Election-Campaign Law

Virginia: registrar attempts to discourage student voter registrations

Posted on September 08, 2008
A New York Times report begins: The widespread practice of students’ registering to vote at their college address has set off a fracas in Virginia, a battleground state in the presidential election. Late last month, as a voter-registration drive by...

Group of pastors will defy ban on endorsement-sermons

Posted on September 08, 2008
A Washington Post report begins: Declaring that clergy have a constitutional right to endorse political candidates from their pulpits, the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is recruiting several dozen pastors to do just that on Sept. 28, in defiance of...

New York: " A family man for family court"

Posted on September 05, 2008
Proving once again that election lawyers need to know many different areas of law, David Giacalone at the f/k/a blog reports: Lawyer Kurt Mausert wants to be Family Court judge in Saratoga County, New York. Since his website went up...

Alabama: a few problems in municipal elections

Posted on September 04, 2008
A post on Doc's Political Parlor begins: Most of the municipal elections Alabama this year have gone smoothly however, some still remain in doubt In Hodges, one vote seperates the two candidates and a petition for a recount has been...

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House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Voting Sction next week

Posted on September 02, 2008
The Legislative Calendar of the House Judiciary Committee lists a hearing on "Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice Preparation for the 2008 Election." It is set for 9:30, Tuesday, 9 September. You may...

Louisiana: Gustav delays primary

Posted on September 01, 2008
The Hill reports: Hurricane Gustav is disrupting the GOP convention and a hotly contested Republican primary in Louisiana. GOP candidates hoping to succeed retiring Rep. Jim McCrery (R) have suspended their campaigns, and their primary, set for Sept. 6, may...

Sarah Palin and Grover Cleveland

Posted on August 30, 2008
Oh, the gnashing of teeth among various pundits about Palin's inexperience (see DailyKos for a small roundup of newspaper editorials). And attacks from David Frum and Ramesh Ponnuru on National Review's website. Compare her background to that of ia, the...

Alaska: who will be the governor?

Posted on August 30, 2008
An Alaska story not about Ted Stevens from the Anchorage News: Who will be Alaska's governor if Sarah Palin becomes vice president? ... First, Palin has not resigned as governor and doesn't have to before the Nov. 4 election. She...

Campaign ads tailored to your browsing history

Posted on August 30, 2008
A Washington Post report begins: Any two people interested in whether Amanda Beard is dating fellow Olympian Michael Phelps, and who clicked on the Boston Herald tidbit that raced around the Web last week, got the same piece of gossip....

Alaska: "Senate might have final say if Stevens convicted"

Posted on August 29, 2008
An AP report begins: U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' political fate could be up to his colleagues if a jury decides the Senate's longest-serving Republican has violated the law. Stevens is to go on trial after being accused of failing to...

Alabama: GOP claims not filing to run is just a "technicality"

Posted on August 28, 2008
A Birmingham News report begins: The Jefferson County Republican Party asked a judge Wednesday to include Andrew Smith's name on the November ballot for the unexpired assistant tax assessor's term in Bessemer although Smith didn't qualify for the spot...

Alabama: an example of holding an election without preclearance

Posted on August 28, 2008
A Birmingham News report begins: Winners in Tuesday's municipal election in Calera may not be able to take office if the U.S. Justice Department doesn't approve a 2008 redistricting plan before November. In addition, runoffs between mayoral candidates Bobby Joe...

Alaska: timing is everything in the trial and possible replacement of Ted Stevens

Posted on August 26, 2008
The Washington Post reports: Alaska's Republican voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether a pair of GOP incumbents with a combined 75 years in Congress should continue to be the dominant figures in state politics as they battle...

Maine: Justice Souter refuses to place independent candidate on ballot

Posted on August 20, 2008
SCOTUSblog reports: Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, in a brief order Wednesday afternoon, turned down a request that would have given an independent candidate in Maine for the U.S. Senate a place on the Nov. 4 ballot for that...

Louisiana: FEC says Vitter can't use campaign funds for paying legal fees

Posted on August 20, 2008
The Hill reports: Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) will not be able to use campaign funds to pay for more than $160,000 in legal fees incurred because of his involvement in the D.C. Madam scandal, according to a draft opinion released...

Democrats to look at role of superdelegates and caucuses

Posted on August 20, 2008
An AP report begins: Democratic Party leaders want to regain control of the primary calendar and reduce the number of superdelegates through a new commission announced Wednesday. They also want to review the caucus system, which presumed nominee Barack Obama...

Michigan: court may rule today on "Reform Michigan Government Now" initiative

Posted on August 20, 2008
A Detroit News report begins: A three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals could decide as early as today whether a far-reaching constitutional amendment that impacts all three branches of government should be allowed to appear on the November...

Hawai'i: voters must pick party on primary ballots

Posted on August 20, 2008
An AP report begins: Hawaii voters for the first time must pick a political party when voting in this year's primary election, a requirement that election officials hope will result in fewer ballots being thrown out. But members of both...

Alabama: Jefferson Co. probate judge asks for AG opinion on holding sewer referendum

Posted on August 19, 2008
A Birmingham News report begins: A Jefferson County probate court judge on Monday asked Attorney General Troy King whether the county can hold a nonbinding advisory election to consider solutions to the sewer debt crisis. The Office of the Attorney...

Maine: independent candidate asks Justice Souter for a chance to get on the ballot

Posted on August 18, 2008
A ScotusBlog post begins: Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter has asked the state of Maine and the state Democratic Party chairman to supply their views on the right of an independent candidate for U.S. Senate to have his nominating...

Alabama: drive to register the homeless

Posted on August 18, 2008
A Montgomery Advertiser report begins: John Cook Thomas would like to cast his vote in the November election for Barack Obama. ... Despite living in the Salvation Army's homeless shelter, Thomas pays attention to politics and he plans to register...

Alabama: county commissioner cleared of Hatch Act problems

Posted on August 17, 2008
A Troy Messenger report begins: After months of investigation for an alleged federal election law violation, District 3 Pike County Commissioner Jimmy Barron has been cleared to run for reelection. "We conclude that you were not covered by the Hatch....

The case for reform of the caucuses

Posted on August 16, 2008
TalkLeft publishes a paper on the need for Democratic caucus reform. It concludes: It's time for the Democratic Party to demand reforms in the caucus process -- ie, more inclusion, fixing the security breaches in the internal proceedings and producing...

Forecast for November: flawed machines will probably count your votes

Posted on August 16, 2008
A New York Times report begins: Flaws in voting machines used by millions of people will not be fixed in time for the presidential election because of a government backlog in testing the machines’ hardware and software, officials say. The...

Texas: Justice Hecht defends against campaign-finance charge

Posted on August 15, 2008
AP reports: Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht, appearing before the Texas Ethics Commission, defended himself Thursday against allegations he broke campaign finance laws by accepting discounted legal fees to fight an abuse of office complaint. ... Hecht was sanctioned in...

AFL-CIO files FEC complaint against Wal-Mart

Posted on August 15, 2008
A New York Times report begins: The A.F.L.-C.I.O and three other pro-labor groups will urge the Federal Election Commission on Thursday to rule that Wal-Mart acted illegally by warning many store managers and department heads that a Democratic victory in...

"Obama's Felon Disenfranchisement Challenge"

Posted on August 15, 2008
Dan Filler comments on Faculty Lounge about this Washington Post story: The reality is that Obama, like all Democrats, is likely to benefit when convicted offenders are allowed to vote. At the same time, one thing Obama cannot afford is...

Alabama: sleeping on a cot seems to be "residency"

Posted on August 14, 2008
A Daily Mountain Eagle report begins: The Aug. 26 municipal elections in Carbon Hill took more confusing turns Wednesday as one candidate got back in the race, another was disqualified and the mayor said he had called a meeting of...

Alabama: Secretary of State takes action to get more former felons registrered

Posted on August 14, 2008
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund recently did a survey of voter registrars in Alabama and found that few of them knew the correct rules as to the registration of voters who had been convicted of felonies. In response, the Secretary...

CLC to prepare generic legal docs for election-protection groups

Posted on August 13, 2008
From the Campaign Legal Center: The Campaign Legal Center today launched the Voters’ Rights Protection Project, to provide generic drafts of potential court filings to individuals, organizations, and political parties who must resort to the courts to protect the fundamental...

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