Heather Gerken’s latest post in her “Setting the Agenda” series may be found here. This one’s on “Creating a Virtuous Cycle Through Shaming.” … Continue reading
Dan Tokaji
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have asked the Justice Department to investigate the alleged “caging” of predominantly African American voters in Jacksonville, Florida by the RNC in 2004. The AP has this report, and the text of … Continue reading
The AP has this report on a case to be considered by the Missouri Supreme Court Thursday, including Republican allegations that Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon has a conflict of interest given his plans to challenge Republican Governor Matt Blunt … Continue reading
The AP has this report and the Arizona Republic this one, on an Arizona bill (H.B. 2690) that would reportedly make “sweeping changes” to the state’s public finance system, including increased funding levels for participating candidates, looser reporting requirements, and … Continue reading
A Florida appellate court yesterday issued this brief opinion denying a petition for certiorari filed by Christine Jennings. Her petition sought review of a trial court order denying discovery, including access to source code of the ES&S electronic voting machines … Continue reading
The AP has this report on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would establish a nine-person redistricting comission. … Continue reading
The U.S. Senate’s Rules and Administration Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow at 10 am ET on the proposed “Fair Elections Now Act” (S. 1285), sponsored by Senators Durbin and Spector. BNA has this report (subscription required), which describes the … Continue reading
Ned Foley offers this comment on the Election Law @ Moritz site, proposing a new system for resolving election contests. … Continue reading
Bob Bauer has this post, commenting on Heather Gerken’s proposals to harness politican’s self-interest to serve the interests of voters. … Continue reading
Heather Gerken has posted Part III in her series on election reform scholarship, this one entitled “Providing Citizens Better Cues.” … Continue reading
Gov. Bill Richardson offers this op-ed in today’s The Hill, supporting the bill sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) to require a “verifiable paper-ballot system.” Meanwhile, Computerworld reports here on the division over the Holt Bill among electronic voting skeptics. … Continue reading
The NY Times has this report on states grappling with the question of when, if ever, people with mental impairments should be disqualified from voting. This issue was addressed at a March symposium hosted by the ABA’s Commission on Law … Continue reading
Ellen Katz has this essay, forthcoming in the Ohio State Law Journal. From the abstract: Losers in partisan districting battles have long challenged the resulting districting plans under seemingly unrelated legal doctrines. They have filed lawsuits alleging malapportionment, racial gerrymandering, … Continue reading
Timothy Canova of Chapman University’s School of Law has this article in the Nexus Journal. From the abstract: The Constitution protects the rights of Americans to participate in politics through assembly and membership in private interest groups. Yet the Founders … Continue reading
McClatchy News offers this story on allegations that Hans von Spakovsky blocked lawsuits to protect minority voting rights while at DOJ. The Houston Chronicle this one focusing on DOJ’s preclearance of the 2003 Texas redistricting. Meanwhile, Eliza Carney of the … Continue reading
The election administration issue of 2004 is back in the news in Texas and Tennessee. The Beaumont Enterprise has this report on the allegedly erroneous rejection of provisional ballots in a Jefferson County, TX election. Meanwhile, in Sweetwater, TN, a … Continue reading
The Charlotte Observer reports here on a controversy surrounding a same-day registration bill in North Carolina. The bill had already been passed by the state house and was slated to be considered by the state senate on June 6, when … Continue reading
The Journal News has this report on the propects for incoming Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to overhaul the way that campaigns are financed in New York … Continue reading
Election Updates has this post on a proposal by Secretary of State Trey Grayson, as reported by the AP and editorialized on by the Cincinnati Enquirer with reference to Ohio’s experience. … Continue reading
The AP has this report on Diebold’s hiring of Kathy Rogers, who resigned as director of Georgia’s election division on November 30, to serve as “a liaison between Diebold and elections officials nationwide.” … Continue reading
The Gainesville Sun reports here on dueling filings in the Florida 13th CD litigation, over access to the ES&S voting machines’ source code. Prior filings in the case, including Jennings’ discovery motion, may be found here on the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s … Continue reading
The Tri Valley Herald reports here on a State Court of Appeal decision that those serving time in local jails are entitled to vote. The case involves a provision of the California Constitution that bars from voting those who are … Continue reading
The AP has this report on a Georgia panel’s findings, after studying he use of electronic voting machines with paper printouts in three counties. Cobb County’s head of elections says that “28 people needed five days to count the ballots, … Continue reading
“The List” is not to be missed. … Continue reading
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports here and the Brandenton Herald here on the state’s comparing the source code on the iVotronic’s computer chips to that on file with the Florida Division of Elections. A preliminary report found no discrepancies in parallel … Continue reading
The AP has this report on Washington Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout’s finding that Democrat Thomas M. Salmon prevailed over Auditor Randy Brock by 102 votes, after Brock had originally been declared the winner by 137 votes. This is … Continue reading
The AP has this report and EL@M this post on Republican Shannon Royer’s concession to Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith in Pennsylvania’s 156th House District, giving Democrats a 102-101 majority. The final margin after the manual recount was 28 votes (11,616-11,588). … Continue reading
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has this story and the NYT this one on Democrat Christine Jennings’ filing of a notice of contest with the House, asking it to void the result of the election in which Republican Vern Buchanan was declared … Continue reading
The AP has this report, on problems with the printouts generated by the present-generation electronic voting machines, in places that require a “voter verified paper audit trail” (VVPAT). Typically, these systems spool out a strip of paper behind a transparent … Continue reading
In a 4-3 opinion, the California Supreme Court held that Indian tribes are bound by campaign finance disclosure rules (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Superior Court). The AP has this report. The tribes had argued that, as sovereign … Continue reading
The Center for Competitive Politics has issued this press release, quoting Brad Smith’s reaction to the three-judge court’s opinion: “Today the D.C. District Court reaffirmed citizens’ rights to speak over the airwaves about political issues close to an election, and … Continue reading
The Arizona Daily Star reports here on the City Council’s unanimous rejection of a proposal to have all the city’s voting done by mail. It notes that: “After voting in April to endorse all-mail balloting for the 2007 election, the … Continue reading
The AP has this story, on a letter that Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) sent to constituents, commenting on the decision of Rep-elect Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) to use the Quran at his swearing-in ceremony. Rep. Goode reportedly wrote: “The Muslim representative … Continue reading
NALEO in Washington, DC has this job posting for a position as a Senior Policy Analyst in Elections and Voting Rights Policy. … Continue reading
The North County Gazette has this report regarding litigation challenging the Village of Port Chester’s at-large election scheme for its board of trustees. … Continue reading
The Albany Times Union has this story on the New York State Board of Elections’ acknowledgement that they won’t likely have new voting machines in place by September 2007, as it previously agreed to do after being sued by the … Continue reading
Gerry Hebert offers these thoughts on the Campaign Legal Center Blog. … Continue reading
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports here, the AP here on yesterday’s proceedings in Leon County Circuit Court, regarding the disputed race between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings for Florida’s 13th Congressional District. The Herald-Tribune also has this report on … Continue reading
The Phoenix has this report and the Philadelphia Inquirer this one on the manual recount in the race for Pennsylvania’s 156th, on which control of the state house or representatives turns. Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith leads Republican Shannon Royer by … Continue reading
Brad Smith has been busy. He’s written this commentary on the Center for Competitive Politics site, regarding the Campaign Finance Institute’s response to the FEC’s statement of policy on “Purpose of Disbursement” entries for filings with the Commission. He’s also … Continue reading
See this press release. Thanks to Doug Chapin for the pointer. Of particular interest to those concerned with election administration is that Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald of California will be Chairwoman of the House Administration Committee. … Continue reading
Michael Richardson offers this comment on litigation regarding the right of U.S. Citizens in the U.S. Virgin Islands to vote in presidential elections. … Continue reading
Abby Thernstrom has this commentary on the AEI site, reprinted from Engage, criticizing the Voting Rights Act reauthorization earlier this year and, more broadly, its administration in the decades since 1965. It begins: Race is the third rail of American … Continue reading
The Philadelphia Business Journal reports here that “Philadelphia mayoral candidate Michael A. Nutter said Sunday he is appealing a Dec. 13 court ruling that makes a city ordinance limiting campaign contributions unenforceable.” Court of Common Pleas Court Judge Allan Tereshko … Continue reading
The AP has this report and EL@M this post on the Vermont auditor’s race. Incumbent Auditor Randy Brock was ahead of Democrat Thomas M. Salmon by 137 votes of over 250,000 cast on Election Day but, after the recount concluded … Continue reading
The manual recount of 23,000 votes in a pivotal Pennsylvania state house race is to begin today, despite Democratic efforts to stop it. See this EL@M post and this story in the Philadelphia Enquirer. The Democratic candidate currently leads the … Continue reading
Reuters has this story, reporting on a proposal to end the ban on consecutive terms for legislators. … Continue reading
Bob Bauer has this post on “More Soft Money Hard Law,” commenting on Saturday’s NYT editorial. … Continue reading
Berkeley Electronic Press’s “The Forum” this set of articles, including one on competition and turnout from Michael McDonald. … Continue reading
Bruce Ackerman considers what might be done to prepare for the mass incapacitation of members of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches here. … Continue reading