Monthly Archives: August 2015

“Limits unclear on new political party ‘slush funds’; Inaction by election cops gives Dems and Republicans free rein on spending”

August 3, 2015, 7:27 amcampaign finance, campaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

CPI: The Democratic and Republican parties certainly don’t agree on how to run the country, but they are in sync when it comes to capitalizing on a new law letting them raise eight times as much money from rich… Continue reading

“Unconstitutional But Entrenched: Putting UOCAVA and Voting Rights for Permanent Expatriates on a Sound Constitutional Footing”

August 3, 2015, 7:25 amelection administration, military voting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Brian Kalt has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Brooklyn Law Review). Here is the abstract: For decades, eligible voters who have left the U.S. permanently have had the right to vote in federal elections as though they still lived… Continue reading

“Ruth: Vote, then pray your ballot is counted”

August 3, 2015, 7:24 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Daniel Ruth in the Tampa Bay Times on FL SOS Ken Detzner: Ken Detzner has other things to do, like protecting the state seal to make sure it doesn’t get lost, fall into a mayo jar, or wind up on… Continue reading

“The Question of Super PACs in the Post-Buckley World”

August 3, 2015, 7:21 amcampaign finance, campaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Bauer blogs.

“The Voting Rights Act at 50 and the Section on Election Law at Birth: A Perspective”

August 3, 2015, 7:20 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Gene Mazo has posted this abstract (no draft) on SSRN (forthcoming ELJ): On the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the scholarly community has been fretting over the statute’s possible demise. Two years after Shelby County v.… Continue reading

“Appeal court’s John Doe decision”

August 3, 2015, 7:19 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Matthew Rothschild oped in the Journal Sentinel: Special prosecutor Francis Schmitz has an obligation to appeal the decision by the state Supreme Court to dismiss the John Doe investigation. That decision legalized coordination between candidates and outside groups so long… Continue reading

“Wisconsin Decision to Shut Down Walker Probe Reflects Roberts Court”

August 3, 2015, 7:16 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NLJ oped by Daniel Weiner and Brent Ferguson.

“When Not All Votes Were Equal The U.S. Supreme Court reconsiders how legislative districts are drawn—and risks sending the country back to a time before ‘one person, one vote.'”

August 2, 2015, 8:49 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

J. Douglas Smith, author of On Democracy’s Doorstep: The Inside Story of How the Supreme Court Brought ‘One Person, One Vote’ to the United States, has written this piece on Evenwel in the Altantic. He concludes: Until the Supreme… Continue reading

“Small Pool of Rich Donors Dominates Election Giving”

August 2, 2015, 8:35 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: [corrected link and bumped to top] Fewer than four hundred families are responsible for almost half the money raised in the 2016 presidential campaign, a concentration of political donors that is unprecedented in the modern era. The vast… Continue reading

“Former news anchor joins race for Missouri secretary of state”

August 2, 2015, 8:34 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

KMBC: “Robin Smith, a longtime television news anchor in St. Louis, announced Sunday that she will run for the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office….Republican candidate Jay Ashcroft said he thinks Smith will follow in the footsteps of Democratic secretaries… Continue reading

“Voting against discrimination: The crucial step America took 50 years ago to affirm its democratic values is under unprecedented assault”

August 2, 2015, 8:30 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Theodore Shaw and Vishal Agraharkar write for the NYDN.

“How 2016 turned into a game for billionaires”

August 2, 2015, 8:28 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

CBS’s Face the Nation with Matea Gold, Steven Law, and Trevor Potter.

“Journalists Attend Private Koch Brothers Gathering, But Agree Not To Name Donors”

August 2, 2015, 8:19 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Michael Calderone reports for HuffPo.

“Rulings spark hopes for fairer districts”

August 2, 2015, 8:18 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Herald Tribune: Since 2008, Florida has exhibited the political equivalent of a split personality, with a Democratic president twice winning the state even as Republicans racked up large majorities in the Legislature and congressional delegation. Among the explanations for… Continue reading