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A redistricting light through the (pine) trees

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by Rachel Provencher

As the weather cooled and the leaves started to color in Maine last fall, the state legislature was heating up in debate over the Republican and Democratic proposals to redraw the Pine Tree State’s district lines.

Democrats and Republicans worked hard in the summer and fall of 2011 to resolve different redistricting plans for the state of Maine.

The redistricting battle between Republicans and Democrats was likely the result of close congressional races in 2010, when both districts fell to Democrats. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who beat Republican challenger Dean Scontras by a 57-43 margin, holds Maine’s 1st district, and Representative Michael Michaud won by a 55-45 margin to take Maine’s 2nd district. In 2011, when Democrats and Republicans both proposed redistricting maps, the two plans showed significant differences. The Democratic plan presented little change to the existing map, while the Republican plan proposed shifting approximately 360,000 Mainers—one quarter of the state’s voters—between the two districts. The Republican plan also relocated Pingree’s hometown of North Haven into the middle of the 2nd district. [Read more…] about A redistricting light through the (pine) trees

Voters? We don’t need no stinkin’ voters

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Why recent changes to Texas election laws may unintentionally undermine voter turnout

by Daniel Carrico

The Texas Secretary of State is fighting to uphold Texas’s new voter photo identification law against federal scrutiny. The press has reported extensively on the battle brewing between the states and the United States Department of Justice over the impact that voter ID laws will have on voter turnout. Many groups believe that voter ID laws—which require persons to show photo ID before casting their votes—unfairly target minority voters, making it more difficult for them to participate in the democratic process. While the photo ID requirement is the most widely reported change to the Texas election process, it is not the only new roadblock likely to affect voter turnout in the Lone Star State’s upcoming elections.

New Burdens for Voluntary Deputy Voter Registrars

Earlier this year, the Texas legislature bolstered the requirements for persons wishing to serve as deputy voter registrars by passing House Bill 2194 and House Bill 1570.

In Texas, the voter registrar in each county may appoint one or more deputy registrars. Deputy registrars are volunteers who assist in the registration of voters. They distribute applications, help people fill out applications, and generally promote voter registration. [Read more…] about Voters? We don’t need no stinkin’ voters

A community of interest speaks

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by Colleen Nichols

Sussex County, Delaware may have just passed its redistricting plan, but not all members of the Sussex County community were pleased with the proposed districts.  On October 25, 2011, Jo Klinge, member of the League of Women Voters of Sussex County Redistricting Committee and editor of the LWVSC Voter newsletter, testified at the Sussex County Council hearing that the League still had very strong concerns with Sussex County’s proposed redistricting plan. She agreed to speak with me about these concerns.

The League of Women Voters of Sussex County Officers: Left to right: Valerie Driscoll, Cathy Ward, Sheila Zanine, Anne Riley, Jo Klinge (Missing: Esther Shelton) (from http://www.sussexlwv.org/about.html)

Q.  What community of interest does the League of Women Voters of Sussex County represent?

A.  The League does not represent a community of interest as we define the term. Many of our members live in the Cape Region, but we were not speaking for that community.

Q.  What are the goals of the League’s community of interest? [Read more…] about A community of interest speaks

Five Questions for political law attorney Chris DeLacy

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By Kevin Elliker

Chris DeLacy is a partner at Holland & Knight in Washington, DC, where he leads their Political Law Group and also serves as general counsel to the Holland & Knight Committee for Effective Government PAC. A graduate of William & Mary Law School, Mr. DeLacy has served as counsel and legal advisor to Senator John Warner, the Technology Subcommittee of the House Science Committee, and the Virginia General Assembly. As a political law attorney he advises clients on a number of political compliance issues, including campaign finance, Congressional gifts and travel, and lobbying. In November 2011 he visited William & Mary Law School, where he spoke to the W&M Election Law Society regarding his experience and expertise in political and election law.

When you spoke at the W&M Election Law Society’s luncheon event I was struck by the variety of issues you spoke of that related to the election law field. Could you discuss the array of cases that you see through your work that stem from your expertise in election and campaign finance law?

A political law practice touches on a wide-variety of legal issues including campaign finance, government ethics, lobbying compliance, pay-to-play, white collar, non-profit, and tax. It also involves a fair amount of non-legal advice related to politics and plain old common sense. I have handled cases that involve the Federal Election Commission, the Senate Ethics Committee, the Office of Congressional Ethics, Inspector General Investigations, Department of Justice investigations, the Maryland Board of Ethics, and the Texas Board of Ethics. However, the vast majority of my work involves advice related to political law compliance, which is intended to prevent issues from ever progressing to the investigation or enforcement stage. [Read more…] about Five Questions for political law attorney Chris DeLacy

Vote Centers are here to stay in Indiana

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by Shanna Reulbach

Indiana is one of several states pioneering vote centers, which are consolidated polling places open to any eligible voter in a locality. Vote centers came into existence in 2003, when Larimer County, Colorado first pioneered the configuration. Today, nine states have laws permitting vote centers, but Indiana was the first to use them on a large scale.

In 2006, the Indiana Secretary of State began a pilot program, allowing counties to test vote centers to determine if they would be an effective means of election day administration. Three counties, Cass, Tippecanoe, and Wayne, participated in the program from 2007 to 2010, and their reports prompted the state legislature to pass a bill during its 2011 session to enable all counties to adopt the vote center model as their permanent method for voting. [Read more…] about Vote Centers are here to stay in Indiana