Monthly Archives: July 2019

“How Trump can mitigate the damage of folding on the census”

July 14, 2019, 11:06 amcensus litigation, chicaneryJustin Levitt

Hugh Hewitt’s op-ed suggests that the president should have refused to quit on the census case, and calls for a motion for reconsideration in the Supreme Court. For perspective, it also claims that “the Supreme Court sat on the decision… Continue reading

“If the Supreme Court Won’t Prevent Gerrymandering, Who Will?”

July 14, 2019, 11:05 amredistrictingJustin Levitt

Sam Wang in the NYT looks to the states.

“For Democratic presidential hopeful Steve Bullock, it’s all about the ‘dark money’”

July 14, 2019, 11:05 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

Spotlight on Bullock’s spotlight on campaign finance and the Copper Kings.

“Taking political financing private may be legal, but looks wrong for Gillum”

July 14, 2019, 11:05 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

One Floridian commentator’s take on the flow of funds between PACs and c4s. FWIW, I’m not sure the particular objection highlighted here makes much sense. It protests the funding of a c4 from donations collected for a PAC, on the… Continue reading

“California lawmakers consider new rules for political ads”

July 14, 2019, 11:04 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

The AP reports on new proposals for disclaimers on Facebook ads about pending legislation.

“W.Va. Secretary of State: Russians Meddled in Social Media, Not Voting Machines”

July 14, 2019, 11:04 amchicanery, voting technologyJustin Levitt

Mac Warner’s point is absolutely right: in 2016, the most meaningful system hacked was us. Humans were the most vulnerable link. And as for securing the non-human component, election officials know that there’s been an enormous amount of work done.

“Oklahoma City artist visiting 36 states for 19th amendment tribute flag”

July 14, 2019, 11:03 ampolitical equalityJustin Levitt

Four states down, 32 to go.

“What Really Happened With West Virginia’s Blockchain Voting Experiment?”

July 13, 2019, 2:25 pminternet voting, voting technologyJustin Levitt

Slate says ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Citizenship and the Census: Behind the Bluster

July 13, 2019, 12:12 pmcensus litigation, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Hansi Lo Wang points to a July 3 census filing under the Paperwork Reduction Act (the weeds matter, people) in which the Department of Commerce, “having carefully considered the matter, has determined that there is not sufficient time to develop… Continue reading

Citizenship and the Census: pivot to the complete count

July 13, 2019, 12:12 pmcensus litigation, redistrictingJustin Levitt

With the legal fight over the content of the 2020 enumeration questionnaire finally settled, commentators and advocates are turning to the fight over getting the count right. Here’s one example from Josh Geltzer and Mary McCord in the WaPo, and… Continue reading

Citizenship and the Census: pivot to redistricting

July 13, 2019, 12:11 pmcensus litigation, redistricting, Voting Rights ActJustin Levitt

And here’s the other turn Rick’s been forecasting: a HuffPost piece discussing the potential to use data culled for the President’s Executive Order in the redistricting process. And a WaPo dive on the potential consequences.

Citizenship and the Census: it’s all about Obama

July 13, 2019, 12:10 pmcensus litigation, chicaneryJustin Levitt

Fact check on the notion that Obama took a citizenship question off of the census. Spoiler: nope.

Citizenship and the Census: the test is freaking people out

July 13, 2019, 12:10 pmcensus litigationJustin Levitt

There’s a Census Bureau test of the 2020 form in the field at the moment, with and without the citizenship question, and it’s generating a bit of confusion.