Weekly Wrap Up
May 7, 2010
Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in state election law.
– Another week, another challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Shelby County in Alabama is seeking an injunction against Attorney General Holder to prevent him from enforcing Section 5 of the VRA. Section 5 requires that certain states and municipalities “preclear” changes to their voting laws with the Attorney General. Last week, Merced County in California initiated a similar challenge to the Act.
– In Kansas, voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to protect the voting rights of the mentally ill. Currently, the state constitution allows legislators to deny voting rights to the mentally ill, though the legislature has not attempted to pass any laws limiting those rights. This amendment would eliminate the possibility of such restrictions entirely. The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot next statewide election, on November 2nd.
– Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post has written this editorial linking Arizona’s “Clean Election” reforms with that state’s new controversial immigration law.
– In New York, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris has introduced a bill that would create a non-partisan redistricting commission in that state.
Weekly Wrap Up
April 30, 2010
Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in election law
– On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Doe v. Reed. The plaintiffs argue that Washington’s Public Records Act, which makes the names of signatories to ballot initiatives a matter of public record, should be declared unconstitutional . Members of a group called “Protect Marriage Washington”, who submitted petitions for a referendum to repeal Washington’s domestic partnership laws, have asked for an injunction against the publication of their names. The signatories fear harassment from gay marriage proponents should their names be published, as required under the Public Records Act. Here’s a transcript of the oral arguments.
– The Supreme Court of New Jersey has agreed to hear a case involving an attempt by a Tea Party organization to recall Senator Robert Menendez. The New Jersey constitution allows Senators to be recalled, but the U.S. Constitution is silent on the issue. The appeals court previously ruled in favor of the Tea Party and allowed their recall efforts to continue.
– Merced County in California is seeking to remove itself from the restrictions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5 requires that certain states and municipalities “preclear” changes to their voting laws with the Attorney General. Only four counties in California are subject to the additional restrictions imposed by Section 5.
– Here’s a very odd story out of Orange County California. According to a local newspaper, dozens of voters were allegedly tricked into registering as Republicans. Members of the Republican Party supposedly tricked passersby into thinking they were signing petitions for liberal causes, like legalizing marijuana, when they were actually signing voter registration forms that identified them as Republicans. The California Republican Party offers an $8 dollar bounty for every new Republican registration, which apparently inspired this latest attempt to trick voters into registering as Republicans.
Gone Fishin’
April 26, 2010
State of Elections is officially going on semi-hiatus for the summer.
We’ll continue to post Weekly Wrap Ups, and if we receive any particularly timely articles, we’ll post those as well. The Weekly Wrap Ups and any other new articles will appear directly below this post.
Our full time, thrice weekly posting schedule will resume late August, at the beginning of William and Mary’s fall semester. The Election Law Society has big plans for next year, so make sure to check in with us in August for new interviews, articles, and all the latest news in election law.
Weekly Wrap Up
April 23, 2010
Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in election law.
– Check out our CU + and the States page to track the latest state responses to the Citizens United ruling. The page is constantly updated and contains over 50 links discussing the impact of Citizens United at the state level.
-The Rose Institute released this state by state guide to redistricting in America.
– Georgia’s photo identification requirement for voting has survived another legal challenge.
– Florida will begin providing bilingual ballots in 2012.
– An Idaho judge has ruled that Idaho’s election laws are unconstitutional and biased against independent candidates. An independent presidential candidate requires 6,500 signatures to get on the ballot in Arizona, but nonresidents are forbidden from circulating petitions in Idaho. These two laws combined to make it particularly difficult for an independent to get on the ballot in Idaho.
Solving the Epidemic of Disappearing Poll Workers – Part 2: A Poll Worker Draft?
April 21, 2010
As discussed last week, the graying of America is seen most potently behind the polls. The decreasing numbers of poll workers across the nation has been threatening the centerpiece of our democracy. The first article focused on how young people can and should fill that void. This week, we take a look into a less conventional method of filling the need: Making poll working mandatory.
Currently, there are only two counties in the entire country that uses a drafting system for poll workers. Nebraska law allows for a draft and both Douglas and Sarpy County have taken part. At least one other state has considered the idea of a poll worker draft. In 2007, Ohio’s Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, announced the idea, but was eventually met with considerable criticism from the legislature. The word “draft” itself has a grim, scary, and negative connection in our country. However, there are many positives that could come from instituting a poll-worker draft in a jurisdiction in need. Lets call it election duty (like jury duty) to make it more palatable.
HOW COULD A DRAFT HELP?
The problem of long hours at the polls plagues every jurisdiction. It is a little discussed fact that anyone who offers to become a poll worker must work from about an hour before the poll opens to after the poll closes in the evening. Not many people would sign up for these long hours, even when payment is offered (which often comes out to very near minimum wage). However, a election duty system would help not only to alleviate the general need, but with a high participation rate, everyone who participates would have an easier job. In one district where it might take four people 14 hours of work each, 8 citizens could be pulled to work 7 hours and even get regular breaks. From another perspective, this would also make election duty less demanding. A less daunting task for those who choose to participate would help the image of election duty. (more…)
Citizens United and the Culture of Corporate Deference
April 19, 2010
Editor’s note: This article was originally posted as a comment made in response to Neal Rechtman’s “Citizens United Against the Supreme Court”
One of the subtle harms of Citizens United is the propensity it creates to doubt that we’re receiving honest services from government officials. To give a recent example, last week the President reversed course on offshore drilling, announcing a very wide-reaching oil drilling expansion off the Atlantic, Gulf, and northern Pacific coasts. Now, it is entirely possible and quite likely that he’s reversed like this because of legislative or practical concerns, or maybe he’s become convinced that the process is better served by an early concession of this point, or maybe he has actually changed his mind on the merits of the policy. Or perhaps he’s anticipating the usual summertime gas price spike and is hoping to blunt the criticisms that are sure to come by taking a prophylactic step that conservatives have loudly touted as a way to lower prices.
But perhaps the reason is that we have an election in November that’s expected to cost around $3.7 billion, and that figure is less than 1/5th of Exxon-Mobils net annual profit in their WORST year of the last 7. If the oil industry wanted to heavily invest in this cycle, they have more than enough money to go beyond simple advertising–they could fund parallel field campaigns, massive ad buys in every media, billboards around the country, and make every long-shot pro-drilling candidate into a bona-fide contender. (more…)
Weekly Wrap Up
April 16, 2010
Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in state election law.
– Gerry Hebert, one of the panelists at our recent election law symposium, wrote this article about a recent legislative effort to undermine Fair Districts Florida. Fair Districts Florida is an organization dedicated to fixing the redistricting process and the prevention of gerrymandering.
– In Virginia, there is growing confusion about the restoration of felon voting rights. Earlier this week, the governor’s office sent letters to 200 ex-felons, telling them that they would need to submit an essay as part of the application process for the restoration of their voting rights. On the 14th, Governor McDonnell claimed that the letters had been sent in error, and that the essay requirement was simply a “draft policy proposal“. Of course, this is only the third most controversial retraction the Governor has issued in the last month.
– A bill that would require voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot has received first round approval from the Missouri House. A previous photo ID law in Missouri was struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court for being a “heavy and substantial burden on Missourians’ free exercise of the right of suffrage.”
– In Cleveland, an elections board test of voting machines has produced alarming results. About 10% of voting machines failed the test, and the state has less than a month.
– Maryland has become the first state to count prison inmates as residents of their home address, instead of counting them as residents of their prison location. The U.S. Census considers inmates to be residents of their prison, a practice that has been criticized as distorting the population count and leading to unfairness during the redistricting process.
Solving the Epidemic of Disappearing Poll Workers – Part 1: Young People
April 14, 2010
There is a disease spreading throughout our nation’s polling locations. The graying of America is seen most potently behind the polls. Poll workers in America have an average age in the 70s, significantly older than the average age of AARP members (64). The current elderly class of civic-minded individuals who have fulfilled their civic duty responsibly for decades have been leaving out of confusion with new technology and the effects of their old age. As this void continues to grow, more and more options will need to be considered by state and local legislatures in order to ensure that elections go smoothly. This is the first post in a series about what could be done to help solve the problem of disappearing poll workers.
Young people are the future leaders of this country, but some local election laws could be more conductive to this passing of the torch as poll workers. States could learn from one another in this respect. Massachusetts passed a law in 2008 which allowed poll workers as young as 16. 29 other states allow poll workers to be under the age of 18. Arizona allows 16 and 17 year old high-school students to miss the day of school to be a poll worker (with parental permission), and even pays them for their service. There may be some concerns about the ability of minors to act as competent poll workers, but the minors are usually well supervised. The immediate reaction to this legislation in most states has been positive, including in Minnesota, where Secretary of State Mark Ritchie remarked the 16 and 17 year old poll workers “have been a burst of energy” and “a big success.” (more…)
Weekly Wrap Up
April 9, 2010
Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in state election law.
– A recently filed lawsuit in North Carolina seeks to challenge Section 5 of the Voter Rights Act. Section 5 requires that certain states and municipalities “preclear” changes to their voting laws with the Attorney General. Essentially, the Attorney General has a veto over any changes to voting laws in certain states, but not in others. This North Carolina lawsuit (LaRoque v. Holder) claims that Section 5 exceeds Congress’s authority under the Fifth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.
– The iPad has already made its mark on the election law community. Project Vote, a voter registration and engagement organization, is teaming with Echo Interaction Group to develop a new voter registration application for the iPad. The application would allow users to instantly and accurately record, collect, and upload voter data to a secure server. Only four states currently allow online voter registration, but the organization is optimistic that more states will follow suit.
– California State Senator Leland Yee has introduced a bill that would permit same day registration in that state.
– The Ohio House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that will allow overseas military forces to request absentee ballots electronically, instead of requiring the request be sent through regular mail.
William & Mary Election Law Symposium 2010 Video
April 7, 2010
As promised, here’s a video of William & Mary’s Election Law Symposium.
“Back to the Drawing Board: The 2010 Census and the Politics of Redistricting”
From left to right, the panelists are John Hardin Young, Gerald Hebert, Jessica Amunson, and Trevor Potter. For brief biographies of the panelists, see this post.