“The Moscow Midterms: How Russia could steal our next election.”
Claire Malone for 538.
Monthly Archives: April 2018
“Getting Foreign Funds Out of America’s Elections”
Brennan Center:
Getting Foreign Funds Out of America’s Elections
Ian Vandewalker, Lawrence Norden
April 6, 2018
Russia-linked political ads on every major internet platform. The alleged flow of Russian money to the NRA. The Trump campaign’s solicitation of donations… Continue reading
The “Whelan Way:” Ed Whelan’s Bad Faith and Nasty Attack on My Book on Justice Scalia’s Legacy
I believe that the author of a book ordinarily should allow it to speak for itself, and let readers read the book and critiques before making their own determination about the relative merits of the book’s arguments. But Ed Whelan,… Continue reading
“America’s State Courts Are Under Partisan Attack”
“Inside the Decade-Long Russian Campaign to Infiltrate the NRA and Help Elect Trump”
Tom Dickinson deep dive in Rolling Stone.
George Will column: “There’s no good reason to stop felons from voting”
Will at WaPo:
What compelling government interest is served by felon disenfranchisement? Enhanced public safety? How? Is it to fine-tune the quality of the electorate? This is not a legitimate government objective for elected officials to pursue. A felony conviction… Continue reading
“Elections in small Alabama city are unfair to black voters, Legal Defense Fund letter says”
AL.com:
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is challenging the election process in a suburb of Birmingham, claiming it has kept blacks from being elected to local office and violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In a recent letter to… Continue reading
(How) Will Facebook Self-Regulate “Issue Ads” Intended to Affect U.S. Elections? The Details Matter a Lot
Via the NY Times comes news that Facebook will not only support passage of the Honest Ads Act (currently pending in committee where it may stay), but will also self-regulate “issue ads.” The self-regulation is important, because it may be… Continue reading
“An Antidote for Gobbledygook: Organizing the Judge’s Partisan Gerrymandering Toolkit into a Two-Part Test”
Sam Wang and Brian Remlinger have posted this timely draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The Supreme Court appears ready to limit extreme partisan gerrymanders. However, defining “extreme” is a challenging proposition, since individual states differ in their political… Continue reading
“Does Dallas County discriminate against white voters? Trial on voting rights lawsuit to begin”
Gromer Jeffers for the Dallas Morning News.
Big News in Utah John Swallow Case as Court Strikes FEC Regulation on Straw Contributions
Release:
A federal judge today struck down a Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulation expanding liability for contributions made through straw donors.
U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson ruled that the FEC “exceed[ed] its authority to write regulations and improperly intrud[ed]… Continue reading
“When You’re Getting Reamed For Saying It’s OK To Compare Gay People To Murderers, Doubling Down On Calling Justice Sotomayor ‘Thuggish’ Ought To Fix Things”
Joe Patrice for Above the Law.
Arizona Republican Legislators Celebrate Blocking Local Ballot Measure Requiring Campaign Finance Disclosure
What a disgrace. Republican state legislators in Arizona are celebrating blocking voters' right to know who is influencing their elections even after 91% of Tempe residents voted for that transparency. https://t.co/OKjBkisEho #AZLeg https://t.co/SIHa5GOOPj
— Tyler Creighton (@tylercreighton) April 6, 2018
Federal Court Enters Final Judgment Against Challenger to California Voting Rights Act, Teeing Up Full Appeal to 9th Circuit
Read the district court’s latest order in Higginson v. Becerra.
This is a serious challenge. The challenger’s lawyer is William Consovoy, the lawyer who argued the Evenwel v. Abbott case on one person, one vote at the Supreme Court and… Continue reading