The regulation of campaigns is controversial, weighing the interests to prevent corruption and promote disclosure while protecting the First Amendment’s fundamental right to free speech. Such tension is exemplified by the ongoing suit, Free Speech v. Federal Election Commission, filed in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals by the Wyoming-based organization, Free Speech. Free Speech first filed a suit in June arguing their advertisements are considered “issue advertisements” and that they should not be subject to the ambiguous reach of the U.S. federal regulation, 11 C.F.R. § 100.22(b). However, on October 3, 2012, Federal District Judge Skavdahl upheld the regulation, deeming it to not be overly vague or uncertain on the grounds that it is consistent with the functional equivalence test. In response, Free Speech filed a motion for emergency injunction so as to allow Free Speech’s campaign advertisements to run prior to the 2012 federal election. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the motion and the case is currently awaiting appeal. [Read more…] about Fighting for the First Amendment in Campaigns: Free Speech in Wyoming
All States
A Shift in Federal Power? Supreme Court to hear Arizona’s Citizenship Requirements for Voter Registration
by James Adam
Arizona law requires individuals to present documents proving U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote. Acceptable proof includes a photocopied birth certificate, photocopied pages of a passport, U.S. naturalization papers or Alien Registration Number, an Indian Census number, Bureau of Indian Affairs card number, Tribal Treaty Card/Enrollment Number, or a photocopy of one’s Tribal Certificate of Indian Blood or Tribal/Bureau of Indian Affairs Affidavit of Birth. Any change of residence between Arizona counties requires subsequent proof of U.S. citizenship.
In April, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco struck down this Arizona law. The court declared that federal voting laws requiring only that the applicant sign their name to verify US citizenship supersedes local election law. In June, the Supreme Court overturned a stay of the decision, and Arizona was unable to require proof of citizenship for registration in the November 2012 election cycle. However, the state can still urge voters to fill out Arizona registration ballots requiring this proof, but they may not bar an individual from simply registering by merely swearing their citizenship under the federal form. Also at the time of this decision, the Ninth Circuit upheld Arizona’s photo identification requirement. The Supreme Court will hear the citizenship arguments early next year. [Read more…] about A Shift in Federal Power? Supreme Court to hear Arizona’s Citizenship Requirements for Voter Registration
Investigations into Colorado Secretary of State’s Use of State Funds Highlights Broader Concern about Partisan Election Administration Officials
In an era of attenuated public confidence in the electoral process, it’s not reassuring when a state’s chief election official becomes the subject of criminal and ethics investigations on the eve of a major election. Alas, that is what happened in Colorado this year, when, on November 5, both the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission announced that they are independently looking into whether Secretary of State Scott Gessler “violated the law by using state funds to attend a partisan event.”
This issue first came to light in October, when Colorado Ethics Watch, a left-leaning nonprofit watchdog organization, filed a request for investigation with the Denver District Attorney and the Denver Police Department, alleging that Gessler misused public funds when he submitted reimbursement forms for expenses incurred while attending the Republican National Convention and a Republican-sponsored election law training in August. Ethics Watch contends that “the Secretary’s Florida trip was manifestly personal and political, in which he participated only in partisan events, not in pursuit of state business.” Ethics Watch characterizes the group that sponsored the election law training, the Republican National Lawyers Association, as “a private organization of lawyers dedicated, among other things, to ‘advancing Republican ideals.’” Gessler was not a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention. [Read more…] about Investigations into Colorado Secretary of State’s Use of State Funds Highlights Broader Concern about Partisan Election Administration Officials
The Expense of Raising School District Taxes in Texas: A Vignette of Booker ISD
Texans are very hands-off when it comes to taxes. Unlike many other states, Texas has no state personal income tax, property tax, or inheritance tax, and local taxes are not allowed to exceed low percentages of the state taxes that do exist. In addition, all local taxes are subject to further taxpayer protections collectively referred to as “Truth in Taxation” laws, which is a combination of state constitutional and statutory provisions that restrain local governments from raising taxes through accountability mechanisms such as requiring notice of higher tax proposals and the holding of public hearings for citizens to question and oppose proposed tax increases.
School boards are just one of the many kinds of local government entities that Texans support through their taxes. Even if one does not work for a local school or send children there, it is obvious that the maintenance of a public school system is one of the most important (and expensive) government functions for any community. Perhaps for this reason, Texas law treats the process for setting school district tax rates differently than other local tax rates. Truth-in-taxation requirements were expanded for school districts during the 79th Texas legislative session through an initiative originally contained in House Bill 1006, and eventually incorporated into House Bill 1. This initiative both lowered the tax rate that school districts would be allowed to charge in the future, and made it more difficult to increase those rates above what was charged in the preceding year. One component of this increased difficulty (in addition to notice and public hearings) is that school districts must hold a district-wide election for the approval of tax rates which exceed the statutory default rate by a certain amount of cents. If a simple majority of voters support the new tax rate, then the district may adopt it. These elections are known as “tax ratification elections” (or TREs). [Read more…] about The Expense of Raising School District Taxes in Texas: A Vignette of Booker ISD
Hurricane Sandy: A Catalyst to Ingenuity and Accommodation in Voting
With an estimated cost in the neighborhood of $50 billion dollars in damage, Hurricane Sandy ravaged much of the tri-state area causing catastrophic damage. New Jersey got the worst of the violent storm and its damning effects. Flooding, fires, power outages and gas shortages have changed life considerably for many residents in the Garden State. Routine activities are no longer routine. Elected officials and residents have been forced to rethink various aspects of everyday life. With Election Day fast approaching in the wake of a tragedy of titanic proportion, the time for accommodation and ingenuity arrived by necessity. Races for New Jersey’s 14 electoral votes, 13 congressional seats, a senate seat and local elections, forced flexibility and adaptation to make sure residents are able to vote and have their voices heard. [Read more…] about Hurricane Sandy: A Catalyst to Ingenuity and Accommodation in Voting