Disenfranchise

Maryland & Indiana: A robocall showdown

Election Law Society · October 15, 2011 ·

How different states are handling political robocall controversies.

What thought comes to mind upon hearing the word “Robocall”? For most, the thought conjures ideas of annoying telemarketing. However, for Democrats in the Baltimore and Prince George’s Counties, robocalls received on the 2010 election night added new thoughts to the definition: voter confusion and suppression. Before the polls closed for the 2010 Gubernatorial Race, residents received a call from an unnamed woman who said: “I’m calling to let everyone know that Governor O’Malley and President Obama have been successful. Our goals have been met…The only thing left is to watch it on TV tonight. Congratulations and thank you.” Listen Here

The message seemed to imply that the Democratic candidate had already won the election and therefore the residents’ vote would be excessive and not needed. This implication was ill-gotten because there was no way to know at that time which candidate won. Many confused and upset residents contacted Gov. O’ Malley’s campaign center to complain. Further investigation proved that the governor and his team had nothing to do with the calls. In fact, investigators determined that the members of the Republican candidate, former Gov. Eurlich’s team were responsible for the calls that have been considered by many to be a tactic to discourage the African American vote.
[Read more…] about Maryland & Indiana: A robocall showdown

The Nightmares from Bridgeport

Election Law Society · February 28, 2011 ·

As the November election entered the early afternoon, poll workers in the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut began to notice something strange. With many hours of voting left, there was an unusually small amount of ballots remaining. Those concerns quickly turned to nightmares as precincts all across the city ran out of ballots. Confusion and tempers grew as fast as the lines voters were forced to stand in. People began to turn away without voting, their civic duty inaccessible.

Registrars were told by the Secretary of State to photo copy ballots at the city print shop. They began delivering the needy precincts packets of 100 ballots at a time. People who waited were given the opportunity to vote on a photocopied ballot. The State’s Democratic Party sued the City for not providing enough ballots and asked for immediate action. Superior Court Judge Marshall K. Berger, Jr. made the ruling that the polls at 12 precincts would remain open until 10PM, two hours beyond the normal closing. During this extra time about 500 votes were cast. [Read more…] about The Nightmares from Bridgeport

Weekly Wrap Up

Election Law Society · January 28, 2011 ·

Emanuel got the green light for candidacy: Rahm Emanuel can run for Chicago mayor, after a unanimous decision by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Court found that he meets the residency requirements because he paid taxes and maintained a residence he planned to use as his permanent residence–even though he rented it out–in Chicago while working in the White House.

Every vote counts in Ohio: A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on January 27 that ballots improperly cast because of errors by poll workers must be counted in the judicial election in Hamilton County. Although the exact number of ballots that must now be counted is unknown, Democrats claim it could be in the hundreds. Republican John Williams currently leads by 23 votes.

Is there a fight brewing over Fair Districts in Florida?: In one of his first acts as governor, Rick Scott withdrew the request to the Justice Department to approve the redistricting amendments passed by voters in November. The amendments are also currently being challenged in court in a lawsuit filed by two U.S. Representatives from Florida.

over at the service

9th Circuit Panel Strikes Down Washington Disenfranchisement Law

Election Law Society · April 5, 2010 ·

The unending battle over felon disenfranchisement in Washington state has taken an interesting turn, as a three-judge 9th Circuit panel ruled 2-1 that Washington’s denial of voting rights to incarcerated felons is a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

This decision is directly counter to one issued just six months ago by a panel of 1st Circuit judges reviewing a case out of Massachusetts, Simmons v. Galvin, where that panel held 2-1 that Section 2 simply doesn’t apply to felon disenfranchisement. The glaring circuit split on this question makes this case a very strong candidate for en banc review at the 9th, and possibly ripe for a Supreme Court grant of certiorari thereafter (which would likely also address the very issue of whether the VRA applies to felon disenfranchisement at all, a question still very much unsettled).

The Washington case, originally filed in the mid-90s and now known as Farrakhan v. Gregoire, was brought by a convicted felon sentenced to a five-year term who objected to being denied the opportunity to vote in elections during his incarceration. The plaintiffs’ argument is based on the idea that the criminal justice system in Washington is itself racially biased in that “minorities are disproportionately prosecuted and sentenced,” and as such a deprivation of voting rights based on that allegedly biased system would violate the VRA. In 2003, during an earlier round of appeals, another three-judge panel held unanimously that the racial biases of a criminal justice system could be considered in a “totality of the circumstances” analysis of voting conditions. (Farrakhan v. Washington, 338 F.3d 1009, 1016, 9th Cir. 2003). On remand, the district judge did not consider the evidence to be sufficient to demonstrate a denial of the right to vote based on race, and Farrakhan appealed again. [Read more…] about 9th Circuit Panel Strikes Down Washington Disenfranchisement Law

The Bizarre History of Election Law: The Camden Election Riots of 1870

Election Law Society · February 8, 2010 ·

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.

In the previous “bizarre history” article, we discussed the various (and often hilarious) irregularities of Siskiyou County’s school superintendent election. Today, we are going to take a more solemn look at one of the strangest and most brutal attempts to disenfranchise black voters in American history.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Camden County New Jersey was a hotbed of racial strife. The black population of the county grew dramatically, as former slaves left their plantations and moved up North. As the black population grew, so did the anger of certain elements within the white community. This tension between the whites and blacks in Camden County came to a head during the 1870 Congressional election. For many of the newly freed slaves, it would be their first time voting. In Centreville, a small town in Camden County, whites feared that this sudden influx of freed slaves would have an irrevocable impact on local politics. So, they formed a mob and marched down to the polls to stop blacks from voting, anyway they could. [Read more…] about The Bizarre History of Election Law: The Camden Election Riots of 1870