State of Elections

By Dru Tigner

What do Greg Abbott, Wendy Davis, State Senator Letitia Van De Putte, Former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright, and U.S. District Court Judge Sandra Watts all have in common? They all apparently have high potential for committing voting fraud– at lest according to the State of Texas. All five of these prominent Texas leaders were hassled by the new Texas Voter ID Law this past November.

It has been a concern for those opposed to the Voter ID Law that it will make it difficult for individuals to obtain appropriate identification, and thus poor, elderly, and minority voters will be disenfranchised because they lack appropriate identification. However, it seems that one distinct group that also may be affected are people whose photo ID’s don’t match the name that is recorded in the voter rolls.

[Read more…] about State of Texas v. Women: is Texas violating the 19th Amendment?

On Saturday, September 20 the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at William & Mary Law School will hold its 27th annual Supreme Court Preview. The event features a lunchtime breakout panel “The Court and Election Law” with Paul Smith (Jenner, argued Vieth, LULAC, and Florida redistricting cases), Pam Karlan (DOJ, Stanford), and Erin Murphy (Bancroft, argued McCutcheon). The session will cover race and redistricting, Section 2 voter ID and early voting cases, and campaign finance. In addition, a morning panel on civil rights cases before the Court will include a discussion of Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama. The Preview congregates judges, former solicitors general, Supreme Court advocates, and prominent Court journalists to discuss the upcoming term. Those interested in attending can find more information and register for the event here.

http://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2014/04/in-the-wake-of-mccutcheon/