State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Yes/No, No/Yes: Two California Redistricting Bills Compete for Votes

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Source: California Voter Foundation

Last Sunday, two competing editorials were published in the San Francisco Chronicle discussing two proposed redistricting bills in California, Proposition 20 and Proposition 27.  Both propositions focus on changing the Congressional redistricting process.  Proposition 20 would give the task to the Citizen Redistricting Commission, which already draws the lines for the legislative districts.  Proposition 27 would have the Legislature do it, but impose public oversight and strict guidelines on the process.  The editorials dealing with these propositions took opposite views: Daniel Lowenstein of UCLA supported Proposition 27, saying it would reduce the cost and create equal districts; Alice Huffman, president of the NAACP, argued that Proposition 20 would prevent districts from being drawn for the benefit of politicians.  Both disagreed strongly with the claims in the other.

So who’s right and who’s wrong?  As is usually the case, the answer is not black and white.

[Read more…] about Yes/No, No/Yes: Two California Redistricting Bills Compete for Votes

Not So Fast on the Draw: “Trigger” Funds Provisions Come Under Fire

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Campaign finance reformers have spent much of 2010 fighting in the courtroom. Across the nation, campaign finance laws are being challenged in the courts.

Some decisions, like Citizens United, came down from the Supreme Court and affect every election, from the national level on down. But there have also been several court decisions across the country that changed the complexion of local and state primaries and might shape the upcoming November elections. In states as diverse as Kentucky, Washington, and California, federal courts have ruled on spending limits for both individuals and corporations. Some courts have found these limits unconstitutional by following Citizens United; others have upheld the limits, citing interests noted by the Supreme Court in their decision. [Read more…] about Not So Fast on the Draw: “Trigger” Funds Provisions Come Under Fire

Weekly Wrap Up

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Are red light cameras racist? According to American Traffic Solutions, they are. ATS opposes a ballot initiative to add red light cameras in Baytown, Texas, saying it will encourage conservative voters to come out in larger numbers for the November election and weaken the power of minority voters. A hearing is currently scheduled on a motion to stop the election.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced he will not be seeking re-election in February 2011. February’s election will be the first time in 64 years that an incumbent is not running for mayor in Chicago. One of the rules set by the Chicago Board of Elections for Mayoral candidates is that they must have lived in the city of Chicago for at least the last calendar year. Does this rule out Rahm Emanuel as a candidate? Read more about the rules to run for mayor here.

This report was recently released and may be interesting to anyone who wants to look at the “threat posed by money and special interest pressure on fair and impartial courts” (quote by William & Mary Chancellor Sandra Day O’Connor). The report looks at the past decade of judicial campaign spending and analyzes some the challenges and threats to our judicial system because of this funding.

The Georgia Supreme Court is looking at the constitutionality of the new voter identification law the Department of Justice approved two weeks ago. Georgia, along with Arizona, checks the citizenship of people who register to vote against Social Security and DMV records. Proponents claim that it blocks illegal immigrants from voting, while critics argue that it could hinder minorities who are legal citizens from voting. The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday, September 7.

The Green Party in Arizona has filed suit against several state election officials, requesting that some of the nominees on their ballot be removed and to change an Arizona law that allows people to join a minor party’s ballot with only one write-in vote.  They allege that these nominees were recruited by Republicans to siphon votes away from the Democrat Party.  Steve May, on the Republican ballot, says that he recruited drifters and street performers in Tempe to run as Green Party candidates, but that they are part of a valid political movement.

Democrats in Vermont are facing a shortage of volunteers as they try to recount the results of the primary.  A number of the over 600 volunteers who originally signed up backed out when they found out they needed to commit to a full day of counting.

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We Didn’t Start the Fire: Texas Loses Thousands of Voting Machines in Inferno

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Elections are a delicate and complex process. In the months leading up to Election Day, election officials must anticipate and prepare for hundreds of potential issues. But in Texas, an issue nobody could have foreseen has left the best laid plans of the Harris County Clerk’s Office in disarray.

Over 10,000  voting machines were destroyed in a sudden warehouse fire on August 27th, leaving the county without a single voting machine to use in the upcoming elections.  Luckily, no one was injured, but with just two months to go before Election Day, the county is scrambling to find ways to salvage the situation. [Read more…] about We Didn’t Start the Fire: Texas Loses Thousands of Voting Machines in Inferno

Vote Early, Vote Often: The Pros and Cons of Maryland’s Early Voting Law

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This week, Maryland began its first election with early voting.  The recently passed early voting laws in Maryland allow for voters to cast ballots in-person up to ten days prior to the election (not counting Sunday.)

The technical distinction between absentee voting and early voting is that with early voting you are not required to have an excuse for not voting on Election Day.  Also, early voting is typically performed using the same method as Election Day voting, rather than on an absentee-type paper ballot.

Early voting is an attempt to address significant problems facing elections today.  Allowing voters to cast their ballot early alleviates traffic and lines at the polls.  Also, allowing a greater time period to vote will almost certainly increase overall voter turnout simply because it may be more convenient. Texas has even allowed “curbside voting” during early voting, a process where, if you call in advance, you can get a poll worker to bring the ballot to your car as you arrive at the precinct (only for those who have difficulty walking or standing for extended periods, of course.)  I, for one, support the use of Applebee’s Carside To Go technology on Election Day. [Read more…] about Vote Early, Vote Often: The Pros and Cons of Maryland’s Early Voting Law