Monthly Archives: August 2013

People Suspected of Being Registered Under False Address to Be “Warned”

August 6, 2013, 7:46 amelection administrationDan Tokaji

This story from NPR reports on the decision of the elections board in Hamilton County, OH, where approximately 100 people are reportedly registered at an address other than their home address. That includes about 30 police officers believed to have… Continue reading

The Voting Rights Act is 48 Today

August 6, 2013, 7:33 amVoting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Happy (?) Birthday. “Can Moral Monday help counteract SCOTUS?,” asks this Salon column by Gary May, author of a book on the VRA’s history cited in Justice Ginsburg’s Shelby dissent. Huffpost and the Nation also have posts on the birthday.

“RNC Accuses NBC and CNN of Boosting Hillary, Threatens to Nix Debates”

August 6, 2013, 7:19 ampolitical polarizationDan Tokaji

WaPo reports on the RNC’s response to the networks’ planned Hillary films. Chair Reince Preibus calls them a “thinly veiled attempt at putting a thumb on the scales of the 2016 presidential election,” and says: ““If they have not agreed… Continue reading

More on NY Absentee Ballot Fraud Allegations

August 6, 2013, 7:12 amchicaneryDan Tokaji

Dan Janison has this column in Newsday, discussing the 94-count indictment against the Democratic Commissioner of the Dutchess County Election Board, as well as a former Republican commissioner.

“Did Shelby County Impact Congress’s Authority Under Section 2 of the 13th Amendment?”

August 6, 2013, 7:01 amVoting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Josh Blackman blogs on a constitutional challenge to the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

“GOP Congressman Provides Super PAC Seed Funding”

August 5, 2013, 2:10 pmcampaign financeDan Tokaji

According to the Center for Public Integrity: “The campaign of Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., provided two-thirds of the first $15,000 raised by a super PAC that employs his brother and a former congressional aide….”

Torres-Spelliscy on SEC Regulation of Money in Politics

August 5, 2013, 10:58 amcampaign finance, conflict of interest lawsDan Tokaji

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy’s article “Safeguarding Markets from Pernicious Pay to Play: A Model Explaining Why the SEC Regulates Money in Politics” is out. From the abstract: At first blush, the SEC’s regulation of money in politics may seem to… Continue reading

Judge Marbley Extends Ohio Provisional Voting/ID Consent Decree

August 5, 2013, 10:51 amprovisional ballots, voter idDan Tokaji

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley has issued this order extending the consent decree in Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless v. Husted through 2016. The Columbus Dispatch reports here. This lawsuit was originally filed to challenge disparities in the… Continue reading

“The Root of Washington’s Ills”

August 5, 2013, 10:04 amlobbying, UncategorizedDan Tokaji

It’s the lobbyists, according to Fareed Zakaria.

“A Full Commission Should Address FEC Rules Changes”

August 5, 2013, 10:00 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionDan Tokaji

WaPo editorializes here.

“Political Polarization as Massive Resistance”

August 5, 2013, 8:46 ampolitical polarizationDan Tokaji

Bloomberg, on two Americas, “increasingly regionalized, polarized and diverging” (contra Obama 2004).

Lobbying During Recess

August 5, 2013, 8:41 amlobbyingDan Tokaji

WaPo reports here that: “Once a lull in the political calendar, August is now officially part of the high season. An array of interest groups has methodically plotted how to use the congressional recess to press causes.”

Of contributions and expenditures and the land in between

August 5, 2013, 8:32 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

Justin here (just so Dan doesn’t get the hate mail). In the world of campaign finance, the constitutional distinction between contributions and expenditures has been one of the primary, comparatively stable, fault lines. With relative consistency, the Court has reviewed… Continue reading

Police Stations Used as Voting Addresses?

August 5, 2013, 8:31 amchicaneryDan Tokaji

That’s the allegation that the Board of Elections of Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio will discuss today, according to this AP report, which says that 30 officers were registered at the address of police stations.