Monthly Archives: November 2019
Ninth Circuit Panel Skeptical of Poway Resident’s Attack on California Voting Rights Act
See this report from Courthouse News Service.
Here is the oral argument video.
“Too Much Democracy is Bad for Democracy”
That’s the title of my “must read” piece of the day, written by Jonathan Rauch and Ray LaRaja and published here in The Atlantic. The subtitle is: “The major American parties have ceded unprecedented power to primary voters. It’s a… Continue reading
Supreme Court May Decide to Hear Major Campaign Finance Case This Week
As early as Friday, the Supreme Court could announce it will hear a case that could put the nail into coffin of limits on campaign contributions to candidates. Here’s my preview in The Atlantic from last summer about this Paul… Continue reading
“Empower the FEC to Fight Election Crime; A depleted commission faces threats from Russia and beyond.”
“A Bevin-Beshear recount? Here’s what could happen in the Kentucky governor’s race”
USA Today:
To cap off one of the wildest finishes to a gubernatorial election in Kentucky history, Democratic candidate Andy Beshear declared victory to supporters Tuesday night, moments after Republican incumbent Matt Bevin told supporters that he will not concede… Continue reading
With Democrat Beshear Ahead By About 4,700 Votes in Kentucky Governor’s Race, Republican Matt Bevin Won’t Concede, Citing Unspecified “Irregularities”
Josh Douglas is going to be busy.
Bevin claim:
"We know for a fact that there have been more than a few irregularities. They are very well corroborated and that's alright. What they are exactly, how many, which ones… Continue reading
As Democrats Take Unified Control of Virginia State Government, Will They Kill Redistricting Reform?
Michael Li:
So far Ds have won the Virginia state senate & (for now) appear to have a good chance of winning the state house as well – thanks to a redrawing of the map. That’ll give them a trifecta… Continue reading
Ranked Choice Voting, Extended Lobbying Ban Apparently Coming to NYC
“Dissonant Referendum Design and Turmoil in Representation”
Jacob Eisler has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The fruit of a referendum should be political clarity. The people have spoken; the state will act in accordance with their wishes. Yet the Brexit referendum had the… Continue reading
UK: “Johnson delay on Russia dossier helps Putin, says Litvinenko widow”
Guardian:
The widow of Alexander Litvinenko has said Boris Johnson should not have suppressed the parliamentary report on Russian interference in British politics, saying the delay helps the Kremlin and feeds suspicions of a cynical government “cover-up”.Marina Litvinenko said… Continue reading
“Problem with new election equipment delays voting in Georgia counties”
AJC:
A glitch with Georgia’s new voter check-in computers caused delays in most of the six counties testing it, causing some precincts to stay open late to accommodate voters who left without casting their ballots.The problem occurred in at least… Continue reading
“Georgia bets on new voting system amid high-stakes election”
AJC:
With a presidential election on the line in 2020, Georgia is switching to a new voting company, Dominion Voting Systems, that state evaluators ranked second-best and that critics said will leave elections vulnerable.Dominion, based in Denver, must rush to … Continue reading
“New report: Digital Disaster — The failures of Facebook, Google, and Twitter’s political ad transparency policies”
Issue One:
Issue One’s latest report, “Digital Disaster: The failures of Facebook, Google, and Twitter’s political ad transparency policies,” reveals how piecemeal, voluntary approaches by the largest social media platforms to stop disinformation campaigns fail to protect our political system… Continue reading