Election-Campaign Law

McCain runs into a FEC roadblock caused by the lack of 4 commissioners

Posted on February 22, 2008
The New York Times reports: A bank loan that Senator John McCain took out late in 2007 to keep his presidential campaign afloat is complicating his desire to withdraw from public financing for his primary effort. The Federal Election Commission,...

Alabama: PAC to PAC transfer bill bogged down in Senate

Posted on February 22, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: The state Senate locked down again Thursday over a proposed ban on transfers between political action committees that make it difficult to know who is funding political campaigns. Unlike a stricter version approved by the House...

Alabama: schedule set for challenge to special election for Jefferson County commission

Posted on February 22, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: A Jefferson County judge said Thursday he wanted to resolve by April a legal dispute over this month s District 1 Jefferson County commission special election. Until then, certification of William Bell as winner of the...

Mara Liasson reports on the Michigan-Florida delegate problem

Posted on February 20, 2008
NPR reports: As presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fight for every Democratic delegate at stake, the question remains what to do about delegates in Michigan and Florida. Both states forfeited their delegates when they moved their primaries up...

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Peter Overby reports on the dilemma of taking matching funds

Posted on February 20, 2008
NPR reports: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have not taken federal campaign financing funds. The money is appealing, but if campaigns take it, they are limited as to how much money they can spend. -- NPR: Candidates Weigh...

Alabama: amicus brief supporting voters in Riley v. Kennedy

Posted on February 19, 2008
Amicus briefs have been filed supporting the Kennedy plaintiffs in Riley v. Kennedy, No. 07-77, in the US Supreme Court: ACLU Note: as additional amici file (Wednesday is the deadline), I will add them to this post....

Washington State: a Democratic primary, but why?

Posted on February 18, 2008
The New York Times reports: As many as 1.5 million votes are projected to be cast in Washington State’s presidential primary on Tuesday. The question is whether they will count. ... More problematic is that the state Democratic Party long...

McCain may have promised bank he would take federal matching funds

Posted on February 16, 2008
The Washington Post reports: John McCain's cash-strapped campaign borrowed $1 million from a Bethesda bank two weeks before the New Hampshire primary by pledging to enter the public financing system if his bid for the presidency faltered, newly disclosed records...

California: politics, death, taxes

Posted on February 16, 2008
The Los Angeles Times reports: For the second time in six months, Buena Park pastor Wiley S. Drake has called on his followers to pray for the demise of leaders of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Last...

LexBlog Q&A

Posted on February 15, 2008
LexBlog just did a Q&A with me. -- Edward Still of Votelaw [LexBlog Q & A] : Real Lawyers Have Blogs...

Clinton to press party to change delegate rules for Florida and Michigan

Posted on February 14, 2008
The New York Times reports: Senator Barack Obama emerged from Tuesday’s primaries leading Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by more than 100 delegates, a small but significant advantage that Democrats said would be difficult for Mrs. Clinton to make up in...

Alabama: renewed challenge to special election for Jefferson County Commission

Posted on February 14, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: Jefferson County voters challenging the Feb. 5 County Commission special election have renewed their call for a judge to declare the vote illegal before William Bell is certified Friday as the winner. Court documents filed Tuesday...

Colorful maps of the vote

Posted on February 13, 2008
If you want to see the presidential primary results in colorful maps, go to Cogitamus: 2008 Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday Primary And Caucus Results Maps & Haiku...

52-48 win for Democratic presidential candidate predicted

Posted on February 13, 2008
Jack Balkin writes on Balkinization: Yale economics professor Ray Fair has been predicting Presidential elections with only a handful of variables since the 1970's. He argues that economic news (in particular, a combination of inflation and growth) is the primary...

Scotland: it's redistricting time

Posted on February 13, 2008
The Herald reports: THE first proposals for constituency boundary changes since devolution sent MSPs scurrying to their back offices with advisers yesterday. Who might lose? Who might gain? Which comrades might be rivals for a combined seat? ... The secretary...

Alabama: appellees' brief filed in Supreme Court in Riley v. Kennedy

Posted on February 13, 2008
The appellees' brief in Riley v. Kennedy has been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. While I am "counsel of record" in this case, a great team of people listed on the cover of the brief plus several students in...

South Dakota: DOJ objects to Charles Mix county plan

Posted on February 13, 2008
The Rapid City Journal reports: The U.S. Justice Department has blocked Charles Mix County from putting in place a voter-passed redistricting plan that would have increased the commission from three to five members. A letter from the Justice Department said...

Maryland: judge extends polling hours by 90 minutes because of weather problems

Posted on February 13, 2008
The Washington Post reports: As icy weather descended on the region late yesterday, Maryland gave voters an extra 90 minutes to reach the polls, while Virginia and the District shut down on time. ... In Maryland, after receiving complaints about...

Washington State: GOP resume counting, McCain still ahead

Posted on February 12, 2008
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports: John McCain is still narrowly winning Saturday's Republican presidential caucuses, state GOP Chairman Luke Esser said late Monday. The overall numbers shifted little in the latest count with 96 percent of precincts reporting, although Esser said...

As the nation prepares for the 2008 election, a new study reveals that many states are routinely failing to offer low-income Americans an opportunity to register to vote as required by the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Unequal Access: Ne

Posted on February 12, 2008
From a press release by Project Vote: As the nation prepares for the 2008 election, a new study reveals that many states are routinely failing to offer low-income Americans an opportunity to register to vote as required by the federal...

Washington State: Huckabee may challenge caucus count (or lack of it)

Posted on February 11, 2008
Reuters reports: Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Monday challenged the results of his party's weekend caucus in Washington state, where he ran a close second to likely Republican nominee John McCain. The Huckabee campaign said it was exploring all...

Ohio: local officials resist order for optional paper ballots

Posted on February 11, 2008
The New York Times reports: Ohio’s effort to clean up its voting system before the presidential primary on March 4 has pitted state election leaders against local officials over an order to provide a paper ballot to any voter who...

Washington State: Huckabee wants all the votes counted

Posted on February 11, 2008
Fox News reports: Mike Huckabee is challenging the results of the Washington state Republican caucuses, his campaign announced Sunday, after accusing the state party chairman of calling the election for John McCain before all the votes were counted. The campaign...

Alabama: a "glorified stenography service"

Posted on February 10, 2008
Mooncat writes on Left in Alabama (and quotes the Montgomery Advertiser): Alabama's campaign finance laws are set up to hide the money trail. There are few limitations on contributions and those contributions are often laundered by unlimited money transfers from...

Michigan: woulda, coulda, shoulda, and maybe

Posted on February 09, 2008
The Washington Post reports: The clever people in Michigan who decided to get into a game of chicken with New Hampshire last fall over the timing of their Democratic primary should be having second thoughts this weekend. Had Michigan Democrats...

Potomac Primary: IO, IO, it's off to vote we go

Posted on February 09, 2008
The Washington Post reports: Adam Bigenho, tech guy for the Montgomery County Board of Elections, spent part of yesterday training election judges how to match up computer plugs at polling places Monday night as they prepare for the next day's...

Super-delegates probably will decide the nomination

Posted on February 07, 2008
Marty Lederman writes on Balkinization: According to the Obama campaign, he won 845 of the 1671 pledged delegates last night, to Senator Clinton's 836. This appears to be roughly consistent, give or take a few delegates, with others' estimates, as...

Another pro-Democratic 527

Posted on February 04, 2008
The Top of the Ticket blog of the LA Times reports: Here comes Big George again. Billionaire George Soros is weighing in heavily with more cash, delivering $2.5 million to a new political organization called Fund for America. According to...

Bloomberg will try to get on 15 states' ballots

Posted on February 04, 2008
AP reports: Michael Bloomberg may soon begin a massive operation to get on the ballot in up to 15 states even though the billionaire mayor may not decide until May whether to run for president, according to associates. Despite John...

SuperDelegates.org

Posted on February 03, 2008
Rick Klau writes on his eponymous blog: It’s looking increasingly likely that the race for a nominee in the Democratic party will take some time to settle out… and the “super delegates” may actually have a hand in deciding who...

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