Monthly Archives: July 2016

Read the St. Petersburg Ordinance Set Up as Challenge to Legality of Super PACs

July 26, 2016, 5:42 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Release: Last night, on Thursday 21, 2016, the St. Petersburg City Council voted 6-1 to move forward for consideration our proposed ordinance to abolish super PACs and ban foreign corporate money in local elections. The vote followed passionate statements… Continue reading

Julian Assange Claimed He Leaked DNC Emails Timed to Hurt Clinton

July 26, 2016, 5:11 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Charlie Savage reports for the NYT. This statement does not necessarily negate Russian involvement. Assange, as I understand it, heavily depends on Russian support.

“‘DNC Hacker’ Unmasked: He Really Works for Russia, Researchers Say”

July 26, 2016, 10:15 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

The Daily Beast reports.

“Making Sense Of Kansas’ Ever-Changing Voting Laws”

July 26, 2016, 10:14 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Good report from KMUW (via Doug Chapin).

“Report: FEC leaders, managers share blame for horrid morale”

July 26, 2016, 10:08 amelection law biz, federal election commissionRick Hasen

CPI: Bickering commissioners, ineffective managers and lousy internal communication rank among the top reasons why the Federal Election Commission staff is one of the federal government’s most bedraggled. That’s the dispiriting — if unsurprising — conclusion of a new report… Continue reading

Read the TX “Reasonable Impediment Affidavit” for Voter ID Which Could Be Model for What’s to Come

July 26, 2016, 10:06 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Here it is for the special election and could well be what the judge orders statewide in Texas in November. More from the Texas Tribune.

“In Hacked D.N.C. Emails, a Glimpse of How Big Money Works”

July 26, 2016, 7:35 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: But the leaked cache also included thousands of emails exchanged by Democratic officials and party fund-raisers, revealing in rarely seen detail the elaborate, ingratiating and often bluntly transactional exchanges necessary to harvest hundreds of millions of dollars from… Continue reading

Quote of the Day

July 26, 2016, 7:26 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

“As some of you may know, I support Bernie Sanders and the movement behind him. And Bernie has already succeeded in so many ways. He proved that Citizens United is in fact not a necessary evil, and by the way,… Continue reading

“A Legal Note from the World of Conventions”

July 26, 2016, 7:25 amcampaign finance, political partiesRick Hasen

Bauer blogs.

Jack Goldsmith on Whether Foreign Powers Could Hack Our Elections

July 26, 2016, 7:24 amchicanery, voting technologyRick Hasen

Ugh: Is the election aspect of this hack unique? There have been reports in recent years of cyberattacks or cyberoperations in computer networks in other countries related to elections. Still, if this if a Russian (or some other foreign… Continue reading

“What the DNC email leak reveals about Arizona’s election lawsuit”

July 26, 2016, 7:22 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Arizona Republic: Also revealed was email correspondence about the federal lawsuit the Democrats filed against Arizona in the wake of Maricopa County’s polling-place debacle that resulted in hours-long lines for voters wanting to cast ballots in the state’s March 22… Continue reading

“Perkins Coie Lawyer’s Advice Helped Spark Democratic Division”

July 26, 2016, 7:19 amcampaign finance, campaigns, election law bizRick Hasen

American Lawyer: Perkins Coie’s Marc Elias, who has juggled legal roles for both the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee, saw the intersecting interests of both clients unexpectedly become public on Friday with the leak of… Continue reading

Don McGahn, Trump’s Lawyer, Opines on Trump’s Likely SCOTUS Choices

July 25, 2016, 5:22 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Via Right Wing Watch: The Supreme Court was a major topic at the event, as it was throughout the convention, where the court was cited frequently as the ultimate reason for conservative voters to back Trump despite whatever qualms they… Continue reading

“DNC Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Alleging Donor Deception”

July 25, 2016, 3:59 pmpolitical partiesRick Hasen

Jacob Gershman for the WSJ Law Blog: Claims that Democratic Party leaders conspired to squash the presidential primary campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders have not only led to a party shake-up but have sparked class-action litigation. A trove of… Continue reading