Monthly Archives: October 2015
“The Roberts Court & the Future of Free Speech”
Joel Gora:
The new Supreme Court Term that begins today marks the tenth anniversary of “the Roberts Court,” which reached full complement in January 2006. That was when Associate Justice Samuel Alito joined the Court, which Chief Justice John G.… Continue reading
Former US AG Michael Mukasey Criticizes DOJ Voting Section
Imprimis:
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is the one we think of as having the main responsibility for protecting fairness. Yet its recent record has indicated other priorities. Recently its Voting Section went out of its way to review a… Continue reading
“Republicans simply out for revenge on GAB”
“Carly Fiorina’s first political campaign had a surprising problem: Money”
WaPo:
Famed California pollster Joe Shumate was found dead in his home one month before Election Day 2010, surrounded by sheets of polling data he labored over for the flailing Senate bid of Carly Fiorina.
Upon his death, Fiorina… Continue reading
“This Is What Voter ID Laws Looks Like When They Hit Real People”
Think Progress:
Wisconsin once again has to defend its voter ID law in federal court, this time responding to a challenge to the law’s exclusion of veterans’ IDs, technical college IDs, and out-of-state drivers’ licenses.
Staff attorney Sean Young… Continue reading
“It’s Still a Struggle; The fight for voting rights hasn’t been the straightforward battle we once might have expected to win and be done with.”
Sam Issacharoff has an important new review of Ari Berman’s Give Us the Ballot in the latest issue of The American Prospect. Unfortunately it is not posted freely online. It concludes:
Using the instrumentalities of power to keep enemies… Continue reading
NAACP LDF Expresses Voting Rights Act Concerns in Alabama Voter ID DMV Closure Case
Letter:
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (“LDF”)1, on behalf of Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, writes to raise our grave concerns regarding… Continue reading
“Delusions about Dysfunction at the FEC”
CCP:
The Center for Competitive Politics (CCP), America’s largest nonprofit dedicated to defending political free speech and assembly, released a new issue brief today addressing allegations that the Federal Election Commission is “dysfunctional” and does not work as intended
“Advsory Letter Could Permit Bigger Role for Outside Groups in NC Elections”
WRAL:
Recently published guidance will pave the way for advocacy groups to more closely work with official campaign committees of candidates running for office in North Carolina.
An advisory letter issued by State Board of Elections Director Kim Strach… Continue reading
“Undocumented Citizens”
Joey Fishkin:
The Texas Department of State Health Services has created this new category of what I would call “undocumented citizens” by revising its interpretation of a comparatively obscure set of state regulations concerning what documents a parent needs… Continue reading
“The sneaky new voter suppression tool in North Carolina, uncovered by one of our own”
Daily Kos:
North Carolina Republicans have been actively moving the goalposts—they’ve been moving polling places around like a crazed monkey on crack. They have been cutting numbers of polling places in some counties, increasing numbers in other counties. There… Continue reading
“Vermont GOP questions neutrality of election official”
“At issue are social media posts by J.P. Isabelle, an elections administrator in the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.”
“Supreme Court Asked to Strike Contractor Contribution Ban”
Bloomberg BNA:
Challengers seeking to eliminate a decades-old federal ban on campaign contributions from government contractors have filed a petition seeking Supreme Court review of the case (Wagner v. Federal Election Commission, U.S., Docket No. Unavail., cert petition filed10/2/15).… Continue reading