“Gerrymandering and ‘gobbledygook’”
I had the chance to speak yesterday with the Daily Journal’s Weekly Appellate Report podcast, about Gill and also a bunch of other stuff. For your consideration…
All posts by Justin Levitt
“How Computers Turned Gerrymandering Into a Science”
A post from Jordan Ellenberg, in the weekend NYT.
FWIW, I’m hardly a Luddite, but I’m a little skeptical of the gerrymandering-and-technology story, at least in its strongest form. It is unquestionably true that technology has democratized both gerrymandering… Continue reading
The other costs of voter ID
1/9 Texas has spent more than *$4 million* to date defending its #voterID law, according to #s I received in a public records request today
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) October 5, 2017
“William Jefferson ordered released from prison after judge drops 7 of 10 counts”
Another shoe drops, on the centipede that is the McDonnell decision. This time it’s former U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson, from New Orleans.
Kris Kobach’s effort to amend the NVRA
In this post, I mentioned that we now had a (redacted) look at the “first 365 days” agenda Kris Kobach was photographed holding after his meeting with President-Elect Trump back in November. A number of outlets have picked up… Continue reading
Into the Weeds of the IRS Screening of Nonprofits
Barnaby Zall here, with more details on the latest TIGTA report on IRS nonprofit screening. If you don’t know the difference between BOLOs and TAGs from the world of IRS enforcement in the area of tax-exempt entities, and… Continue reading
North Carolina says it has the “strictest anti-gerrymandering” standards in America.
Politifact says otherwise.
Redistricting and campaign finance
Eliza Newlin Carney goes deep on the funding of redistricting fights.
“Trump supporters eager to ‘drain the swamp’ help fill Republican Party coffers”
Matea Gold reports in the WaPo on a wave of small-dollar contributions to the RNC.
Further parsing the Gill oral argument
Mike Parsons on an exchange prompted by Justice Sotomayor.
Rick Esenberg says the court should just stay out entirely.
CNN talks about the cameras that weren’t inside.
And Eric McGhee, who claims the much-discussed “efficiency gap” as his own, blogs … Continue reading
“Politicians should get over their allergy to academia”
This op-ed about politicians actually takes off from Chief Justice Roberts’ “gobbledygook” quote in Gill. I also had a strong reaction to the “fake folksiness.” (It’s immune to Benadryl.)
“Trump-Tied Florida Lobbying Firm Made $5.2 Million Windfall Since the Election”
From the Miami New Times.
Trouble finding vendor to build Travis County voting system
There have been a few efforts to supplement the existing voting system market with new systems, built more-or-less ground-up by counties with a blue-sky approach. The counties start with a list of attributes and functions rather than grafting new features… Continue reading
MPSA Conference Proposals Due Today
Conference proposals — papers, roundtables, panels — due today for the 2018 MPSA conference.