11th Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Explains Why It Rejected Stay of District Court Order Requiring Florida Voters Have a Chance to Cure Rejected Absentee Ballots with Mismatched Signatures
You can find the 83 pages of opinions at this link.
Monthly Archives: February 2019
“Unqualified Ambassadors” (New Piece on Connection of Ambassadorships to Campaign Contributions)
Ryan Scoville has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming Duke Law Journal). Here is the abstract:
In making appointments to the office of ambassador, U.S. presidents often select political supporters from outside the ranks of the State Department’s professional diplomatic… Continue reading
Supreme Court to Bypass Second Circuit, Hear Census Citizenship Question This Term, with Oral Argument in April
You can find the unusual cert. grant before judgment order here.
Here is what I wrote when the government asked for this petition to be granted: “As for the merits, the plaintiffs should win given the strength of Judge… Continue reading
“‘Point person’ for Texas secretary of state in controversial voter fraud inquiry quits”
Dallas Morning News:
Betsy Schonhoff, whom newly disclosed emails depict as the secretary of state’s office’s honcho of a nearly yearlong effort to match voter lists with databases at the Department of Public Safety, quit recently with no explanation,… Continue reading
“Mississippi Felons Seeking Voting Rights Win Class Status”
USLW:
Mississippi convicted felons won class status Feb. 13 in their suit to have their voting rights restored.The state’s argument that class certification lacks utility has “practical appeal, but it finds no foothold in Rule 23’s text,” Judge Daniel P.… Continue reading
“The online voting revolution is here — how are we going to be able to trust it?”
“North Carolina elections officials will give U.S. attorney vastly fewer records than he sought in voter probe”
WaPo:
Six months after a grand jury demanded millions of North Carolina voting records, state officials have announced they will release fewer than 800 voter files — a potentially significant setback for a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who has targeted… Continue reading
“Democrats Swear off Big Money, but Will It Hurt Their 2020 White House Chances?”
Good Amanda Becker piece for Reuters:
Legally, Super PACs are supposed to operate independently of candidates and cannot contribute to them directly. In reality, they often are run by donors close to the candidates and their campaigns.David Donnelly, president of… Continue reading
More Entries Posted at SCOTUSBlog Symposium on Partisan Gerrymandering Cases
“ACLU sues to block NH voter fraud law deriding it as a ‘poll tax'”
Union Leader:
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the state on behalf of two college students who claim a new law that requires a New Hampshire driver’s license to vote violates their constitutional rights and represents a 21st-century… Continue reading
“Texas secretary of state apologizes for how he rolled out voter citizenship review. But he still supports the effort.”
Texas Tribune:
Facing an uncertain path to confirmation after ordering a deeply flawed voter citizenship review that seemingly focused on naturalized citizens, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley is now apologizing to state lawmakers for the way his office… Continue reading
“Gerrymandering & Justiciability: The Political Question Doctrine After Gill v. Whitford”
Mike Parsons has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Partisan gerrymandering claims occupy a unique purgatory in constitutional law, floating between justiciable and nonjusticiable. This term, the Supreme Court will finally decide. The issue said to divide… Continue reading
“BPC Launches 3 New Task Forces to Improve Voting Experience”
Release via email:
The Bipartisan Policy Center today launches three new task forces to develop recommendations that improve the voting experience in three key areas: voter registration, casting a vote, and counting the vote. “Having the people around the table… Continue reading
Travis Crum: A Lone Star Bail-in?
The following is a guest post from Travis Crum [cross-posted at Take Care]:
Last August, the three-judge
district court overseeing the Texas redistricting litigation issued a briefing order on whether the
State of Texas should be “bailed-in” under Section 3(c)… Continue reading