Election-Campaign Law

Alabama: Mobile probate judge asks for ruling on late filing of ethics-disclosure forms

Posted on August 13, 2008
The Mobile Press Register reports: Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis on Tuesday said he has filed a complaint asking Circuit Court judges to decide whether three local candidates should be taken off the ballot for violating the state's ethics...

GOP training lawyers to "voter fraud"

Posted on August 12, 2008
The Wall Street Journal report begins: As Barack Obama tries to draw hundreds of thousands of new voters to the polls, Republicans are beginning to scrutinize registrants' eligibility as both sides draw a major battle line over voting rights. Republicans...

"For Those Once Behind Bars, A Nudge to the Voting Booth"

Posted on August 11, 2008
The Washington Post reports: Mitchell is a leader of a disparate group of grass-roots Democrats and civil rights activists who are trying to register tens of thousands of newly eligible felons. They have taken up the cause on their own,...

You need a break from politics

Posted on August 11, 2008
Watch the Leningrad Cowboys and the Red Army Choir singing "Sweet Home Alabama." Hat-tip to Left in Alabama for the link. (But I found a better version from the same folks.)...

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Obama will text you --yes, you -- his VP choice

Posted on August 11, 2008
The Trail reports: Last night, in a cell phone text message that was quickly followed by an e-mail linking back to a new page on his Web site -- my.barackobama.com/vp -- aides to Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) campaign wrote: "Barack...

"The right to vote"

Posted on August 09, 2008
A New York Times editorial begins: Much about the presidential election is up in the air, but one thing is certain: voters will have trouble casting ballots on Election Day. In a perfect world, states and localities would handle voting...

Connecticut: VA and state Secretary of State reach agreement on voter registration (policy attached)

Posted on August 09, 2008
A New Haven Register report begins: A compromise between the state and the U.S. Veterans Affairs medical center Thursday ended the threat of a lawsuit over blocked efforts to register veterans to vote, but there are still limits on who...

California: 9th Circuit upholds VA's ban on voter registration drives (opinion linked)

Posted on August 09, 2008
A Palo Alto Daily News report begins: A federal appeals court has upheld a Veterans Administration policy barring voter registration drives inside its hospitals, concluding the rule does not violate the First Amendment. In a unanimous three-judge decision Friday, the...

California: "Group seeks tighter ballot security in San Diego"

Posted on August 09, 2008
An AP report begins: A voting-rights group has asked a judge to order tougher enforcement of anti-fraud measures in San Diego County for November's presidential elections, saying officials failed to investigate lapses in ballot security during February's primary...

South Carolina: Green Party sues state for blocking its candidate

Posted on August 09, 2008
An AP report begins: The American Civil Liberties Union sued the South Carolina Election Commission on Thursday, charging the state has kept the Green Party from putting its candidate on November's ballot. The ACLU said it filed the lawsuit in...

Washington DC: National Park Service issues new rules on inaugural demonstrations

Posted on August 09, 2008
A Washington Post report begins: The National Park Service yesterday proposed rules that would expand the space for the public and protesters along Pennsylvania Avenue during inaugurations. The proposals followed a March federal court ruling that the park service had...

Two groups to call for probe of Hess Oil-related donations

Posted on August 08, 2008
TPM Election Central reports: This is interesting: A good government group is set to ask the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into the two big McCain stories of recent days -- the bundled contributions from Hess executives, and...

McCain returning contributions from bundler

Posted on August 08, 2008
The Washington Post reports: Sen. John McCain's campaign is returning about $50,000 raised by a Florida oil executive because some of the funds were collected by a foreign national and came from donors who may not support the candidate, aides...

Ohio: Secretary of State sues voting machine company

Posted on August 08, 2008
The Washington Post reports: The voting-machine wars in Ohio continue. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is assuring voters in the battleground state that November's tally will be accurate even as she asserts -- in court filings yesterday -- that there...

"Accountable America" sends warning letter to GOP donors (letter attached)

Posted on August 08, 2008
Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country will probably receive a foreboding “warning” letter in the mail next week. The letter is an opening shot across the bow from an unusual new outside...

Florida: supporters of planning initiative sue to get on ballot

Posted on August 07, 2008
A News4Jax report begins: Supporters of a proposed Florida consitutional amendment requiring voters to approve changes in local growth management plans told a federal judge Wednesday that a host of discrepancies and problems improperly blocked the measure from the November...

Massachusetts: Libertarians file suit when state won't allow tag-team petitions

Posted on August 07, 2008
A Politicker MA report begins: The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Elections Division seeking to ensure the Libertarian presidential nominee appears on the November ballot in Massachusetts...

Florida: a bundle(r) of questionable donations

Posted on August 07, 2008
A New York Times article begins: The Jordanian business partner of a prominent Florida businessman, who has raised more than $500,000 for Senator John McCain, appears to be at the center of a cluster of questionable donations to his presidential...

Alabama: would-be congressional candidate sues over petition-signature requirement (court doc attached)

Posted on August 07, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: A retired Gardendale contractor who wants to run as an independent candidate in the 6th Congressional District has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law he said requires him to get 6,155 signatures of qualified voters...

Alabama: 3-judge panel requested in Section 5 suit

Posted on August 07, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: A panel of three federal judges will decide a lawsuit to block the election to fill the District 1 Jefferson County Commission seat. In a hearing Wednesday at the Hugo Black Federal Courthouse, Judge L. Scott...

Alabama: independent prez candidates collecting signatures

Posted on August 06, 2008
The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain likely won't be the only presidential candidates listed on Alabama's Nov. 4 ballot. The campaigns of Ralph Nader, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin and Cynthia McKinney hope to have their...

New York: Dem candidate accused of voter-petition fraud

Posted on August 06, 2008
Brownsox writes on Daily Kos: It's been an eventful few months for the Jack Davis campaign. First, they succeeded in getting the "millionaires' amendment" struck down. Then came allegations of bribery against the Davis campaign. In the meantime, Davis flooded...

Grand jury subpoenas Schlozman and von Spakovsky

Posted on August 06, 2008
Huffington Post reports: A federal grand jury has subpoenaed several former senior Justice Department attorneys for an investigation into the politicization of the Department's own Civil Rights Division, according to sources close to the investigation...

NAACP Legal Defense Fund unveils "Prepared to Vote" site

Posted on August 06, 2008
From a press release: Today the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) unveiled its new comprehensive non-partisan voter awareness program "Prepared to Vote." "Prepared to Vote is a program designed to raise every voter s awareness of the many...

Florida: court keeps voucher amendments on the Nov. ballot

Posted on August 05, 2008
The Florida Times-Union reports: Two proposed state constitutional amendments that could expand school vouchers will stay on the Nov. 4 ballot, a judge ruled Monday. The statewide teachers union and other organizations that challenged the proposals said they would appeal...

Montana: 9th Circuit argument on whether church must report under campaign finance law

Posted on August 05, 2008
Religion Clause reports: The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard oral arguments in Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church v. Unsworth, a challenge to Montana's election campaign reporting laws. The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices had ruled that the...

California: AG says Prop 8 will not void current same-sex marriages

Posted on August 05, 2008
The San Francisco Chronicle reports: If voters approve a November ballot measure banning same-sex marriages in California, thousands of gay and lesbian weddings conducted since the state Supreme Court legalized the unions on May 15 will probably remain valid, Attorney...

A new prediction site

Posted on August 05, 2008
The Sam Wang writes on the Princeon Election Consortium: For those of you who followed my analysis in 2004, welcome back. Just as I did then, I’ll be providing meta-analysis of polling in the 2008 Presidential race. My central goal...

"Should People's Political Donations Be Public?"

Posted on August 04, 2008
Dan Solove writes on Concurring Opinions: Pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), people's campaign contributions must be accessible to the public. I've long found this to be problematic when applied to the campaign contributions of individuals...

West Virginia: Reform Institute files amicus brief on campaign contributions received by state-court justice from major campaign contributor

Posted on August 04, 2008
From a press release of the Reform Institute: The skyrocketing sums being injected into elections for judgeships are undermining the judiciary. This disturbing trend is exemplified by the case of Caperton et al v. Massey Energy, which the U.S. Supreme...

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