State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Reject perennial ‘Etch A Sketch’ redistricting

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by Brian Cannon

Update: Brian Cannon’s letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch is available here.

Whether Sen. John Watkins’ Martin Luther King Day surprise defies the U.S. Constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act are complicated questions. But the constitutionality of his “re-redisticting” bill might live closer to home. Consider Virginia’s state Constitution.

In Article II Section 6, the Virginia Constitution grants the legislature the authority to redraw district lines with the following passage:  “The General Assembly shall reapportion the Commonwealth into electoral districts … in the year 2011 and every ten years thereafter.  Any such decennial reapportionment law shall take effect immediately….” [Read more…] about Reject perennial ‘Etch A Sketch’ redistricting

Hurricane Sandy and Election Day in New York: What Can we Learn From Disaster?

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by Emily Lippolis

Big storms tend to bring out the Eagle Scout in all of us. Nature reminds us that we are not always in control of our access to basic necessities and our ability to move freely so we stock up and hunker down. When the storm passes, most of us end up a little better off. Now we know what our contingency plan is, we have canned goods and bottled water for the next storm, and we figure out what needs to be fixed around the house. You would think that the lessons most people learn from natural disasters would also inform our voting system, but sadly, they have not. If Sandy has taught us anything, it has been how weak our system is when it comes to overcoming disasters.  [Read more…] about Hurricane Sandy and Election Day in New York: What Can we Learn From Disaster?

Virginia Senate Redistricting Bill Catches Governor by Surprise

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By Tony Glosson

On Monday, the Virginia Senate approved a redistricting bill that the Virginia Public Access Project claims will shift some traditionally democratic voters from competitive districts into already solidly Democratic ones. This would provide Republicans, who control an evenly divided Senate via Lt. Governor Bill Bolling’s tiebreaker vote, with an advantage going into 2015 elections.

Bolling indicated that he may not have voted for the bill had his vote been required to break a 20-20 tie citing concerns about its effect on bipartisanship for other legislation, but Democrat Henry L. Marsh III was absent from the vote. Marsh took the day off to attend the presidential inauguration. Thus, the bill passed in the Senate on a 20-19 vote without Bolling’s tiebreaker.

The bill will have to pass the Republican-controlled Virginia House, and be cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice, before it reaches Governor Bob McDonnell’s desk.

McDonnell, a Republican, said he was surprised by the move, but will make a decision about signing the legislation should it reach his desk. McDonnell also stated that he did not feel it was a “good way to do business,” and emphasized that he considers his transportation and education initiatives to be higher priorities than redistricting measures like this one. Proponents of the measure, however, argue that the bill creates districts that better comply with the U.S. Voting Rights Act and are more compact than the ones set by current law.

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Fighting for the First Amendment in Campaigns: Free Speech in Wyoming

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by Kathleen Imbriglia

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

A Shift in Federal Power? Supreme Court to hear Arizona’s Citizenship Requirements for Voter Registration

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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