Monthly Archives: May 2015

“Who Makes Voting Convenient? Explaining the Adoption of Early and No-Excuse Absentee Voting in the American States”

May 15, 2015, 12:22 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

Daniel Biggers and Michael Hanmer have written this article for State Politics & Policy Quarterly. Here is the abstract: Recent elections have witnessed substantial debate regarding the degree to which state governments facilitate access to the polls. Despite this newfound… Continue reading

“Election Laws and Agenda Setting: How Election Law Restrictiveness Shapes the Complexity of State Ballot Measures”

May 15, 2015, 12:20 pmballot access, direct democracyRick Hasen

Kerri Milita has written this article for State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Here is the abstract: Recently, many U.S. states that allow citizen initiatives have passed laws designed to make it more difficult for an initiative to qualify for the… Continue reading

“Democrats Play Hardball on Voting Laws Ahead of 2016”

May 15, 2015, 10:26 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

TIME: The current legal challenge in Ohio is an early glimpse into some of the Democratic-led fights that will unfold over the next 18 months before the general election, as attorneys begin to aggressively challenge restrictive voting laws enacted and… Continue reading

“Alphabetically Ordered Ballots and the Composition of American Legislatures”

May 15, 2015, 8:09 amcampaign finance, election administrationRick Hasen

Barry Edwards has written this article for the State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Here is the abstract: Although research demonstrates that favorable ballot position can deliver candidates a small windfall of votes in local, nonpartisan, and primary elections, it is… Continue reading

“Voting Rights for Whom? Examining the Effects of the Voting Rights Act on Latino Political Incorporation”

May 15, 2015, 8:06 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Melissa Marschall and Amanda Rutherford have written this article for AJPS. Here is the abstract: This study applies insights from principal-agent models to examine whether and how the language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, Sections 203 and 4(f)(4),… Continue reading

Big News: Florida to Have Online Voter Registration

May 15, 2015, 7:59 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voting technologyRick Hasen

Here is the letter from Gov. Scott. Though the bill had bipartisan support, it had been opposed by Scott SOS appointee Detzner. This is the sort of commonsense reform that should not be mired in partisan politics. But alas….

“Mississippi election of new Member of Congress with Louisiana form of Top Two makes case for ranked choice voting”

May 15, 2015, 7:58 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Rob Richie.

“Hillary Rodham Clinton Ups the Super PAC Ante”

May 15, 2015, 7:48 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

NYT’s Taking Note ed blog item.

NH Supreme Court Strikes Voter Registration Language Tying Right to Register to Possession of Driver’s License

May 15, 2015, 7:26 amvotingRick Hasen

Guare v. State of New Hampshire: Thus, not only has the State failed to establish that the challenged language is necessary to comply with HAVA, but it also has failed to demonstrate that the challenged language actually addresses HAVA… Continue reading

“Does the First Amendment provide special protection for the media — or the same protection for all speakers?”

May 15, 2015, 7:17 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

This should be good: Volokh v. West. I come down on West’s side in Plutocrats United.

Alternative Voting System Day

May 15, 2015, 7:07 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Bloomberg Businessweek advocates PR for the UK, and the Washington Post advocates instant runoff voting for DC.

“Hillary Clinton’s litmus test for Supreme Court nominees: a pledge to overturn Citizens United”

May 14, 2015, 6:53 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

A very interesting development.

“Republicans reject another way to expand voting access”

May 14, 2015, 2:10 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter registrationRick Hasen

MSNBC: Democrats and Republicans have battled in recent years over almost every major aspect of voting rules. But they have found one rare area of agreement: allowing people to register to vote online—an innovation that a growing number of… Continue reading

WI John Doe Special Prosecutor Asks for Justice Prosser Recusal Because of Alleged Coordination Between His Campaign and Those Under Investigaton

May 14, 2015, 10:41 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

See this document, (look at 2/12 recusal motion) beginning at page 20. (h/t gnarlytrombone)

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law