Election-Campaign Law

California: images of gay weddings will affect voters in fall referendum

Posted on June 17, 2008
The Los Angeles Times reports: Images from gay weddings, said Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, could be used by opponents in a campaign designed to persuade California voters that gays and lesbians...

Virginia: Governor and civil rights groups pushing felons' voting restoration

Posted on June 17, 2008
The Washington Post reports: Civic and social organizations are teaming with Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to try to add thousands of nonviolent offenders to the voting rolls in time for the November election, a move that has angered Republicans...

Alabama: absentee records seized in Lowndes County

Posted on June 17, 2008
WSFA 12 News reports: Attorney General Troy King today announced that agents from his office have served subpoenas upon Lowndes County election officials and have taken custody of records relating to the June 3 primary election. -- WSFA 12 News...

Slate reports on Spot Runner --

Posted on June 17, 2008
Slate reports on Spot Runner -- a low-cost generic advertising service for small businesses and now ... political candidates....

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Scotland:

Posted on June 14, 2008
The Sunday Herald reports: LABOUR LEADER Wendy Alexander faces a Holyrood ban after a parliamentary sleaze watchdog found her guilty of breaking the rules on MSPs' conduct by not declaring donations to her leadership campaign. The Sunday Herald understands Holyrood's...

Flag Day

Posted on June 14, 2008
Thanks to Wikimedia for the image....

FEC's rules struck down again

Posted on June 14, 2008
Court Deems Campaign Finance Rules Too Weak - Washingtonpost.com The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled yesterday that the Federal Election Commission has failed to adequately enforce key aspects of the...

Alabama: another county with an absentee ballot investigation

Posted on June 13, 2008
The Daily Sentinel reports: Jackson has been added to the list of counties with reports of voter fraud allegations. According to a press release from the Alabama Secretary of State s office, more than one week after the primary election,...

More bad news for the NRCC on the money front

Posted on June 13, 2008
DailyKos quotes a report from Roll Call: The [National Republican Congressional] committee will need to hire an outside firm to conduct a standard audit of its books for 2007, and until that audit is complete, the NRCC will not be...

Report on the argument in Preminger v. V.A.

Posted on June 13, 2008
AlterNet reports: An attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which runs hospitals and homeless shelters for veterans, told a federal appeals court Thursday that the VA could not conceive of any circumstance where voter registration drives could occur at...

Criticism for V.A.'s ban on voter registration

Posted on June 13, 2008
The New York Times reports: Voting rights groups are criticizing the Department of Veterans Affairs for its decision to ban registration drives among the veterans living at federally run nursing homes, shelters for the homeless and rehabilitation centers across the...

NRCC lost $725k to treasurer's fruad

Posted on June 12, 2008
The NY Times Caucus blog reports: A scheme by a former treasurer resulted in a loss of about $725,000 to the House Republicans’ campaign arm, according to an audit released today. Christopher J. Ward, long a trusted financial figure in...

Scotland: government wants to lower voting age to 16, but UK government blocks it

Posted on June 12, 2008
The Herald reports: The SNP government is determined to give 16-year-olds the vote and is demanding that Westminster hand over the power to allow this, it was claimed yesterday. The minister for parliamentary business told an electoral reform conference yesterday...

Minnesota pastor wants to throw the Good Book at the IRS

Posted on June 12, 2008
The Religion Clause blog reports: In Warroad, Minnesota, pastor Gus Booth, a delegate to the Republican National Convention, is openly challenging IRS restrictions on church involvement in political campaigns. In May, Booth delivered a sermon telling his congregation not to...

"The Ptifalls of Voter Identification Laws in a Post-Crawford World"

Posted on June 12, 2008
ACSblog reports: Today, ACS released an issue brief by Carrie Apfel of Jenner & Block entitled “The Pitfalls of Voter Identification Laws in a Post-Crawford World.” She writes that even in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s upholding of Indiana’s...

Alabama: another investigation into high absentee voting

Posted on June 11, 2008
The Randolph Leader reports: Fifth Judicial District Attorney E. Paul Jones has confirmed he has requested an investigation of absentee ballots in last Tuesday's primary but said his letter has been mailed so recently the attorney general's office may not...

Tennessee:

Posted on June 11, 2008
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: A watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and a Germantown constituent have filed a formal complaint against U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission...

Alabama: complaints about absentee voting in Bullock County

Posted on June 10, 2008
The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Two unsuccessful candidates for seats on the Bullock County Commission claim widespread absentee vote irregularities in the June 3 election and want a state investigation. Clarence "Bubba" Blue and Terry Jackson said Monday that hundreds of...

Campaign Money Watch files FEC complaint about McCain campaign

Posted on June 09, 2008
AP reports: A group that supports public financing of campaigns filed a federal complaint against John McCain s presidential campaign Monday, calling for an investigation into two financial transactions involving two top McCain aides. The Federal Election Commission complaint by...

Why campaigns need lawyers who know about more than chad and petitions

Posted on June 09, 2008
CBN News reports: The Brody File first reported that the Obama campaign will be launching The Joshua Generation Project aimed at young Evangelicals and faith voters. Well, it turns out there may be a legal issue with the NAME. Read...

California: Dems support, GOP opposes teen voting bill

Posted on June 09, 2008
The Sacramento Bee reports: Voting is as American as mom and apple pie – the more votes cast, the better for democracy, right? Not necessarily. Efforts to gradually increase California's pool of voters by targeting young teenagers are splitting the...

Alabama: high turnout in one county brings criminal investigation

Posted on June 09, 2008
AP reports: The district attorney for Perry County says he will ask the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate an unusually high turnout and potential absentee ballot problems during the June 3 primary elections. It’s the latest in a...

"National Bonus" in the Electoral College

Posted on June 08, 2008
David Barron writes in the Convictions blog on Slate: Obviously, one solution for the future is to scrap the electoral college altogether, something Senator Nelson of Florida proposed today. But as it happens, I came across this news while reading...

McCain may soon get an FEC to vote to give him public funds

Posted on June 08, 2008
The Washington Independent reports: Throughout this presidential primary season, the Federal Election Commission, which polices spending on campaigns for Congress and the presidency, has been dormant. This has created a dilemma for Sen. John McCain R-Ariz...

Alabama: provisional ballots will decide race for county school superintendent

Posted on June 08, 2008
The Prattville Progress reports: While more than one-fourth of Autauga County's eligible voters went to the polls on Tues­day, the race to determine the Republican candidate for coun­ty school superintendent could be decided by just over one-tenth of a percent...

Projecting a presidential winner

Posted on June 08, 2008
I was reading an article in the Kansas City Star, Mapping a long road to the White House, and noticed a reference to FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right. I suggest you take a look at it. I have not fully...

Black Caucus receives "offensive" T-shirt about Obama

Posted on June 07, 2008
The Washington Post's Sleuth blog reports: The president of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is disturbed by an offensive t-shirt the group received in the mail Wednesday, the day after Barack Obama claimed his party s presidential nomination...

Lobbyist money welcomed at party conventions

Posted on June 07, 2008
The New York Times reports: One of Senator Barack Obama’s first acts after claiming the Democratic nomination was declaring he would not take special-interest money for his presidential bid, even going so far as to bar lobbyists from donating to...

Alabama: human error mars election in 2 counties

Posted on June 06, 2008
The Mobile Press-Register reports on election-day problems: Mobile County election officials said they would in the future put extra emphasis on giving voters the correct ballots after a problem at a voting precinct Tuesday. At the First Independent Methodist Church...

Alabama: AG seizes voting records in Perry Co.

Posted on June 06, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: The Alabama attorney general s office has seized Perry County voting records related to Tuesday s election. Attorney General Troy King said in a press release that the action was taken because of allegations of improprieties...

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