of data to date about the… Continue reading

TIGTA response to Rep. Levin about scope of IRS exempt organization audit

June 27, 2013, 10:25 amtax law and election lawJustin Levitt

The webs are on fire this morning with news of the TIGTA response to this Levin letter. And (from an entirely unscientific sample) the vast majority of them have headlines along the lines of the one in The Hill:… Continue reading

Center for Competitive Politics on Werfel’s IRS report and the “Path 2” forward

June 27, 2013, 10:23 amtax law and election lawJustin Levitt

Joe Trotter blogs here, with a letter to Werfel here, focusing largely on the “Path 2” suggestion for resolving the applications for tax-exemptions of organizations held up in screening as “potential political cases.”

An underrecognized bureaucratic hurdle to get photo ID

June 27, 2013, 10:22 amelection administration, voter idJustin Levitt

It’s an anecdote involving a renegade DMV clerk, yes. But it happened. And now you can add “Pap smear” to the list of prerequisites.

Al Jazeera’s take on the last three days of the term

June 27, 2013, 10:22 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

The program includes Shelby County. Guests include Spencer Overton and Doug Spencer.

“How to protect minority votes after the Voting Rights decision”

June 27, 2013, 10:22 amalternative voting systems, redistricting, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Krist Novoselic connects the world beyond Shelby County to the world beyond single-member plurality districts.

Reactions to Shelby County: Abby Thernstrom

June 27, 2013, 9:13 amVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Abby’s op-ed appears to be behind the WSJ paywall, but it begins… The Supreme Court did itself proud on Tuesday when it struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. That is the provision of the law containing the … Continue reading

Did you know you had a National Taxpayer Advocate?

June 26, 2013, 9:09 pmtax law and election lawJustin Levitt

It’s true. And today, in addition to her usual annual retrospective report and her usual annual look forward, Nina Olson issued a Special Report to Congress concerning political activity and tax-exempt status. An introduction is here; the report… Continue reading

Coverage of the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Report

June 26, 2013, 9:09 pmtax law and election lawJustin Levitt

The AP’s headline: “IRS Delayed Action On Progressive Groups, Too” The Wall St. Journal’s headline: “Taxpayer Advocate Cites Difficulty With IRS Division” The USA Today headline: “IRS taxpayer advocate suggests ‘apology payments’” The BNA… Continue reading

“Lawmakers Express Growing Concern Over Objectivity of TIGTA Audit on Exempts”

June 26, 2013, 9:08 pmtax law and election lawJustin Levitt

Vigorous letter-writing continues, from Rep. Levin. The concern appears to be that the Treasury IG for Tax Administration “narrowly focused on the treatment of tea party organizations” when other organizations appear also to have been subject to additional scrutiny… Continue reading

Re-redistricting in the news

June 26, 2013, 9:07 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

This report begins: ” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) is introducing legislation that would block states from rearranging their congressional districts until after a 10-year Census takes place, a reaction to the Supreme Court ruling striking down a key… Continue reading

“Perry signs redistricting maps”

June 26, 2013, 9:07 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

And now, a whole new round of redistricting litigation in Texas resumes. Ah, the circle of life.

New Kansas photo ID lawsuit filed

June 26, 2013, 9:06 pmvoter idJustin Levitt

Trying to keep Texas company, I suppose. From this report: Hamner and Spry, who didn’t have a government-issued identity card with a photograph proving they were Kansans in good standing, voted with provisional ballots in November 2012. Their… Continue reading

David Schultz on ranked choice voting

June 26, 2013, 9:06 pmalternative voting systemsJustin Levitt

Schultz discusses the ranked choice system and the Minneapolis mayor’s race. Note that there’s an ongoing dispute about spoiled ballots and errors in 2009: it will be interesting to see if the rate drops this year, with a little… Continue reading