State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

College students and voter fraud: Charlie Webster’s Maine problem

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Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster is “on a mission to make Maine a better place.” The trouble is, the “better place” he envisions lies on the other side of what may be an insurmountable controversy.

Since famously brandishing a list of 206 alleged voter frauds—all college students—a few weeks ago, Webster has been branded the leader of a witch hunt. The chairman maintains that Maine law is very clear that residency must be established before voting. This is true, but Webster’s opponents on this issue are quick to point out that doing so is almost trivially easy, and certainly not beyond students’ ability. Webster insists on implementing several harsher residency requirements, such as paying income taxes. [Read more…] about College students and voter fraud: Charlie Webster’s Maine problem

New Lines in the Sand: Redistricting in the Golden State

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“All politics is local.” The truth of Tip O’Neill’s famous quip may sting some senior California House members as the state’s redistricting efforts land them in newly-formed districts that they might not be able to carry.

The new district map is the product of a bi-partisan citizen’s commission established by Proposition 11. Enacted directly by voters in 2008 and expanded in 2010, the law amended the state constitution to move redistricting authority from the legislature to a bipartisan commission of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Tasked with redrawing not only congressional districts but State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts as well, the commission’s work will go into effect for the 2012 election. [Read more…] about New Lines in the Sand: Redistricting in the Golden State

Redistricting in the Gem State

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Idaho’s redistricting commission has agreed on a map for the new districts. This comes after the previous commission failed to reach a compromise. Part of the problem, perhaps, was that there are an even number of people on the commission: three Democrats and three Republicans. The Democrats went so far as to accuse the Republicans of designing this commission to fail. While evidence for that particular bit of speculation seems to be lacking, Article I Section (E)(6) of the Idaho Republican platform lists as one of its objectives, moving the redistricting responsibility back to the Idaho legislature.  [Read more…] about Redistricting in the Gem State

Until We Meet Again: Putting the California-Amazon Battle on Hold, for Now

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The lengthy dispute between the State of California and Amazon took a dramatic turn on September 10th when state lawmakers and the online retail giant agreed to a compromise bill that will put an end, pending Governor Jerry Brown’s approval, to the drawn-out sales tax controversy—at least for now.  Under the new measure, Seattle-based Amazon will begin to collect sales tax from customers in California in September 2012 barring future federal legislation.  Given the amount of effort Amazon exerted during its battle with the Golden State, this concession may surprise many.

Currently, California is one of 24 states that permit referendums, which are proposals brought by citizen petition, to repeal a law previously enacted by the legislature.  In California, 500,000 signatures are needed to push issues onto a state ballot.  Prior to the agreement, Amazon had already spent $5.25 million on its campaign to obtain the necessary number of signatures.  The campaign reflected Amazon’s belief that voters, if given an opportunity, would support the repeal of the tax law.  However, as part of last Friday’s deal, Amazon will ditch its campaign and drop the referendum effort.  [Read more…] about Until We Meet Again: Putting the California-Amazon Battle on Hold, for Now