State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Synergy and Citizens United

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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

Weekly Wrap Up

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Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in state election law.

– Soon, even a candidate’s tweets will be governed by a legion of rules and regulations.  The Maryland Board of Elections is attempting to devise rules for the use of social media by candidates.

– The Tennessee Senate has passed a bill that would require potential voters to show proof of citizenship before registering.  The state Attorney General believes that the law could potentially violate the federal Motor Voter Act.

– Congressman Michael Capuano has written an editorial for the Boston Herald about Citizens United and the proposed Shareholder Protection Act.  For more about shareholder protection and Citizens United, see this post by William and Mary law professor William Van Alstyne.

– The recent British election and the swift transfer of power from Gordon Brown to David Cameron has some wondering how the U.S. could reduce the time between elections and inaugurations.  See this article from Slate for a proposal for how such a reduction could be accomplished without a constitutional amendment.

– Pedro A. Cortés, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Commonwealth and the top election official in that state, has resigned. Cortés will be pursuing opportunities in the private sector, as vice president of a voting technology company.

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Weekly Wrap Up

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Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in state election law.

– Another week, another challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Shelby County in Alabama is seeking an injunction against Attorney General Holder to prevent him from enforcing Section 5 of the VRA. Section 5 requires that certain states and municipalities “preclear” changes to their voting laws with the Attorney General. Last week, Merced County in California initiated a similar challenge to the Act.

– In Kansas, voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to protect the voting rights of the mentally ill.  Currently, the state constitution allows legislators to deny voting rights to the mentally ill, though the legislature has not attempted to pass any laws limiting those rights.  This amendment would eliminate the possibility of such restrictions entirely.  The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot next statewide election, on November 2nd.

– Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post has written this editorial linking Arizona’s “Clean Election” reforms with that state’s new controversial immigration law.

– In New York, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris has introduced a bill that would create a non-partisan redistricting commission in that state.

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Weekly Wrap Up

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Every week, State of Elections brings you the latest news in election law

– On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Doe v. Reed.  The plaintiffs argue that Washington’s Public Records Act, which makes the names of signatories to ballot initiatives a matter of public record, should be declared unconstitutional .  Members of a group called “Protect Marriage Washington”, who submitted petitions for a referendum to repeal Washington’s domestic partnership laws, have asked for an injunction against the publication of their names.  The signatories fear harassment from gay marriage proponents should their names be published, as required under the Public Records Act. Here’s a transcript of the oral arguments.

– The Supreme Court of New Jersey has agreed to hear a case involving an attempt by a Tea Party organization to recall Senator Robert Menendez.  The New Jersey constitution allows Senators to be recalled, but the U.S. Constitution is silent on the issue.  The appeals court previously ruled in favor of the Tea Party and allowed their recall efforts to continue.

– Merced County in California is seeking to remove itself from the restrictions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  Section 5 requires that certain states and municipalities “preclear” changes to their voting laws with the Attorney General.  Only four counties in California are subject to the additional restrictions imposed by Section 5.

– Here’s a very odd story out of Orange County California.  According to a local newspaper, dozens of voters were allegedly tricked into registering as Republicans.  Members of the Republican Party supposedly tricked passersby into thinking they were signing petitions for liberal causes, like legalizing marijuana, when they were actually signing voter registration forms that identified them as Republicans.  The California Republican Party offers an $8 dollar bounty for every new Republican registration, which apparently inspired this latest attempt to trick voters into registering as Republicans.

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Gone Fishin’

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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.


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