State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

Ye Olde Election Law: The Bizarre History of Election Law

· ·

Election law has certainly earned its eccentric reputation.  From zombie voters to hanging chads,  the strange history of modern election law has become ingrained in the public consciousness.  But, as odd as the last decade has been, the previous centuries of election law have been even more bizarre.  So, in this series of articles, State of Elections will take a closer look at some of the stranger moments in election law.

One such moment happened in California’s Siskiyou County. In 1895, Clarence Smith was elected school superintendent of that county by a single vote.  His opponent, George Tebbe, contested the result.  When the ballots were recounted, the court found three additional votes for Tebbe, and declared Tebbe the new winner by two votes.  However, until the ballots could be counted in open court, they had been stored under the desk in the county clerk’s office.  This sounds all well and good, except that Tebbe was deputy clerk at that office, and worked in the same room where the ballots were stored.  Imagine Tebbe, sitting just a few short feet from the ballots, the ballots that would decide his political future.  Even if there was no actual vote tampering, surely even the appearance of impropriety would warrant a stern rebuke from the court.  Of course, no such rebuke was forthcoming. Instead, the court praised the “prudence of the clerk and the fair dealing of all concerned”, and required that Smith prove that ballot tampering took place before taking any action.

[Read more…] about Ye Olde Election Law: The Bizarre History of Election Law

Weekly Wrap Up

· ·

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

– Winter break at William and Mary is over, and State of Elections is excited to return to a  full time posting schedule. New articles will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, beginning on January 11th.

– Senator Chris Dodd has announced he will not seek reelection in 2010.  During his time in the Senate,  Dodd proposed some sweeping changes to voter registration laws.  Take a look at S. 17, Dodd’s proposed “Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2005”.  If it had been passed, S. 17 would have required states to allow voters to register on election day, and also would have enabled voters to register electronically via the Internet.

– The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the disenfranchisement of felons violates the federal Voting Rights Act.  According to the court, the criminal justice system is so “infected” with racism that limiting the right of felons to vote is contrary to the Act’s prohibition against the denial of voting rights on account of race.  The court’s opinion can be read in full here.

– The Rhode Island Senate and House has enacted legislation allowing 16 and 17 year olds to “pre-register” to vote.  Those that pre-register will be automatically added to the voter rolls will they turn 18.  The bill had been previously vetoed by Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, but the veto was overridden by the legislature.   For more information on pre-registration, see FairVote.org’s fact sheet.

www.college-homework-help.org

Weekly Wrap Up

· ·

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

– The U.S. Census bureau has released its population estimates, and if their estimates are correct, 8 states stand to gain Congressional seats in 2010, and 10 states will lose seats.

– An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times accuses Florida’s “No Match, No Vote” law of disenfranchising thousands of minority voters during the 2008 presidential election.  The law denies voter registration to any applicant whose name on the registration form does not match the Social Security or Florida driver’s license databases.

– The Supreme Court has held its last session of 2009, and still has not released its decision in Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission. The Court was expected to overrule existing precedents that allowed the government to limit the amount corporations could spend on campaigns.  However, the long delay has fueled speculation that the Court’s decision may not be as clear cut as expected.  For a review of the issues involved in Citizen United, see this transcript of oral arguments and this analysis of the possible implications of the case.

apply online essay writing companies 

Weekly Wrap Up

· ·

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

– The recount in Virginia’s 21st district is over, and Ron Villanueva has been declared the winner by only 16 votes.

– Wisconsin held a voter education summit on Tuesday.  Topics discussed include felon voting rights, photo id requirements at the polls, and Wisconsin’s same day registration law.

– Also in Wisconsin, two convicted felons are facing felony election fraud charges for voting in the November 2008 election. If convicted, they could be given up to three years and six months in prison.

– California is also debating the merits of a photo id requirement.  State Senator George Runner has proposed an initiative that would require voters to show a driver’s license or other government issued ID before being given a ballot. The initiative has already come under fire from some Latino organizations, who fear the initiative could be used to discriminate against minority voters.

Appendicitis, as the disease came to be known towards write my paper for me with http://writemyessay4me.org/ the end of the nineteenth century, was very much an american appellation?

Op Ed: Take Jim Crow Out of the Virginia Constitution: Restore Voting Rights for All

· ·

After the 15th Amendment was passed, giving blacks the constitutional right to vote, Southern states enacted Jim Crow laws, designed to keep blacks from actually voting. These laws included disingenuous literacy tests and poll taxes, which served as illegal but thankfully temporary impediments for black voters. One of the few ways that states found they could legally keep at least some blacks from voting, however, was to enact felon disenfranchisement laws. These laws say that after a felon has served his time in prison, he still cannot vote. Although African-Americans represent only about 12.5% of America’s population, they make up about 48.5% of its prison population. So, felon disenfranchisement laws, which are at best arguably constitutional, have proved an effective method of suppressing the black vote.

Virginia is one of only two states in the U.S. that permanently bars ex-felons from voting, even after they have paid their debt to society (the other is Kentucky). In Virginia alone, there are more than 377,000 disenfranchised felons. Of these, more than 208,000 are African-American.This is an abomination. Virginia’s laws must be changed. [Read more…] about Op Ed: Take Jim Crow Out of the Virginia Constitution: Restore Voting Rights for All