State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

in-depth article

Election plans fail

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by Timothy Huffstutter

At least one plan for selecting judges in Tennessee is now totally off the table. For my previous posts on the debate in the Tennessee General Assembly see here and here. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee voted 7-7 on Representative Glen Casada’s (R-Franklin) plan to elect judges and justices in contested elections. As a result of the tie vote, one vote shy of the majority needed to advance the bill, legislators now have only two proposals in front of them.

Casada was clearly displeased with the rejection of his proposal: “I’m disappointed to say the least.”  He went on to contend that “[t]he constitution governs how we do business and do public policy in the state. To be out of compliance is wrong. If you can’t comply with the most basic, how can you trust us to comply with other parts of the law as well?” Executive Director of the Tennessee Bar Association Allan Ramsaur was not convinced: “Let’s get away from this myth that what we have is not an elected system. We do elect judges, we just don’t have contests which lead to partisanship and big money influence.”

Now, Tennessee legislators are considering the two remaining plans in the rush before the legislative session ends at the end of April. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) hopes that legislators will approve both plans and then come back in the next session to make a final decision. The first proposal amends the state constitution to explicitly provide for the current system—the so-called Tennessee Plan. The second proposal would mirror the federal judicial selection system (nomination by the executive with confirmation from the upper house of the legislature).

Legislators have to make a decision before the end of this legislative session. Should the Tennessee Senate approve both plans, then the new General Assembly, which will convene in January 2013, could pick up the stalemate. If the General Assembly fails to make any decision, then the debate will rage on into the next session.

For further coverage see the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Missouri News Horizon.

Timothy Huffstutter is a third-year student at William and Mary Law.

Permalink: http://stateofelections.pages.wm.edu/?p=4346

He was declared the father of barrys child http://www.pro-academic-writers.com and ordered to pay maintenance?

Fashion Frenzy: Passive Electioneering and the Right to Vote

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by Latisha Woodford

On Election Day, after you have rushed to the polls, how would you feel to be turned away because of your apparel? The regulation of voter apparel posed a real issue for residents in Pennsylvania. Residents of the state were prohibited from voting because they were wearing T-shirts endorsing candidates for office in the polling place. Subsequently, the electioneering battlegrounds were drawn, and the effects on the right to vote involved passive electioneering. Passive electioneering refers to the method of influencing voters by wearing campaign t-shirts or carrying pamphlets to the voting location.

Section 1220(c) of the Pennsylvania election code prohibits electioneering but the state law does not define the term. Subsequently, defining the scope of the term has been left to the individual interpretation of the County Boards of Elections. Local counties have interpreted the term differently. Many Pennsylvania counties, including Philadelphia and Allegheny, have long allowed voters to vote wearing clothing, stickers, and buttons endorsing candidates and there have been no disruptions or significant problems. These counties follow the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Department of State. In a memorandum  to the County Boards of Election the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State recommended that voters be allowed to electioneer by passive methods. The Department believes that as long as the voters take no additional steps to attempt to influence voters in the polling place the right of the franchise should not be denied.

The memorandum resulted in pending litigation. The result of the pending case, Kraft v. Harhut, should end the statewide debate. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania  (ACLU) seeks to join the Commonwealth in challenging any effort to enforce a statewide dress code for voters. The ACLU does not endorse a narrow interpretation of the term electioneering. The ACLU opined that sustaining a narrow interpretation would implicate the First Amendment free speech rights. The primary concern of the ACLU is not to turn a registered voter away from the polls as well as the possibility of the rule to be applied in a discriminatory fashion. Nevertheless Lawrence County observes a narrow interpretation. The county will not allow passive electioneering and has turned away voters dressed in party endorsing apparel.

The argument for the implementation of a statewide dress code will rest heavily on the lower court’s interpretation of the state law. Lawrence County does not wish to make a distinction for lesser forms of electioneering. Also the pending lawsuit claims that allowing voters to wear partisan–affiliated clothing would affect the health and safety of voters. These arguments certainly may pass muster. The Supreme Court has historically held that restricting free speech at a polling place may be necessary to make sure voters may freely exercise a right to vote for the candidate of their choice. It is also well–established that the state has the right to protect voters from any confusion and undue influence within the polling place.

Whether party-endorsing apparel promotes an unsafe environment for voters remains unanswered. How the court will strike a balance remains questionable.

 

Latisha Woodford is a second-year student at William and Mary Law. 

Permalink: http://stateofelections.pages.wm.edu/?p=4302

maneuver over here

Total Recall: Great Movie, Dangerous Political Process

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By Joe Figueroa 

Fresh off of a convincing 52-46 electoral victory, a young, dynamic politician has recently come under fire for the passage of a bill that he considers to be a hallmark of his legacy.

And it is not President Obama.

True, the parallels between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the 44th President are noteworthy.  But unlike Mr. Obama, a quirky yet significant electoral procedure stands in the way of Governor Walker even completing his first term in office.

Following Wisconsin law, multiple public committees have been formed to gather the requisite number of voter signatures needed to hold a recall election of Governor Walker.  One of those committees has already submitted a signature petition that is estimated to have twice the amount of the 540,000 signatures needed to hold an election.

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has yet to verify the signatures or officially call an election.  But the day is coming.  If there are a sufficient number of valid signatures, a recall election will be held in May (if only one or two candidates file) or June (if more than two file). [Read more…] about Total Recall: Great Movie, Dangerous Political Process

Two Wisconsin Voter ID Cases Demonstrate the Need for the Right to Vote in the U.S. Constitution

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by Guest Contributor Elise Helgesen of FairVote

On March 6th, the Wisconsin Circuit Court in Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP v. Walker, granted a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing a voter ID law in the upcoming primary election. Then, on March 13, a second Circuit Court judge struck down the same voter ID law in League of Women Voters v. Walker. The courts proceeded with similar, yet differentiated, analyses of the law in finding that Act 23, Wisconsin’s 2011 voter ID law, was unconstitutional based on the Wisconsin Constitution’s affirmative right to vote – a right unfortunately not found in the U.S. Constitution.

The holdings of these two cases are important in looking to other states’ voter ID laws. For courts to hold that the right to vote is fundamental, the right to vote must be stated unequivocally in each states’ constitution, and it must be explicitly protected from legislation trying to abridge that right. FairVote supports an amendment creating an affirmative right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. If the right to vote were incorporated not only into every state constitution, but also into the U.S. Constitution, governments would have to prove that such forms of voter ID laws are necessary to a compelling state interest. To justify restrictive voter ID laws that unduly burden qualified voters’ constitutional right to take cast their ballots the legislature would need to put forth a more narrowly tailored regulation – one which did not effectively disenfranchise eligible voters.

Both courts were clear that Act 23 was unlawful; however, both were also clear that voter ID laws could be upheld under different circumstances. The court in League of Women Voters v. Walker stated that, “this court does not hold that photo ID requirements under all circumstances and in all forms are unconstitutional per se. Rather, the holding is simply that the disqualification of qualified electors from casting votes in any election where they do not timely produce photo ID’s satisfying Act 23’s requirements violates Article III, Sections 1 and 2 the Wisconsin Constitution.” Likewise, NAACP v. Walker distinguished Act 23 from other voter ID laws because Act 23 was overly restrictive and did not allow for alternative means of proving identification or of casting a provisional ballot. [Read more…] about Two Wisconsin Voter ID Cases Demonstrate the Need for the Right to Vote in the U.S. Constitution

Update: Nordstrom out, ELEC in, Lyon still unelected (for now)

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by Kevin Elliker

Charles Dudley Warner wrote, “Politics make strange bedfellows.” When a candidate who violated campaign finance laws is joined in a lawsuit by the agency in charge of enforcing against such violations, politics must be involved.

In November, I wrote about the debacle in the Republican primary election for freeholder in Morris County, New Jersey.  At that time, a Superior Court judge overturned 23-year-old Hank Lyon’s 6-vote victory over incumbent Margaret Nordstrom in the June primary election. Judge Weisenbeck found that Lyon violated New Jersey campaign finance laws when he failed to submit certain donations and expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), and voided the primary election in favor of a party convention to choose the nominee. The convention selected Nordstrom, who went on to victory in the November general election before Lyon’s appeal could be heard.

Just prior to the election, the Appellate Division granted ELEC permission to intervene as a respondent to the lawsuit. (Non-lawyers: this means the court allowed ELEC to join the pre-existing lawsuit as a party that can claim an interest in the case which will not undermine the original suit). ELEC argued that Judge Weisenbeck overstepped his jurisdiction and that the agency should resolve election disputes such as this. [Read more…] about Update: Nordstrom out, ELEC in, Lyon still unelected (for now)