Monthly Archives: February 2017

NAACP LDF: Leaders and Academics Should Not Participate in VP Pence’s “Voter Fraud” Task Force

February 24, 2017, 6:32 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Release: Recent reports confirm that Vice President Mike Pence will lead a task force to investigate President Trump’s unproven voter fraud claims and is gathering names of individuals who will be part of it. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational… Continue reading

Talking “Voting Rights in Trump’s America” in Austin on Thursday March 2 at Univ. of Texas Law School

February 24, 2017, 6:27 pmThe Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Hope to see Austin folks at this ACS event (with cookies!). I’ll be giving a faculty workshop that day too, presenting Race or Party, Party as Race, or Party All the Time: Three Uneasy Approaches to Conjoined Polarization in … Continue reading

“Ramshackle Federalism: America’s Archaic and Dysfunctional Presidential Election System”

February 24, 2017, 6:23 pmpolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

Tony Gaughan has posted this draft on SSRN (Fordham Law Review). Here is the abstract: Although the presidency is the most powerful public office in the United States, the federal government plays a modest role in presidential elections. Reflecting the… Continue reading

“The Forty-Year War on Money in Politics: Watergate, FECA, and the Future of Campaign Finance Reform”

February 24, 2017, 6:22 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Tony Gaughan has posted this draft on SSRN (Ohio State Law Journal). Here is the abstract: This article examines the 40 year history of the post-Watergate campaign finance reforms. Since Watergate, federal campaign finance law has been based on a… Continue reading

“How Citizens United gave Republicans a bonanza of seats in U.S. state legislatures”

February 24, 2017, 6:16 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Nour Abdul-Razzak, Carlo Prato and Stéphane Wolton in the Monkey Cage: Our research focuses on state legislative elections because we can more easily isolate the effect of Citizens United compared with other factors that influence election outcomes at various… Continue reading

NC’s Defense of Voter ID Law Cost State $4.9 Million, With Up to $12 Million More in Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Fees Possible

February 24, 2017, 12:57 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

News and Observer: Through November, Republican lawmakers had spent more than $10.5 million over five years defending laws on everything from redistricting to voter ID to HB2. Almost half the money – $4.9 million – went to defend a sweeping… Continue reading

“Republican Election Commissioners Just Released Key Legal Documents—Nearly a Decade Too Late”

February 24, 2017, 10:59 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Andy Kroll for Mother Jones: A strange thing happened last week at the Federal Election Commission, the nation’s watchdog for campaigns and elections. On Friday evening, the FEC’s three Republican members quietly released a slew of missing legal memos related… Continue reading

“Federal appeals court could reinstate Wisconsin’s early voting limits”

February 24, 2017, 10:56 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Patrick Marley for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Three federal judges expressed deep skepticism Friday over claims that Wisconsin Republicans had deliberately made it harder for minorities to vote, raising the prospect they would reinstate limits on early voting. Judge Frank Easterbrook… Continue reading

“Masterson Named New EAC Chairman”

February 24, 2017, 10:40 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Congratulations! And let’s hope the EAC continues to exist throughout his tenure as chair.

Wisconsin Files #SCOTUS Notice of Appeal in Partisan Gerrymandering Case, Triggering Likely High Court Review Next Term

February 24, 2017, 10:36 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

This is a big deal. (Background on why the Court will likely hear the case on the merits.) Will Justice Kennedy agree to police partisan gerrymandering as his parting gift from SCOTUS?

Breaking: Federal Court Denies Motion to Postpone Texas Voter ID Trial, Putting DOJ in Position to Change Sides in Litigation

February 24, 2017, 8:05 amelection administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

A federal district court, following a remand from the Fifth Circuit, is considering whether Texas acted with racially discriminatory intent when it passed its controversial voter identification law. The district court had already made a finding that Texas had such… Continue reading

“Montana Republicans Attack Their Own Bill Because It Makes Voting Too Easy”

February 23, 2017, 8:18 pmThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

The Daily Banter reports.

NH: “New state Senate GOP voter registration plan tightens proof-of-residency requirements”

February 23, 2017, 8:13 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

WMUR reports.

“Plaintiffs Oppose Texas & Justice Department Effort to Delay Hearing on Photo ID Law”

February 23, 2017, 8:07 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Release: Groups and individuals suing Texas over its strict photo ID law filed a brief in U.S. District Court today in opposition to a joint request by the state and the United States Department of Justice, who asked to delay… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law