Category Archives: Department of Justice

Will DOJ Step In With a Voting Rights Act Section 2 Suit in Pa.?

August 11, 2012, 10:35 amDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Must-read story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. My prediction: the state trial court judge (who has said he would rule in the upcoming week) is likely to preliminarily enjoin the Pa. voter id law for this election, and if that… Continue reading

“Judges split on ruling in S. Carolina voter ID case”

August 11, 2012, 10:29 amDepartment of Justice, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Gerstein: “The two judges in the majority, U.S. District Court Judges Colleen Kollar-Kotelly and John Bates, took a harder line against South Carolina’s efforts to invoke attorney-client privilege to shield material prepared by staff attorneys in the state Senate… Continue reading

“DOJ subpoenas Miami-Dade, 8 other counties in noncitizen voter purge”

August 9, 2012, 11:37 amDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter registrationRick Hasen

Miami Herald reports.

South Carolina Voter ID Trial Beginning Aug. 27

August 7, 2012, 2:01 pmDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

TPM reports. I don’t expect things to go well for South Carolina before this three-judge court.

“Judge Says New Emails ‘Appear to Contradict’ DOJ Assertion in Black Panther Case”

August 3, 2012, 7:34 amchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

But Main Justice says the information was already revealed in the OPR report. I discus the New Black Panther incident in Chapter 3 (¡No Votes!) of The Voting Wars.

“Feds: Florida’s voter purge violates federal law; The Justice Department says Florida never submitted the new ‘citizenship list maintenance practices’ to them for approval.”

July 31, 2012, 9:19 pmDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, voter registration, voting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The Miami Herald reports.

Democrats Fundraising Off Voting Wars in PA Voter ID Suit

July 25, 2012, 2:03 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

Christian Adams reports. One of the main claims I make regarding voter i.d. in The Voting Wars is that the battle over voter i.d. is as much (if not more) about motiviating the base and raising funds by both… Continue reading

“Lamar Smith Overlooks Texas Voter ID Expert’s Work For Karl Rove”

July 25, 2012, 9:12 amDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

TPM reports.

Pitts: DOJ’s Letter to Pa. on Voter ID Law Was Unusual

July 24, 2012, 9:02 amDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

Mike Pitts, a former DOJ attorney who worked on voting rights issues, and now a professor at Indiana, sent the following interesting post to the election law listserv, which I reprint below by permission: There are a couple of… Continue reading

“Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Voter ID Laws”

July 23, 2012, 4:47 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Important ProPublica Q&A.

“Justice Department Investigates Pennsylvania Voter ID Law”

July 23, 2012, 2:45 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

TPM reports.

“Shelby County files Voting Rights Act appeal with U.S. Supreme Court”

July 20, 2012, 2:02 pmDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Birmingham News: “Shelby County took its challenge of the Voting Rights Actto the U.S. Supreme Court today, asking the justices to declare part of the 1965 law an unfair burden on states such as Alabama where the federal government… Continue reading

“Section 5 challenges reach Court”

July 20, 2012, 9:15 amDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

SCOTUSBlog’s Lyle Denniston: [updated]: “Attorneys for challengers to the constitutionality of the 1965 voting rights law’s key provision for federal regulation of state and local election laws urged the Supreme Court on Friday to settle the issue in the… Continue reading

“Democrats at DOJ: Why Partisan Use of the Voting Rights Act Might Not Be So Bad After All”

July 19, 2012, 3:44 pmDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Ellen Katz has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Stanford Law and Policy Review). Here is the abstract: Partisan use of the Voting Rights Act has long been viewed as distasteful and destructive. This short Essay challenges that view, arguing… Continue reading