Monthly Archives: March 2012

“Come hear Floyd Abrams and Professor Richard Hasen engage in a lively discussion about the landmark Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”

March 4, 2012, 8:55 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

[bumping to the front] This event, to be moderated by Professor Ellen Katz, will take place March 5 at noon at the University of Michigan Law School For those who cannot attend in person, the event will be webcast… Continue reading

Burt Rein Seeks to Undersell His Role in Pushing Supreme Court to Dismantle Affirmative Action and Strike Down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act

March 4, 2012, 8:49 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

I was reading this interesting profile of Ed Blum and Burt Rein in the Washington Post (see also this earlier very informative profile of Blum in the Texas Tribune/NYT). And then there was this at the end of the piece… Continue reading

Will Four-Way Republican Race Continue through June?

March 4, 2012, 8:40 pmcampaigns, primariesRick Hasen

NYT’s “The Caucus” games it out. I suspect that if Romney ekes out a victory in Ohio, there will be lots of pressure on Santorum to drop out, and a coalescing further around Romney.

“Candidate says Alabama Supreme Court rulings favor corporate interests”

March 4, 2012, 8:25 pmjudicial electionsRick Hasen

News from Alabama.

“This may come to be known as the Samuel Alito election.”

March 4, 2012, 8:21 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

So begins this Al Hunt column on Super PACs in the 2012 election. See also David Brooks and Gail Collins discuss Super PACs in the NYT Sunday Review.

“Secret donors to ‘C4s’ play behind-the-scenes politics”

March 4, 2012, 8:17 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Important Michael Hiltzik column in the LA Times.

“In New Board Ruling, An Early Sign of Financial Trouble at Americans Elect”

March 4, 2012, 8:13 pmthird partiesRick Hasen

John Lumea: “What this Board decision basically says is that as few as five people can fund the whole damned thing….It also strongly suggests that Americans Elect is not getting — and does not expect to get — significant… Continue reading

“Race and Partisanship in Criminal Disfranchisement Laws: Antecedents of the 2000 Election Controversy in Florida”

March 4, 2012, 8:11 pmfelon voting, votingRick Hasen

Pippa Holloway has posted this draft on SSRN (chapter in FREEDOM RIGHTS: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, p. 277, D. McGuire and J. Dittmer, eds., University Press of Kentucky, 2011). Here is the abstract: This essay considers court… Continue reading

Quote of the Day

March 4, 2012, 8:06 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

““My personal experience, having been here for a while, is that it didn’t used to be as dysfunctional as people said it was, but now it actually is, I’m sad to say.” FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, quoted in Politico’s FEC’s … Continue reading

Boren and Todd Whitman Make Kissy Face with Olympia Snowe for Americans Elect

March 4, 2012, 8:03 pmthird partiesRick Hasen

From an AE emailed press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A STATEMENT BY FORMER GOVERNORS DAVID BOREN AND CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN: WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 4, 2012–Below is a statement by the former Governor of New Jersey and current board member of… Continue reading

AP Story on the ALEC Connection to Minn’s Voter ID Bill

March 4, 2012, 7:23 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

AP reports.

“The Voting Wars Special Preview”

March 3, 2012, 9:46 pmelection administration, fraudulent fraud squad, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Yale Press Log: :With Super Tuesday coming up on March 6th, election-related emotions are already running high, and as November slowly approaches, we can only expect them to rise further. Voters are concerned about everything from foreign policy to… Continue reading