State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

All States

Redistricting Litigation: What Every Judge Should Know

· ·

The William and Mary Election Law Program and the National Center for State Courts, as part of their election law litigation educational series, have just posted three new videos discussing the finer points of redistricting litigation. If you are a judge, lawyer, or law student interested in election law, I strongly recommend you watch these videos.

The speakers in the videos are Jessica Amunson, J. Gerald Hebert, Trevor Potter, and John Hardin Young, who also spoke at the 2010 Election Law Symposium at William & Mary.

essayclick.net/

Synergy and Citizens United

· ·

Before coming to law school, I worked as a fundraising and communications consultant for a number of House and Senate campaigns.  Sometimes, being involved in one race would lend opportunities to help a client in another.  For example, I would sometimes have clients in nearby districts who would do joint events, or who would each take a turn with a visiting speaker or leader during the same trip.

Most common, however, would be when one prominent figure (usually a sitting Congressman or popular party leader) would agree to write a fundraising email or letter for one client, and I would convince that figure to allow me to send a second letter on behalf of another client while we were at it.  My clients were often unaware that I was performing this service, but it’s actually quite common: the world of DC fundraisers is surprisingly incestuous, with fundraisers each attending events hosted by their colleagues and regular donors.  Think about it: if a campaign fundraising consultant doesn’t regularly attend events at the home of a prominent  donor, what are the odds of developing a close relationship with that donor and getting her to host an event for your clients down the line?  It’s also about networking: at some point, each of us found that we had to turn down a prospective client (for whatever reason–everything from ideological disagreement to prior commitments in the race), so we’d pass their information to a colleague and hope for reciprocity down the line.  It’s just good business. [Read more…] about Synergy and Citizens United

Gone Fishin’

· ·

State of Elections is officially going on semi-hiatus for the summer.

We’ll continue to post Weekly Wrap Ups, and if we receive any particularly timely articles, we’ll post those as well.  The Weekly Wrap Ups and any other new articles will appear directly below this post.

Our full time, thrice weekly posting schedule will resume late August, at the beginning of William and Mary’s fall semester. The Election Law Society has big plans for next year, so make sure to check in with us in August for new interviews, articles, and all the latest news in election law.


Donahue himself later claimed that it was mutually bestowed oral sex but by then he had been ousted from the royal circle and consequently his testimony has to be weighed up info in that light.

Solving the Epidemic of Disappearing Poll Workers – Part 2: A Poll Worker Draft?

· ·

poll 2

As discussed last week, the graying of America is seen most potently behind the polls. The decreasing numbers of poll workers across the nation has been threatening the centerpiece of our democracy. The first article focused on how young people can and should fill that void. This week, we take a look into a less conventional method of filling the need: Making poll working mandatory.

Currently, there are only two counties in the entire country that uses a drafting system for poll workers. Nebraska law allows for a draft and both Douglas and Sarpy County have taken part. At least one other state has considered the idea of a poll worker draft. In 2007, Ohio’s Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, announced the idea, but was eventually met with considerable criticism from the legislature. The word “draft” itself has a grim, scary, and negative connection in our country. However, there are many positives that could come from instituting a poll-worker draft in a jurisdiction in need. Lets call it election duty (like jury duty) to make it more palatable.

HOW COULD A DRAFT HELP?

The problem of long hours at the polls plagues every jurisdiction. It is a little discussed fact that anyone who offers to become a poll worker must work from about an hour before the poll opens to after the poll closes in the evening. Not many people would sign up for these long hours, even when payment is offered (which often comes out to very near minimum wage). However, a election duty system would help not only to alleviate the general need, but with a high participation rate, everyone who participates would have an easier job. In one district where it might take four people 14 hours of work each, 8 citizens could be pulled to work 7 hours and even get regular breaks. From another perspective, this would also make election duty less demanding. A less daunting task for those who choose to participate would help the image of election duty. [Read more…] about Solving the Epidemic of Disappearing Poll Workers – Part 2: A Poll Worker Draft?

Citizens United and the Culture of Corporate Deference

· ·

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted as a comment made in response to Neal Rechtman’s “Citizens United Against the Supreme Court”

One of the subtle harms of Citizens United is the propensity it creates to doubt that we’re receiving honest services from government officials. To give a recent example, last week the President reversed course on offshore drilling, announcing a very wide-reaching oil drilling expansion off the Atlantic, Gulf, and northern Pacific coasts. Now, it is entirely possible and quite likely that he’s reversed like this because of legislative or practical concerns, or maybe he’s become convinced that the process is better served by an early concession of this point, or maybe he has actually changed his mind on the merits of the policy. Or perhaps he’s anticipating the usual summertime gas price spike and is hoping to blunt the criticisms that are sure to come by taking a prophylactic step that conservatives have loudly touted as a way to lower prices.

But perhaps the reason is that we have an election in November that’s expected to cost around $3.7 billion, and that figure is less than 1/5th of Exxon-Mobils net annual profit in their WORST year of the last 7. If the oil industry wanted to heavily invest in this cycle, they have more than enough money to go beyond simple advertising–they could fund parallel field campaigns, massive ad buys in every media, billboards around the country, and make every long-shot pro-drilling candidate into a bona-fide contender. [Read more…] about Citizens United and the Culture of Corporate Deference