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2010 Supplement to Election Law---Cases and Materials (Lowenstein, Hasen, and Tokaji)
Following up on this post, for those instructors out there who use the Lowenstein, Hasen and Tokaji casebook, Election Law--Cases and Materials (4th ed. 2008), the 2010 supplement is on its way to the printer and should be shipping to...
Posted in Election Law on July 12, 2010 02:48 PM
Son of NAMUDNO: A Case that Should Make Section 5 Supporters Nervous
As I've detailed, in the NAMUDNO case, the Supreme Court engaged in an act of convoluted statutory interpretation to avoid reaching the difficult constitutional question of the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. But Chief Justice Roberts'...
Posted in Election Law on April 7, 2010 09:48 AM
"An Uncertain Future for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act: The Need for a Revised Bailout System"
Christopher Seaman has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, St. Louis U. L. Rev.). Here is the abstract: In Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder ("NAMUDNO"), 129 S. Ct. 2504 (2009), the Supreme Court declined to decide...
Posted in Election Law on March 30, 2010 11:50 AM
Here....
Posted in Election Law on March 8, 2010 02:48 PM
Lowenstein Festschrift Video Now Available
Those who could not make it to the Dan Lowenstein festschrift (or who just want to relive the memories) can watch it in streaming video format at UCLA's website. The video should remain available until Feb. 2011. You can watch...
Posted in Election Law on March 3, 2010 09:15 AM
The People That Brought You NAMUDNO Now Bring You....
a lawsuit challenging the districting in Irving Texas. It is a one person, one vote lawsuit challenging the counting of non-citizens in complying with the one person, one vote requirement. Certainly for purposes of apportioning the number of Representatives in...
Posted in Election Law on February 11, 2010 08:44 AM
Here, at SCOTUSblog....
Posted in Election Law on February 9, 2010 09:37 AM
Literally (see item 16 for dissolving the district)....
Posted in Election Law on February 4, 2010 07:41 AM
Seeing the uproar over the Court's decision in Citizens United, imagine the public reaction if the Court had done what a majority appeared to want to do in NAMUDNO---striking down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act. Indeed, had...
Posted in Election Law on February 3, 2010 02:33 PM
CU Anti-Avoidance Author's Footnote
As my anti-avoidance article for the Supreme Court Review goes into page proofs, I've added the following to the end of my author's footnote: "As this Article went to press, the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v FEC, 588 US...
Posted in Election Law on January 26, 2010 09:30 AM
Chief Justice Roberts' Concurring Opinion in Citizens United: Two Mysteries
I have now had a chance to reread the Citizens United opinions after the initial media frenzy over the case has died down. I am sure I'll have much to say about this case going forward about: * the constricting...
Posted in Election Law on January 23, 2010 10:32 PM
Ned Foley: Citizens United: A Long Term Perspective
I asked some legal scholars specializing in campaign finance law to comment on Citizens United over the next few days. Here is the first post, from Ned Foley of Ohio State. His entry is long, so here is a synopsis....
Posted in Election Law on January 22, 2010 07:38 AM
Anti-Avoidance: Giving Up on the Supreme Court in Citizens United
Over the summer I wrote Constitutional Avoidance and Anti-Avoidance at the Roberts Court (forthcoming, 2009 Supreme Court Review), which contrasts the Supreme Court's approach in NAMUDNO, in which the Court reached out and avoided a constitutional question through an implausible...
Posted in Election Law on January 14, 2010 09:06 AM
What's Next in the Washington State Felon Disenfranchisement Case?
Washington State plans an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. There's no mention in the article of a request for rehearing en banc. Even if Washington does not request it, any judge of the Ninth Circuit may request an en...
Posted in Election Law on January 7, 2010 08:20 AM
In MUR 5724. Republican Commissioners Peterson and Hunter (with McGahn recused) write: "The Commission's contradictory approaches in past matters involving family gifts provide inadequate notice to the regulated community about what is permitted and what is not. At this point,...
Posted in Election Law on December 16, 2009 07:22 AM
Amar Lecture on Bush v. Gore, Responses, Now Available
The December 2009 issue of the Florida Law Review is now available. The issue includes: Dunwody Distinguished Lecture in Law Bush, Gore, Florida, and the Constitution Akhil Reed Amar (61 Fla. L. Rev. 945) The Meaning of Bush v. Gore...
Posted in Election Law on December 15, 2009 02:05 PM
"The Voting Rights Act's Secret Weapon: Pocket Trigger Litigation and Dynamic Preclearance"
Travis Crum has posted this draft student note, forthcoming Yale Law Journal) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Following NAMUDNO, the search is on for a way to save Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. This Note offers a...
Posted in Election Law on December 1, 2009 01:17 PM
When Will We See an Opinion in Citizens United?
This weekend AP moved a story beginning: "For the first time under Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court failed to issue opinions before Thanksgiving in any of the cases that were argued in recent months." The article also noted...
Posted in Election Law on November 29, 2009 05:57 PM
Election Law in the Harvard Law Review Supreme Court Issue
Pam Karlan, Larry Lessig, and Penny White write about Caperton v. Massey. Students cover NAMUDNO and Bartlett v. Strickland....
Posted in Election Law on November 23, 2009 08:13 AM
"'Post-Racial' America? - A Voting Rights Report"
The NAACP LDF has issued this press release about this new report. From the press release: First, "Post-Racial" America? Not Yet examines the "post-racial" argument made in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder (MUD), a recent unsuccessful...
Posted in Election Law on November 13, 2009 11:40 AM
NAMUDNO Consent Decree Signed by Judges
So any future challenge to section 5's constitutionality will come in a different case....
Posted in Election Law on November 5, 2009 11:20 AM
"Introduction: Developments in Election Law"
I have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review). Here is the abstract, with links to each article described included in the abstract: This is a brief introduction to the Loyola of Los Angeles Law...
Posted in Election Law on October 26, 2009 07:58 AM
This post at SCOTUSBlog discusses the upcoming consent decree in NAMUDNO....
Posted in Election Law on October 26, 2009 07:21 AM
NAMUDNO,DOJ to Consent to Bailout
As I understand it, this consent decree will become final next month. "On remand, the Attorney General and the Defendant-Intervenors have agreed that the District has fulfilled the conditions required by Section 4(a) and is entitled to the requested declaratory...
Posted in Election Law on October 23, 2009 02:15 PM
"DOJ rejects Handel's appeal of voter verification"
The AJC reports (more from AP). The interesting question is whether Georgia will appeal this decision, and, if it does, whether Georgia will make a post-NAMUDNO constitutional attack on section 5 of the Voting Rights Act....
Posted in Election Law on October 18, 2009 08:32 PM
" The Voting Rights Act Through the Justices' Eyes: NAMUDNO and Beyond"
Joshua Douglas has written this article for the Texas Law Review's online companion....
Posted in Election Law on October 13, 2009 09:01 AM
"From Bush v. Gore to NAMUDNO: A Response to Professor Amar"
Ellen Katz has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Florida Law Review). Here is the abstract: In his Dunwoody Lecture, Professor Akhil Amar invites us to revisit the Bush v. Gore controversy and consider what went wrong. This short essay...
Posted in Election Law on October 5, 2009 08:19 AM
Linda Greenhouse on What She Thinks Happened Behind the Scenes in NAMUDNO
Here. In response to Linda's piece, I'm hoping that when Justice Ginburg retires, she will believe it appropriate to make her papers available much sooner than Justice Souter did. (She seems to believe in a great deal more transparency about...
Posted in Election Law on October 2, 2009 09:14 AM
Barry Friedman on NAMUDNO and Judicial Minimalism
Here, in the New Republic....
Posted in Election Law on October 2, 2009 09:09 AM
"Why Citizens United May Not Be Like NAMUDNO"
Barry Friedman has this post on Balkinization. I've raised some similar issues here....
Posted in Election Law on September 29, 2009 07:54 AM
See Justice Stevens and the NRA and The Citizens United Argument, By the Numbers. (Has anyone done these calculations for NAMUDNO?)...
Posted in Election Law on September 11, 2009 02:24 PM
Initial Thoughts on the Re-Argument in Citizens United
As I noted, I cannot with confidence make predictions about the outcome of the Citizens United case based on oral argument questions, given the recent experience in NAMUDNO in which CJ Roberts and Justice Kennedy seemed sure votes to overturn...
Posted in Election Law on September 9, 2009 10:51 AM
Live Blogging the Audio Release of the Citizens United Re-Argument
[UPDATE: With the argument broadcast now complete, you can read my Initial Thoughts on the Citizens United oral argument here.] I will update this post throughout the morning as the audio is released. Refresh your browser or click here to...
Posted in Election Law on September 9, 2009 07:54 AM
One Final Pre-Argument Citizens United Resources and Roundup
Tomorrow is the reargument in the Citizens United case. You can read my Slate piece, written the day the Court ordered reargument here and my ABA Supreme Court preview is here. (My forthcoming Supreme Court Review article contrasts the Court's...
Posted in Election Law on September 8, 2009 08:58 AM
Revised Version of My Paper on Constitutional Avoidance, Citizens United, and NAMUDNO Now Available
I have posted a revised version of Constitutional Avoidance and Anti-Avoidance at the Roberts Court (forthcoming, Supreme Court Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: At the (apparent but not real) end of the October 2008 Supreme Court term, the...
Posted in Election Law on September 3, 2009 12:51 PM
Will the Supreme Court release audio of the oral argument on Sept. 9 right after the argument concludes, as it has done in other recent high profile cases, including NAMUDNO? If the audio is released, I plan to "live"-blog (or...
Posted in Election Law on August 30, 2009 09:54 PM
Is the Democratic Party "A Political Subdivision" under Section 5 of the VRA?
This Houston Chronicle story about oral argument over LULAC's "Texas two step" challenge suggests that maybe NAMUDNO is going to cause some rethinking of political party coverage under section 5. Hard to tell from this short discussion....
Posted in Election Law on August 14, 2009 09:41 AM
"The New South and the Voting Rights Act, Post-NAMUDNO"
Michael Kang comments....
Posted in Election Law on August 7, 2009 09:20 AM
Two Articles on Citizens United
Marcia Coyle has written two very interesting articles on Citizens United for the National Law Journal. So far, unfortunately, they remain behind the paid subscriber wall. They are Another Big Decision Before the New Term and The Case at the...
Posted in Election Law on August 3, 2009 07:34 AM
Supplemental Amicus Briefs in Citizens United; Thoughts on BCRA Sponsors' Brief
Here's what I have so far (in addition to the Former Republican FEC Commissioners' brief already linked): BCRA Sponsors (McCain, Feingold, Shays, and Meehan) Brennan Center Campaign Legal Center, etc. Institute for Justice League of Women Voters (and see this...
Posted in Election Law on July 31, 2009 08:46 AM
David Broder on NAMUDNO and Ricci
I originally missed this column from July 2....
Posted in Election Law on July 22, 2009 08:01 AM
Constitutional Avoidance, Anti-Avoidance, NAMUDNO, and Citizens United
I have just posted a draft article, Constitutional Avoidance and Anti-Avoidance at the Roberts Court on SSRN. I've posted this earlier in the writing process than I normally would, in the hopes to get these ideas out here before the...
Posted in Election Law on July 20, 2009 03:25 PM
Judge Sotomayor Exchanges on Election Law Issues
With Senator Cardin on NAMUDNO: CARDIN: In the Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder, one justice on the court in dictum challenged Congress's authority to extend this civil rights case. Now, I say that knowing your view...
Posted in Election Law on July 15, 2009 09:07 PM
2009 Election Law Casebook Supplement Now Available
The 2009 Supplement to Lowenstein, Hasen, and Tokaji, Election Law--Cases and Materials (4th ed. 2008), is now available for download at this link: http://electionlawblog.org/archives/2009-supp-final.pdf The Supplement is up-to-date, and includes edited versions of NAMUDNO and Caperton v. Massey, along with...
Posted in Election Law on July 15, 2009 10:16 AM
Judge Sotomayor Questioned about NAMUDNO, Hayden v. Pataki
See the live blog entries here at SCOTUSBlog, beginning at 10:11 am. When a transcript is available later, I'll post it. And if anyone hears a discussion about campaign finance, let me know. I'm not listening to the hearings. (Last...
Posted in Election Law on July 15, 2009 08:01 AM
Who Should Argue Citizens United?
I certainly think Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart should not reargue the case for the government. Here are my comments about Stewart after the first oral argument, and here are Dahlia's. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that had...
Posted in Election Law on July 10, 2009 08:45 AM
Profile of NAMUDNO Plaintiff's Lawyer Greg Coleman
Here, in the Austin-American Statesman. A snippet: "When he has a choice of cases, Coleman said he looks for pro bono work that fits his philosophy. He took the Voting Rights Act case largely for free, with only a 'five-figure'...
Posted in Election Law on July 7, 2009 10:42 AM
See here....
Posted in Election Law on July 6, 2009 10:04 PM
See here....
Posted in Election Law on July 6, 2009 10:02 PM
Independence Day Blogging Break
It has been a very busy period for the blog---November's election did not end until this week's Coleman-Franken decision. The Supreme Court's important ruling in Caperton, the judicial elections case, was followed by the Supreme Court's surprise ruling in NAMUDNO...
Posted in Election Law on July 2, 2009 10:52 AM
Persily: Exhausted by Exhaustion
Nate Persily sends along this guest post: Rick Pildes takes me to task for suggesting the Court might perpetually avoid the constitutional shortcomings of the coverage formula for the VRA. He mistakes my speculation and kremlinology of the Court for...
Posted in Election Law on July 1, 2009 02:46 PM
Pildes: Confusion About the Future of Voting-Rights Litigation
Rick Pildes sends along this guest post on NAMUDNO: In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to avoid resolving the constitutionality of Section 5 for now, some confusion has emerged about legal questions concerning the next challenge. In particular,...
Posted in Election Law on July 1, 2009 11:51 AM
NAMUDNO and Citizens United Loom Large in Supreme Court Term Retrospectives
NY Times Washington Post...
Posted in Election Law on July 1, 2009 08:12 AM
"Thoughts on This Term and the Next"
Don't miss Tom Goldstein's reflections, including much on Citizens United and NAMUDNO. Tom see the Court locked in a basically static, conservative leaning pattern until 2017, barring unexpected health complications....
Posted in Election Law on June 29, 2009 09:13 PM
Dahlia Lithwick Talks NAMUDNO, Citizens United, Etc.
Listen here....
Posted in Election Law on June 28, 2009 08:41 PM
Pam Karlan on Why C.J. Roberts Wrote the Opinion He Did in NAMUDNO
Quoted in this LA Times article: So are the 8-1 decisions signs of a new harmony at the Supreme Court, or examples of smart, tactical moves by the chief justice? Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan says it is the...
Posted in Election Law on June 28, 2009 04:20 PM
"Why all of a sudden now with the statesmanship?" --Dahlia Lithwick, in conversation with Linda Greenhouse and Walter Dellinger at Slate's "Breakfast Table," referencing this ELB guest post on NAMUDNO....
Posted in Election Law on June 26, 2009 07:54 PM
Interesting comments here. It concludes: "So let's take the Supreme Court opinion for what it says and what it does. Let's see how bail-out works. If necessary, if the bail-out mechanism proves to be too stringent or too lenient, Congress...
Posted in Election Law on June 26, 2009 11:50 AM
Kang: The Continuing Relevance of Section 5
Michael Kang sends along the following guest post: Thanks to Rick Hasen for hosting this discussion of NAMUDNO, which I'm happy to join near its close. I've enjoyed surveying academic opinion about the Voting Rights Act and NAMUDNO, but I'm...
Posted in Election Law on June 26, 2009 09:38 AM
Linda Campbell on Justice Thomas's Opinion in NAMUDNO
See here....
Posted in Election Law on June 26, 2009 09:01 AM
Epstein: NAMUDNO and the Dilemma of Observational Equivalence
David Epstein sends along this guest post: Observers reacted to the NAMUDNO punt with a sigh of relief, but also as a bit of a missed opportunity: rather than have this case provide guidance for the next round of redistricting,...
Posted in Election Law on June 25, 2009 05:27 PM
Find All the TAPPED Posts on NAMUDNO
Linked here at the bottom of Heather Gerken's piece....
Posted in Election Law on June 25, 2009 01:43 PM
Gans: Some Thoughts, Post-NAMUDNO, Going Forward
Curtis Gans sends along this guest post: I have been reluctant to enter the fray with regard to NAMUDNO and the VRA, in part because I'm not a lawyer, and while that hasn't deterred others, my comments will not have...
Posted in Election Law on June 25, 2009 10:18 AM
Who is Writing the Majority Opinion in Citizens United?
More parlour games: I've taken a look at the most recent SCOTUSWiki Statpack, and updated it with figures since its publication on 6/9. For the March sitting (which included Citizens United, and was the shortest calendar of the year), the...
Posted in Election Law on June 25, 2009 07:57 AM
"The Court Kicks the Can---What's Next?"
Edward Blum has written this commentary for The American. A snippet from one of the driving forces behind NAMUDNO: "It took only eight days after President George W. Bush signed the 2006 reauthorization of Section 5 before a jurisdiction challenged...
Posted in Election Law on June 25, 2009 06:59 AM
McDonald: Court Signals No Future Challenges to Section 5
Michael McDonald sends along this guest post: Like the cartoon Road Runner, the Supreme Court Justices nimbly stepped through a door they drew in thin air to sidestep the oncoming train that, if derailed, would have ended Section 5 of...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 09:21 PM
NAMUDNO and the Phantom Exhaustion Requirement
I've been thinking about the issues Nate raises in his post, and I've corresponded privately with some people about this issue. My view is somewhat different from Nate's, though I'm sure there will be a segment of the civil rights...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 09:12 PM
Persily: Perpetual Constitutional Avoidance?
Here is a guest post from Nate Persily: In the immediate aftermath of the NAMUDNO decision, I shared the view espoused by many that this was a placeholder decision that urges Congress to act so that the Supreme Court won't...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 08:39 PM
Just Wondering Dept.: Citizens United Edition
If the Court was going to go the constitutional avoidance route in the Citizens United case, avoiding the constitutional question whether to overrule Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce in favor of a narrow statutory holding stating that video-on-demand is...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 04:55 PM
See here....
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 12:27 PM
Guest Post: Behind the Scenes in NAMUDNO
A blog reader who is a close watcher of the Supreme Court sends along the following observations: At the end of your post on Thomas, you wonder if he was seeking to avoid embarrassing the Chief. I think in that...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 11:29 AM
The Thomas Mini-Enigma in NAMUDNO
I went back and re-read Justice Thomas's concurrence in NAMUDNO. I just now noticed that Justice Thomas, like Heather Gerken and Ellen Katz, reads the majority opinion as a warning to Congress: "The Court quite properly alerts Congress that s...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 08:20 AM
Ellen Katz: Roberts Didn't Blink
Here is a guest post from Ellen Katz: Several people this week have said that Chief Justice Roberts "blinked" on Monday. I disagree. His opinion in NAMUDNO is calculated, shrewd, and (given what he believes about the statute) institutionally smart....
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 08:05 AM
Your Daily Dose of NAMUDNO Commentary
Daniel Katz (apply game theory) Abby Thernstrom (being Abby)...
Posted in Election Law on June 24, 2009 08:00 AM
There's been lots of armchair psychoanalysis of the Justices in Monday's voting rights case. Heather Gerken says the liberals signed on to Chief Justice Roberts' opinion containing a lot of troubling language about the constitutionality of section 5 of the...
Posted in Election Law on June 23, 2009 09:57 PM
Mark Posner's Analysis of NAMUDNO
See here....
Posted in Election Law on June 23, 2009 08:51 PM
Charles: Waiting for the Civil Rights Communty
Here is a guest post from Guy Charles: It is time for the civil rights community to step up. They have dodged a bullet with the Court's decision to uphold the constitutionality of section 5. But the constitutionality of section...
Posted in Election Law on June 23, 2009 12:13 PM
Gerken: Can Congress Take a Hint?
This guest post is written by Heather Gerken: NAMUDNO ended not with a bang, but a whimper. The Court unexpectedly issued a modest opinion on Section 5, neither affirming nor invalidating the provision. The ruling was a surprise, largely because...
Posted in Election Law on June 23, 2009 08:15 AM
Howard Bashman links to the major papers and editorials. In addition, see: Luis Fuentes-Rohwer Guy Charles Tracie Powell One of the questions I asked yesterday is about the reaction of challengers to the law. This NYT article includes: "Christian J....
Posted in Election Law on June 23, 2009 08:04 AM
Bruce Ackerman Gerry Hebert (whom I used to call the "Bailout King," but whom I will now refer to as "The Anomaly" (see Thomas, J. concurrence, fn. 1) Walter Dellinger, Linda Greenhouse, and Dahlia Lithwick (Slate's "The Breakfast Table") NPR...
Posted in Election Law on June 22, 2009 05:29 PM
Early News and Commentary on NAMUDNO
Heather Gerken Tom Goldstein (who says "Congress is now effectively on the clock: it has the period between now and the date that it decides a follow-on challenge by a covered jurisdiction that is not permitted to 'bail out' of...
Posted in Election Law on June 22, 2009 10:35 AM
Initial Thoughts on NAMUDNO: Chief Justice Roberts Blinked
Despite Chief Justice Roberts' longstanding skepticism of the Voting Rights Act and his blistering set of questions to supporters of section 5's constitutionality during oral argument, the Chief has managed to put together a coalition of 8 of 9 Justices...
Posted in Election Law on June 22, 2009 08:00 AM
Breaking News: NAMUDNO Decided 8-1 Reversing on BAILOUT Grounds, Not Striking Down Act
Link to opinion coming. CJ Roberts author; partial dissent by J. Thomas. No opinion in Citizens United today. More to come. UPDATE: I have posted the opinion here....
Posted in Election Law on June 22, 2009 07:12 AM
Atlanta-Journal Constitution Article on Upcoming Supreme Court Ruling in NAMUDNO
The article begins: "John Lewis saw the blue sea of Alabama state troopers advancing with their horses and their nightsticks, saw them putting on gas masks and wielding bullwhips, saw everything until a trooper slammed his club into Lewis' head....
Posted in Election Law on June 21, 2009 09:14 PM
Dep't of Bad Timing: Coleman-Franken Tomorrow Morning? Citizens United?
As I mentioned, I'm chairing a panel on universal voter registration at the ACS convention in DC on Friday. That means that I'll be boarding a plane early tomorrow morning in Burbank. Just as they close the doors to the...
Posted in Election Law on June 17, 2009 08:32 PM
Senator Specter on NAMUDNO, Congressional Power to Renew the Voting Rights Act
Back in 2006 when I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about congressional power to pass a renewed section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (based upon this 2005 law review article considering the question), I remember being impressed by...
Posted in Election Law on June 17, 2009 11:27 AM
Abigail Thernstrom has written this LA Times oped. Abby tells me that due to an editing error, a reference to 30 years of VRA protections should have been to more than 40 years of such protections....
Posted in Election Law on June 17, 2009 07:34 AM
From a speech the Attorney General gave yesterday (via BLT): As you know, the Supreme Court is currently considering a case that challenges the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. No matter how the Court resolves this...
Posted in Election Law on June 17, 2009 07:10 AM
Reading the Statistical Tea Leaves on Justice Kennedy at Oral Argument in NAMUDNO
Much has been made of Justice Kennedy's comments at the NAMUDNO oral argument, leading supporters of Section 5 to expect the worst and prepare a legislative response. But the question has been raised about how much to read into comments...
Posted in Election Law on June 15, 2009 02:29 PM
No Supreme Court Opinions in Citizens United or NAMUDNO Today
See here. The next day for opinions will be Thursday. At the time opinions are released on Thursday, I will be boarding a plane for Washington DC. If either or both of those opinions are released, my blogging about them...
Posted in Election Law on June 15, 2009 07:18 AM
Justice Ginsburg Comments on NAMUDNO; Says More 5-4 Decisions Coming
This is a lot more information than we usually have about the end of the term....
Posted in Election Law on June 14, 2009 08:39 PM
Abigail Thernstrom has written Integration Now: The Supreme Court should scrap an antiquated and unconstitutional rule for National Review (subscription required). A snippet: "Today, therefore,[section 5] may serve as a brake on black political aspirations and a barrier to greater...
Posted in Election Law on June 9, 2009 08:18 AM
As judicial elections in recent years have become, in the words of Roy Schotland, "noisier, nastier, and costlier," litigants have consistently sought to limit some of the excesses sometimes seen in judicial elections, which 39 states use for at least...
Posted in Election Law on June 8, 2009 07:58 AM
von Spakovsky Doesn't Disappoint
In my post Monday on the DOJ's rejection of Georgia's voter verification system, I wrote: "What to make of this development? To supporters of section 5, like me, it is one small piece of evidence that section 5 is still...
Posted in Election Law on June 4, 2009 07:23 AM
Why Section 5 Still Matters, Or, The Obama DOJ Differs from the Bush DOJ
Via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution comes this objection letter from the Department of Justice to a Georgia voter verification system which checks, among other things, the citizenship eligibility of Georgia voters. Because Georgia is a jurisdiction covered under section 5 of...
Posted in Election Law on June 1, 2009 09:49 AM
Balkin and Gerken Talk Democracy Index, NAMUDNO
See here....
Posted in Election Law on June 1, 2009 09:33 AM
"The Court's NAMUDNO Decision: Judging the Costs and Efficiency of Preclearance"
Kareem Crayton has written this commentary for Findlaw....
Posted in Election Law on May 27, 2009 04:34 PM
Will Chief Justice Roberts "Hold Back" in NAMUDNO?
Linda Greenhouse: "Whether Chief Justice Roberts has developed a Rehnquist-style sense of when to hold back will be evident next month, when the court is expected to decide whether a central provision of the Voting Rights Act, renewed almost unanimously...
Posted in Election Law on May 27, 2009 07:56 AM
See here. It will be interesting to see how the Obama Administration's DOJ will rule on this, assuming Section 5 continues to have force after the NAMUDNO decision....
Posted in Election Law on May 26, 2009 04:55 PM
With speculation continuing to swirl about the possibility that President Obama will nominate Judge Diane Wood of the Seventh Circuit to the Supreme Court, I thought I would take a look at some of the judge's opinions in the field...
Posted in Election Law on May 20, 2009 05:09 PM