College students and voter fraud: Charlie Webster’s Maine problem
October 3, 2011
Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster is “on a mission to make Maine a better place.” The trouble is, the “better place” he envisions lies on the other side of what may be an insurmountable controversy.
Since famously brandishing a list of 206 alleged voter frauds—all college students—a few weeks ago, Webster has been branded the leader of a witch hunt. The chairman maintains that Maine law is very clear that residency must be established before voting. This is true, but Webster’s opponents on this issue are quick to point out that doing so is almost trivially easy, and certainly not beyond students’ ability. Webster insists on implementing several harsher residency requirements, such as paying income taxes. (more…)
New Lines in the Sand: Redistricting in the Golden State
September 30, 2011
“All politics is local.” The truth of Tip O’Neill’s famous quip may sting some senior California House members as the state’s redistricting efforts land them in newly-formed districts that they might not be able to carry.
The new district map is the product of a bi-partisan citizen’s commission established by Proposition 11. Enacted directly by voters in 2008 and expanded in 2010, the law amended the state constitution to move redistricting authority from the legislature to a bipartisan commission of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Tasked with redrawing not only congressional districts but State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts as well, the commission’s work will go into effect for the 2012 election. (more…)
Updating Voter Registration in Ohio: Online is Easier
September 28, 2011
What can’t you do online nowadays? The government lets us use the internet to pay parking tickets, and several states even allow its residents to renew their driver’s licenses online, so why not update voter registration online too? That is exactly what House Bill 194 will allow Ohioans to do. (more…)
Redistricting in the Gem State
September 26, 2011
Idaho’s redistricting commission has agreed on a map for the new districts. This comes after the previous commission failed to reach a compromise. Part of the problem, perhaps, was that there are an even number of people on the commission: three Democrats and three Republicans. The Democrats went so far as to accuse the Republicans of designing this commission to fail. While evidence for that particular bit of speculation seems to be lacking, Article I Section (E)(6) of the Idaho Republican platform lists as one of its objectives, moving the redistricting responsibility back to the Idaho legislature. (more…)
Until We Meet Again: Putting the California-Amazon Battle on Hold, for Now
September 19, 2011
The lengthy dispute between the State of California and Amazon took a dramatic turn on September 10th when state lawmakers and the online retail giant agreed to a compromise bill that will put an end, pending Governor Jerry Brown’s approval, to the drawn-out sales tax controversy—at least for now. Under the new measure, Seattle-based Amazon will begin to collect sales tax from customers in California in September 2012 barring future federal legislation. Given the amount of effort Amazon exerted during its battle with the Golden State, this concession may surprise many.
Currently, California is one of 24 states that permit referendums, which are proposals brought by citizen petition, to repeal a law previously enacted by the legislature. In California, 500,000 signatures are needed to push issues onto a state ballot. Prior to the agreement, Amazon had already spent $5.25 million on its campaign to obtain the necessary number of signatures. The campaign reflected Amazon’s belief that voters, if given an opportunity, would support the repeal of the tax law. However, as part of last Friday’s deal, Amazon will ditch its campaign and drop the referendum effort. (more…)
Sending out an SOS: The National Association of Secretaries of State Summer Conference
September 14, 2011
The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) held its annual summer conference in Daniels, WV from July 10-13 this past summer. Much of the conference was geared toward preparation for the 2012 Election cycle. A number of prominent speakers, including a number of state secretaries of state, “federal officials, private sector representatives, voter advocacy organizations and leading academics” voiced their views.
Sec. Kris Kobach, the controversial Secretary of State of Kansas who has become a lightning rod of criticism and praise over the past summer for his efforts in leading the charge against alleged voter fraud (see a 2009 Times profile about then-candidate Kobach here), discussed his state’s Secure and Fair Elections Act as part of his presentation on citizenship requirements for voter registration. He noted that his state’s law was drafted to “withstand judicial scrutiny” taking into account challenges to a similar law passed in Arizona (which Kobach also had a hand in drafting). Secretary Kobach defended laws like this, saying “we all want security in the knowledge that an election was fair… [a]nd that the winner of the election was the person who really won the race”.
Host Secretary Nathalie Tennant also spoke about elections, focusing on the use of technology in communicating with voters. She stressed the importance of using social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Skype to make sure voters know valuable information about upcoming elections. The use of such media might help to increase voter participation, she reasoned, as they are the “type of tools people are using to communicate.” Tennant’s office recently launched a campaign to educate and inform voters of West Virginia’s upcoming special election for Governor and the necessary steps to register and vote. The media campaign coincides with the beginning of the NCAA football season and compares the two activities (voting and football, that is), calling both “American traditions.” (more…)
State of Elections Goes on Summer Break!
May 1, 2011
State of Elections is taking a hiatus for the summer. We trust that all new election law cases, legislation, and events will also be going on hiatus as well.
We’ll return in Fall 2011, with new interviews and articles covering any election law events that may have had the audacity to occur during our vacation.
Alabama GOP Offers Teacher’s Union Political Rotten Apple
April 18, 2011
Alabama Republicans are back from the legislative wilderness after 136 years, and now it’s time for Dems to finally get their comeuppance—or is it simply ethics and campaign finance reform? Soon Republican Governor Bob Riley will likely sign into law several pieces of ethics reform legislation that his Republican-controlled legislature passed in last week’s special session. Senate Bill 2 amends Section 17-17-5 of Alabama Code to proscribe state employees from contributing to a political action committee or paying membership dues to any organization that uses any portion of its dues for political activity by payroll deduction or other payment.
To the chagrin of Alabama Democrats, SB 2 would disproportionately hurt public employee organizations and the Alabama Education Association, Alabama’s largest and most influential teacher’s union. According to figures from Bloomberg News, payroll deductions are a primary means for over 90 percent of Alabama teachers who wish to pay dues and support the AEA’s PAC. In the 2010 elections, AEA members’ contributions in excess of $8.6 million catapulted the teacher’s lobbying group as the state’s top spender. While SB 2 would still permit state employees to continue to use payroll deduction for any portion of membership dues not used for political activity, its certainly erects a new hurdle for AEA’s political fundraising efforts. Any Alabama Democrat mulling over a legal challenge would be wise to read the Supreme Court tealeaves by examining their decision in Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Association. In Ysursa, SCOTUS reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by upholding Idaho legislation similar to that of SB 2 that prohibited state payroll deductions for political activities.
While acknowledging the constitutional implications of the restriction, the Court ultimately recognized no affirmative right for groups to use state payroll deductions to sustain political speech or expression. In further justifying their decision, Chief Justice Roberts wrote “. . . Idaho is under no obligation to aid the unions in their political activities. And the State’s decision not to do so is not an abridgement of the unions’ speech; they are free to engage in such speech as they see fit. They simply are barred from enlisting the State in support of that endeavor.”
Furthermore, the Court cited Idaho’s interest in avoiding any appearance of combining government business and political activity. Pointing to precedent that upheld speech limitations to “avoi[d] the appearance of political favoritism,” and cases that found public confidence in government is susceptible to undermining through perception of political partiality, C.J. Roberts asserted “banning payroll deductions for political speech . . . furthers the government’s interest in distinguishing between internal governmental operations and private speech.”
Given Ysursa, any challenge by SB 2 opponents will likely be answered that the AEA has no affirmative right to gain access to potential political donors through government payroll operations. AEA donors may now easily write a personal check and even request payroll deductions for membership dues that will not go towards political activity. Questions of political motivations aside, it appears that the AEA and other Alabama organizations like it must recalibrate their operations in the face of increasing Republican capital and an ominous parallel decision from the Roberts Court.
Gregory Proseus is a second-year student at William & Mary Law School.
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W&M Submitted Congressional Map Being Considered by Virginia Assembly!
April 14, 2011
Senator John Miller of the Virginia Assembly introduced the William & Mary Law School Team’s winning Congressional Map as Senate Bill 5003. The team was asked to attend the Privileges & Elections Committee hearing yesterday where Senator Miller introduced the bill. Two team members, Nick Mueller and Meredith McCoy, attended the hearing to represent the WM Law Team. They were asked to speak about the map and then they fielded questions. They were lauded for the map’s concentric circle design. While the VA Senate may not adopt the map wholesale, it is now an official alternative, which is a big accomplishment for the team.
You can view the WM Law Team’s map and other proposals here. To find the Team’s map, select Congressional from the drop down box under “District Type” and then check the box next to SB5003. The VA Assembly is scheduled to come back on April 25 to adopt new Congressional redistricting lines.
The Runoff Debate Intensifies in Rhode Island Following Governor’s Race
April 13, 2011
Lincoln Chafee, a former United States Senator, emerged as the winner of this year’s Rhode Island gubernatorial race. Chafee received only 36% of the vote in a close election that featured three viable candidates. Additionally, a fourth candidate finished with 6.5% of the vote, which represents about twice the amount of Chafee’s margin of victory. Few can argue that Governor-elect Chaffee lacks the experience necessary to govern, but the real question in Rhode Island is whether a candidate who receives less than 40% of the vote should be deemed the winner of a statewide election. Some states’ laws require an additional runoff election that whittles down the number of candidates when no one candidate receives a majority. Many Rhode Islanders, including term-limited outgoing Governor Donald Carcieri, called for the institution of a runoff election following this year’s race. (more…)