State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Archives for March 2010

Redistricting and Judicial Elections in Pennsylvania

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http://stateofelections.pages.wm.edu/files/2010/03/Judge_OrieMelvin.jpg
Justice Joan Orie Melvin of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

With the census in full swing, Pennsylvania again looks forward to the decennial redistricting process, the back room dealing and eventual round of lawsuits. Under Pennsylvania Constitution Article II § 17, Democrats and Republicans in the State legislature each select two members of the five member Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) which will conduct the redistricting. A fifth member who serves as Chairman of the Commission is selected by majority vote of the Commission or, in case of tie, by vote of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Pennsylvania elects its Supreme Court and the issue of redistricting was a key party rallying point in elections last year. Justice Joan Orie Melvin prevailed in that election, giving Republicans a 4-3 majority on the Court. The race was the most expensive judicial election in the nation last year with over $5 million spent. The outcome will likely mean a second consecutive round of redistricting led by Republicans who controlled the 2000 process as well. Prior to the election Orie Melvin promised to put the good of the people first. “I am not a Republican judge; I am a judge of all the people. I have always followed the constitution – and will do so in redistricting.” [Read more…] about Redistricting and Judicial Elections in Pennsylvania

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the People’s Veto

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dr_strangelove_1ed07Like many other states, Maine allows for citizen initiatives, the process by which individual citizens and nongovernmental organizations directly propose legislation.  Also like many other states, Maine’s initiative process attracts more than its fair share of bizarre characters and proposals, including this referendum to end the fluoridation of Maine’s drinking water.  Considering the most famous attempt to end the fluoridation of drinking water ended in a nuclear war, I suppose that the initiative process is a vast improvement.

However, the occasional strange referendum isn’t the only thing that makes Maine’s initiative process interesting. In addition to allowing conventional initiatives, Maine also gives its citizens a “People’s Veto”, through which the voters can veto laws passed by the state legislature.  The right to a People’s Veto is enshrined in Article IV, Section 17 of Maine’s Constitution, which also outlines the process by which a veto can appear on the ballot.  [Read more…] about How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the People’s Veto

Weekly Wrap Up

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Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in state election law.

– ACORN, the controversial voter registration and activist group, is disbanding because of declining revenue.

– In the Arkansas Senate race, there’s some controversy over an obscure state law that prevents the use of professional or honorary titles on ballots.  One Republican Senate candidate had hoped to put the title “Colonel” in front of his name on the ballot, but was refused by election officials.  Nicknames, however, are perfectly legal.  Just ask Harold Kimbrell, who will appear on the ballot as “Porky” Kimbrell.

–  During last week’s election law Symposium at William & Mary, the panelists mentioned that census data can be skewed when large numbers of incarcerated felons are counted as “residents” of the state they are incarcerated in.  Here a few editorials discussing that practice.

– More news on the California Redistricting Commission.  Even though over 25,000 people filed the initial application to be on the Commission, less than 1,200 have completed the second step of the application process.  For more general information on the Commission, see this post.

– Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has signed a law that should make absentee voting easier in that state.  The law will require election officials to send a replacement ballot, or notify the voter that he should cast a new ballot, if an absentee voter’s ballot is rejected.

– After much debate, the Florida Senate has passed an electioneering bill.  An alternate version of the bill was ruled unconstitutional for requiring all organizations to register with the state and comply with financial reporting requirements if they even mentioned a candidate or political issue.  The new version of the bill would still require certain organizations to register, but not those that focused only on issues.

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Citizens United Against the Supreme Court

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The recent Citizens United ruling by the US Supreme Court, which holds that First Amendment protections apply not just to individual speakers but also to corporations, is only the latest in a decades-long series of decisions by the Court that have expanded the scope of the First Amendment into realms never imagined by our Founding Fathers.

Beginning with Buckley v. Valeo in 1976, the Justices have embraced the concept that money is equal to speech, and that therefore any limitation on campaign spending violates the First Amendment.  This week’s ruling simply expands this protection to cover corporations, which are by definition aggregators of money.  So now corporate money will completely overwhelm individual money in the arena of political speech, and Madison’s conception of our government as a forum for the broadest possible public deliberation of issues will be rendered legally moot.  [Read more…] about Citizens United Against the Supreme Court

Weekly Wrap Up

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This weekly wrap up is a little late, since we posted a summary of our Symposium on Friday instead of our typical weekly wrap up.   To anyone who was waiting with bated breath for the latest news in state election law, I apologize.

Anyway, here’s a slightly belated summary of last week’s state election law news.

– According to a study by the Brennan Center, state judges are raising significantly more money for their campaigns than ever before.  In the last decade, candidates for state judgeships have raised more than 206 million dollars, which is more than double the 83 million raised by candidates in the 1990s.

– Lawmakers in Maryland and Washington D.C. are considering abandoning their traditional September primary dates, as the requirements of the newly passed “Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act” make it impossible to hold a primary so late in the year.

– There’s some controversy in New Mexico over whether Joe Campos, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, qualified to appear on the primary ballot.  Mr. Campos received 19.69% of delegate votes in that state’s pre-primary nominating convention.  Under New Mexico law, a candidate must receive 20% of the vote to appear on the ballot, and for the last week, the New Mexico Democratic Party has been debating whether to round up to 20% and allow Campos’s name on the primary ballot.  Luckily for Campos, the party eventually ruled that the law requires them to round up.  Interestingly, a Republican candidate who received 19.5% of delegate votes was kept off the primary ballot for failing to reach the 20% threshold.

-The Democratic Party is considering launching a 20 million dollar campaign to maintain  or take control of seventeen pivotal state legislatures, in anticipation of 2011 redistricting. The party that controls those state legislatures will have the power to redraw 198 congressional districts.

– The Election Assistance Commission now provides voter registration forms in five Asian languages,  Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

– Chris Biggs has been appointed the new Kansas Secretary of State. The previous Secretary of State, Ron Thornburg, resigned his position on February 15th, forcing Governor Mark Parkinson to appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the term.  Kansas elects its Secretary of State and some fear that being appointed interim Secretary will give Biggs an unfair advantage in the upcoming Secretary of State campaign.  Essentially, Biggs gets all the advantages of incumbency, without having to win an election in the first place.

– Check out our Citizens United and the States page, which tracks the impact of the Citizens United decision on the states.  The page  has reached 72 links and more are being added everyday.

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