Monthly Archives: October 2015

Nick Confessore’s Deep Dive into America’s Plutocracy

October 10, 2015, 11:50 amcampaign finance, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

Drop everything and read this (online, because the graphics are fantastic): Just 158 families have provided nearly half of the early money for efforts to capture the White House…. They are overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male, in a nation… Continue reading

“Menendez appeals judge’s ruling in corruption case”

October 9, 2015, 3:32 pmbribery, campaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Jonathan Salant for NJ.com: Lawyers for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez on Friday asked an appeals court to throw out an indictment charging him with intervening with federal agencies in exchange for gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez’s lawyers appealed to the… Continue reading

“Racially Polarized Voting”

October 9, 2015, 2:46 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Chris Elmendorf, Kevin Quinn and Marisa Abrajano have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Chicago Law Review). Here is the abstract: Whether voting is racially polarized has for the last generation been the linchpin question in vote dilution… Continue reading

“Judge rejects House, Senate redistricting maps, recommends challengers’ plan”

October 9, 2015, 2:39 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Miami Herald: Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis on Friday rejected the Florida Legislature’s third attempt at redrawing its congressional districts and recommended a map proposed by the challengers — including a redrawn configuration of two Miami-Dade County districts —… Continue reading

“Settlement in Oklahoma Sparks Huge Increase in Voter Registration”

October 9, 2015, 2:28 pmelection administration, NVRA (motor voter), voter registrationRick Hasen

Demos blogs.

“Everything you need to know about the 2016 money race so far”

October 9, 2015, 2:18 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Matea Gold for WaPo. The initial batch of fundraising reports point to a continuation of the trend that emerged in the spring quarter, when the Democratic candidates raised more money directly for their campaigns, while nearly 80 percent of… Continue reading

“Alabama Budget Cuts Raise Concern Over Voting Rights”

October 9, 2015, 2:16 pmelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

Today’s must-read: Campbell Robertson in the NYT with a look at the nuances surrounding the controversy.

“Justice Department Called On To Investigate Alabama Voter ID Issue”

October 9, 2015, 11:38 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NPR: YEAGER: At a press conference in Birmingham, the Reverend Jesse Jackson isn’t shy about what he thinks of the state’s move. JESSE JACKSON: Of course it’s a new Jim Crow. YEAGER: Jim Crow – he’s referring to the… Continue reading

“Campaign Finance Reformers Skeptical of Doug Hughes’ Strategy”

October 9, 2015, 10:47 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Roll Call reports. I expressed my skepticism of Hughes and the 99Rise tactics in this TPM piece on the Supreme Court and the 2016 election.

The Latest Jeb! Slipup

October 9, 2015, 10:01 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Ken Vogel: Telling slip-up here from @JebBush highlights ineffectiveness of super PAC coordination ban. http://iowapublicradio.org/post/bush-weighs-guns-agricultural-subsidies-and-education#stream/0 …

“Government Abandons Prior Interpretation of 2006 Veterans Act in New Brief to the Supreme Court”

October 9, 2015, 9:22 amstatutory interpretationRick Hasen

Luke McLoughlin: In a brief filed with the Supreme Court on September 29, 2015 in the case Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States, 14-916, the government abandoned the restrictive interpretation of the 2006 Veterans Act that it pressed before… Continue reading

#SCOTUS Will Hear Evenwel and Harris Voting Cases December 8

October 9, 2015, 8:55 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

And Fisher, the affirmative action case, on December 9. Confirmed by Supreme Court posting.

“Jeb Bush and Ben Carson Split on Voting Rights Act”

October 8, 2015, 7:55 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT: Saying that he wanted the Voting Rights Act to be protected, Mr. Carson told CNN: “Whether we still need it or not, whether we’ve outgrown the need for it, it’s questionable. Maybe we have. Maybe we haven’t. But… Continue reading

“The GOP sinks deeper into chaos. Can it still function as a party?”

October 8, 2015, 7:49 pmpolitical parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Today’s must-read from Karen Tumulty in WaPo: Less than a year after a sweeping electoral triumph, Republicans are on the verge of ceasing to function as a national political party. The most powerful and crippling force at work in the… Continue reading