State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Election Law Society

News Brief: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Ballot Box

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Former Richmond City Council member Sa’ad El-Amin could be back in the voting booth for this year’s Governor’s race. The irony is that this could frustrate his own efforts to ensure automatic rights restoration for felons in Virginia.

Federal District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. ordered a stay in the case of El-Amin v. Commonwealth of Virginia, holding off on deciding whether the convicted felon would have his voting rights restored, because of Governor Bob McDonnell’s announcement that he intends to restore voting rights to all non-violent felons in the state. (Full Disclosure: Two William & Mary Law School students, Kate Ward and Elderidge Nichols, under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Green, filed an amicus curiae brief in El-Amin’s case.) [Read more…] about News Brief: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Ballot Box

Supreme Court Strikes Down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act

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The Court did not strike down Section 5 preclearence provisions, but as the New York Times explains, after today’s ruling, Section 5 is “without significance — unless Congress passes a new bill for determining which states would be covered.”

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Supreme Court Strikes Down Arizona Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Requirement

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The Court ruled 7-2 that Arizona’s law was preempted by the 1993 National Voter Registration Act.

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Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Decides to Automatically Restore Voting Rights for Non-violent Felons

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Washington Times calls it “an evolution of sorts on criminal justice policy” for the Republican Party. Previously, non-violent felons had to wait a minimum of two years and then petition for the restoration of their voting rights.

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Ethics Tightened on D.C. Government

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by Andy McCoy, Contributor

Voters in Washington, DC recently enacted three charter amendments relating to ethics.  Amendment V, which passed with 85% support, would allow the DC Council to expel a member by a 5/6 vote if the Council could demonstrate a gross failure to meet the highest standards of conduct.  Amendments VI and VII, which both passed with over 75% support, would disqualify felons from holding a Council seat or the Mayor’s office.  Amendments VI and VII are both limited in scope as they only disqualify individuals that were convicted of a felony while holding the office.  This would have the effect of immediately expelling a Mayor or Council member upon conviction for any felony and also barring the individual from holding that particular office again.  Interestingly a Council member convicted while serving on the Council would not be disqualified from serving as Mayor and vice versa.  These Amendments would also fail to bar candidates who resigned before conviction from holding the same office again in the future.  [Read more…] about Ethics Tightened on D.C. Government