Election-Campaign Law

Alabama: Joe Mallisham, RIP

Posted on April 20, 2008
The Tuscaloosa News reports: Joe Mallisham, a pioneering civil rights leader and former Tuscaloosa County commissioner, died Tuesday. He was 79. Raised by his father, the Rev. L.S. Mallisham, on the Bible, Shakespeare and history books, and as a member...

McCain using "hybrid legal structure" to raise more money

Posted on April 20, 2008
The WSJ's Washington Wire blog reports: To help ease their fund-raising woes, John McCain’s campaign has devised a new system to increase the maximum amount an individual can donate to the unofficial Republican nominee’s election efforts. Campaign manager Rick Davis...

Alabama: federal court grants 1 more month of a free pass on VRA violation (court docs attached)

Posted on April 17, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: A panel of three federal judges granted Gov. Bob Riley s request Wednesday to extend George Bowman s tenure as a Jefferson County commissioner, but not for as long as the governor wanted. Riley now has...

New Jersey: Andrews sues for proper ballot position

Posted on April 17, 2008
Politiker NJ reports: Rob Andrews wants to render Frank Lautenberg’s county line advantage obsolete. Andrews announced today that he’s filing suit against 13 mostly northern county clerks to seek a “fair and open Democratic primary” that requires county clerks give...

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Maryland: legislation moves special for 4th CD

Posted on April 17, 2008
CQ Politics reports: A special election to fill a pending vacancy in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District will be held June 17 under legislation, signed Thursday afternoon by Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, that allows a speedier schedule than usually allowed under...

Pennsylvania: Provisional ballots

Posted on April 16, 2008
NPR's Morning Edition reports: With lots of new voters showing up at the polls for this year s primaries, election officials are also seeing many problems. Some people are going to the wrong polling sites; others can t find their...

FEC nominee Lenhard withdraws

Posted on April 15, 2008
The Washington Post reports: A Democratic nominee to the Federal Election Commission yesterday withdrew his name for consideration, choosing private-sector work rather than waiting out a confirmation impasse between Senate Democrats and President Bush that has hobbled the agency...

Judicial Watch files FEC complaint against Clinton over Elton John concert

Posted on April 15, 2008
Judicial Watch has requested that the FEC investigate the Elton John concert-fundraiser for the Clinton Campaign. The problem is that Elton John is not an American citizen. -- Judicial Watch complaint...

DNC will sue FEC today over McCain

Posted on April 14, 2008
Update: The suit has been filed and the complaint is available here. UPI reports: The Democratic National Committee wants to get its dispute with John McCain s campaign on public financing into the U.S. courts, party officials said. The committee...

Dept of Expected Results: Why primaries are good for demoncracy

Posted on April 14, 2008
The Washington Post reports: If this were Britain, Russia or India, Rudy Giuliani '08 caps would not be on the clearance racks. In those countries, where bigwigs and insiders get to nominate party leaders, the former Republican front-runner and establishment...

Idaho: GOP files suit against open primary system

Posted on April 14, 2008
Free Citizen blog reports: In an open primary, a party's primary ballot is available to any voter who wants it. There are two types of open primaries: Mississippi is one of the 13 states with "open primary, public record," meaning...

Conservative 527 group fails to live up to its expectations

Posted on April 12, 2008
The New York Times reports: The conservative group Freedom’s Watch, headlined by two former senior White House officials, had been expected to be a deep-pocketed juggernaut in this year’s presidential election, heralded by supporters on the right as an aggressive...

Is Catalist an end-run around campaign finance laws?

Posted on April 12, 2008
The New York Times reports: [Harold Ickes] is president of Catalist, a for-profit databank that has sold its voter files to the Obama and the Clinton presidential campaigns for their get-out-the-vote efforts. With his equity stake in the firm, Mr....

"Scotland on Sunday": "Carter and Gore to end Clinton bid"

Posted on April 12, 2008
Scotland on Sunday reports: DEMOCRAT grandees Jimmy Carter and Al Gore are being lined-up to deliver the coup de grâce to Hillary Clinton and end her campaign to become president. Falling poll numbers and a string of high-profile blunders have...

West Virginia: arguments in case strict disclosure requirements for political ads

Posted on April 11, 2008
The Charleston Gazette reports: Anonymous advertising in West Virginia political campaigns would open the door for a repeat of the 2004 Supreme Court race, where voters did not learn until later who was spending millions of dollars on behalf of...

Arizona: appeals court upholds legislative districting plan

Posted on April 11, 2008
The Arizona Republic reports: The boundaries of the state s legislative districts for this fall s elections will remain the same as they have been for the past three years. That s the immediate impact of a state Court of...

Mississippi: blacks' suit wants students excluded from Hattiesburg district numbers

Posted on April 10, 2008
The Hattiesburg American reports: A decision on whether Hattiesburg s City Council wards should be redrawn now rests with U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett. The trial of a 2006 lawsuit against the city ended Wednesday with the city s attorneys...

Alabama: Governor asks for stay pending appeal in Jefferson County case (court documents attached)

Posted on April 10, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: Gov. Bob Riley asked a panel of federal judges Tuesday to grant Jefferson County Commissioner George Bowman more time in office while other courts decide legal disputes over who fills county commission vacancies. Cases are pending...

Public financing -- Obama maybe no, McCain maybe yes

Posted on April 10, 2008
The New York Times reports: Senators Barack Obama and John McCain are beginning to lay the groundwork for divergent ways of financing fall campaigns for the presidency. Mr. Obama, who has shattered fund-raising records for candidates of either party, is...

Iowa: charge that Fallon's business is financing his campaign

Posted on April 10, 2008
The Courier reports: A state senator has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, arguing congressional candidate Ed Fallon is using his for-profit business to assist his bid for office. State Sen. Dick Dearden, the Des Moines Democrat who...

Colorado: CREW files complaint against U.S. Term Limits for pro-Schaffer ad

Posted on April 09, 2008
The Rocky Mountain News reports: A Washington, D.C.-based group has filed an elections complaint over an ad where school children repeatedly thank U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer for his commitment to charter schools. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington...

Ohio: Elections commission fines PAC $5.2 million for illegal transfer

Posted on April 08, 2008
AP reports: The Ohio Elections Commission has levied a record $5.2 million fine against a political action committee headed by former Michigan Republican Chairwoman Betsy DeVos that supports candidates who favor school choice. All Children Matter s political action committee...

Overseas voting: new website aims to make it easier

Posted on April 07, 2008
Stars and Stripes reports: A new Web site unveiled last week will give overseas military voters a one-stop site for voter registration, ballot requests and other election-related needs. Organizers with the Overseas Vote Foundation, a nonpartisan voter advocacy group, unveiled...

Alabama: John Tanner working in Alabama now

Posted on April 07, 2008
AP reports: The former chief of the Justice Department's Voting Rights Section, who stepped aside in December after apologizing for remarks about minority voters, is now working on election-related issues for the Alabama Law Institute. John Tanner, who is being...

Florida: "Without Walls" church staffers may have been directed to contribute to Crist's 2006 campaign

Posted on April 07, 2008
The St. Petersburg Times reports: Staff members of Tampa Bay s largest church were directed two years ago to make $500 contributions to the campaign of Gov. Charlie Crist, a television network has charged. The church denies the allegation. MSNBC,...

"The Irony of Judicial Elections"

Posted on April 04, 2008
Introduction to The Irony of Judicial Elections by David E. Pozen in Columbia Law Review: Judicial elections in the United States have undergone a dramatic transformation. For more than a century, these state and local elections were relatively dignified, low-key...

Maine: Senate passes National Popular Vote bill

Posted on April 04, 2008
PolitickerME.com reports: The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday allowing Maine to participate in the National Popular Vote interstate compact. The bill will next go before the House for consideration. The Senate was deadlocked over the bill, voting 17 to...

Maryland: Governor asks Legislature to skip primaries for Wynn vacancy

Posted on April 04, 2008
PolitickerMD reports: Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) both expressed support today for Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to bypass a special primary election and hold a special general election in Maryland’s 4th Congressional...

Kansas: Voter I.D. bill in conference committee

Posted on April 04, 2008
Harris News Service reports: Democratic and Republican negotiators clashed Wednesday over how strict to make legislation requiring most voters under age 65 to show photo identification to cast a ballot. A conference committee of six lawmakers, three from each the...

Iowa: judge enjoins Sec of State over English-only law

Posted on April 04, 2008
The Des Moines Register reports: A Polk County District Court judge has ordered Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro to stop using languages other than English in the state’s official voter registration forms. Judge Douglas Staskal ruled in favor of...

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