Category Archives: Voting Rights Act

Another Error in Judge Easterbrook’s WI Voter ID Opinion

October 6, 2014, 6:48 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Following up on this post, a reader notes that Judge Easterbrook also writes in his opinion today: “The Justices observed that a commission chaired by former President Carter had recommended the use of photo ID to verify a person’s… Continue reading

A Quick Reaction to the 7th Circuit Wisconsin Voter ID Decision: Horrendous

October 6, 2014, 2:45 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I am crashing on a number of deadlines before travelling, so I have only time for a brief reaction to the 7th Circuit’s opinion today on the merits rejecting the constitutional and Voting Rights Act section 2 challenges to Wisconsin’s… Continue reading

National Constitution Center Podcast on Voting Rights Fights with Jeffrey Rosen, John Eastman and Me

October 3, 2014, 9:51 amelection administration, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Listen. In that interview, John Eastman pretty much suggests Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional unless it is read to require proof of racially discriminatory intent (kind of defeats the whole point of section 2 one… Continue reading

Question of the Day: Texas Voter ID Edition

October 2, 2014, 2:45 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

So let’s say you are the federal district judge inclined to issue an opinion striking down Texas’s voter id law. Do you issue something now, barring its use in the upcoming election (raising the ubiquitous Purcell issue aside from the… Continue reading

Breaking: North Carolina Files Emergency #SCOTUS Petition in Same Day Voting, Precinct Voting Case: Analysis

October 2, 2014, 1:47 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, voting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have now had a chance to read North Carolina’s 32-page petition (with an extensive appendix) asking for the Supreme Court to reverse an order issued by the 4th Circuit on a 2-1 vote requiring North Carolina to restore same… Continue reading

“Voter ID law in Wisconsin challenged”

October 2, 2014, 10:52 amelection administration, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Lyle Denniston reports for SCOTUSBlog. My analysis of the filing is here.

Breaking: Challengers to WI Voter ID Law Seek Emergency SCOTUS Order: Analysis

October 2, 2014, 6:20 amelection administration, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The challengers to Wisconsin’s voter identification law have filed a very strong and persuasive 26 page brief in the Supreme Court asking the judges to put Wisconsin’s voter id law back on hold for this election, regardless of what ultimately… Continue reading

The Challenging #SCOTUS Argument of Voting Rights Advocates on Last-Minute Election Changes

October 1, 2014, 7:34 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

If, as expected, challengers to WI voter id law go to the Supreme Court seeking to stop the immediate use of Wisconsin’s new voting law for the election coming up in a few weeks, I expect their main argument… Continue reading

“2 New Limits on Voting in North Carolina Are Rejected by U.S. Court”

October 1, 2014, 7:09 pmelection administration, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT reports. My earlier analysis of this ruling is here. See also my Race or Party? How Courts Should Think About Republican Efforts to Make it Harder to Vote in North Carolina and Elsewhere, 127 Harvard… Continue reading

NC Gov. McCrory Says NC Going to SCOTUS in Voting Case

October 1, 2014, 2:34 pmelection administration, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

News and Observer: Gov. Pat McCrory also announced plans to appeal the reinstatement of the two provisions to the U.S. Supreme Court. “I am pleased that the major parts of this popular and common sense bill were left intact and… Continue reading

“Vote-Restriction Laws Line Up for Supreme Court Review”

October 1, 2014, 2:25 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Marcia Coyle reports for NLJ.

Breaking: 4th Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Partially Blocks NC Voting Changes: Analysis

October 1, 2014, 9:38 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The 4th Circuit on a 2-1 vote (on a panel made up of all Democratic appointees) has issued an opinion requiring North Carolina to restore same day voter registration and the counting of out of precinct ballots in the upcoming… Continue reading

CA Gov Brown Rejects Expansion of California Voting Rights Act to Require, Among Other Things, Increase in Number of Districts

September 30, 2014, 4:57 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Today Governor Brown vetoed CA Sen. Pedilla’s SB 1365, which contained amendments to the California Voting Rights Act. His veto message is here and the bill text is here. The LA Times editorial urging a veto is here.

Breaking: Supreme Court, 5-4, Blocks Extension of Early Voting in Ohio: Analysis

September 29, 2014, 1:05 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Via SCOTUSBlog comes this Supreme Court order staying the district court’s order preventing various cutbacks in early voting (including a cutback from 35 to 28 days, and elimination of one of the two early voting days on a Sunday,… Continue reading