State of Elections

William & Mary Law School | Election Law Society

in-depth article

Montana rebels against Citizens United

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Patrick Genova

in-depth article

It may be surprising that the biggest blow to corporations in 2011 didn’t come from Wall Street protestors. Late last month Montana’s Supreme Court took a swing at corporate spending in elections holding, in spite of the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee, that a 100-year-old law banning corporate spending was valid. In doing so, the court held that the lower court’s reading of Citizens United was erroneous. The Court in Citizens United said, “Laws burdening such speech are subject to strict scrutiny, which requires the Government to prove that the restriction ‘furthers a compelling interest and is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.’”

So what exactly should be considered a “compelling interest” for bans on political spending? The Supreme Court of Montana answers bluntly that they have met the standard of review set out in Citizens United. In assessing Chief Justice McGrath explains Montana’s long standing fight against corporate spending. [Read more…] about Montana rebels against Citizens United

Five Questions for political law attorney Chris DeLacy

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By Kevin Elliker

Chris DeLacy is a partner at Holland & Knight in Washington, DC, where he leads their Political Law Group and also serves as general counsel to the Holland & Knight Committee for Effective Government PAC. A graduate of William & Mary Law School, Mr. DeLacy has served as counsel and legal advisor to Senator John Warner, the Technology Subcommittee of the House Science Committee, and the Virginia General Assembly. As a political law attorney he advises clients on a number of political compliance issues, including campaign finance, Congressional gifts and travel, and lobbying. In November 2011 he visited William & Mary Law School, where he spoke to the W&M Election Law Society regarding his experience and expertise in political and election law.

When you spoke at the W&M Election Law Society’s luncheon event I was struck by the variety of issues you spoke of that related to the election law field. Could you discuss the array of cases that you see through your work that stem from your expertise in election and campaign finance law?

A political law practice touches on a wide-variety of legal issues including campaign finance, government ethics, lobbying compliance, pay-to-play, white collar, non-profit, and tax. It also involves a fair amount of non-legal advice related to politics and plain old common sense. I have handled cases that involve the Federal Election Commission, the Senate Ethics Committee, the Office of Congressional Ethics, Inspector General Investigations, Department of Justice investigations, the Maryland Board of Ethics, and the Texas Board of Ethics. However, the vast majority of my work involves advice related to political law compliance, which is intended to prevent issues from ever progressing to the investigation or enforcement stage. [Read more…] about Five Questions for political law attorney Chris DeLacy

Vote Centers are here to stay in Indiana

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by Shanna Reulbach

Indiana is one of several states pioneering vote centers, which are consolidated polling places open to any eligible voter in a locality. Vote centers came into existence in 2003, when Larimer County, Colorado first pioneered the configuration. Today, nine states have laws permitting vote centers, but Indiana was the first to use them on a large scale.

In 2006, the Indiana Secretary of State began a pilot program, allowing counties to test vote centers to determine if they would be an effective means of election day administration. Three counties, Cass, Tippecanoe, and Wayne, participated in the program from 2007 to 2010, and their reports prompted the state legislature to pass a bill during its 2011 session to enable all counties to adopt the vote center model as their permanent method for voting. [Read more…] about Vote Centers are here to stay in Indiana

North Dakota’s new voters

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by Thomas Joraanstad

In these difficult economic times, unemployment in the United States continues to hover around 9%. There is one place that has seemingly avoided the recession completely. In fact, this state is booming with jobs. The state is North Dakota. With new technology being developed in the oil and gas industry, oil reserves in the Bakken Formation once too difficult or expensive to tap are now being drilled at a furious rate. The unemployment rate in North Dakota is now around 3.5% as the state tries to keep pace with growth. Although North Dakota’s population grew only a modest 4.7% from 2000-2010 (compared with a nationwide average of 9.7%), the oil boom is a recent phenomenon, and the true population effects are still unknown.  In Williston, North Dakota, a town at the heart of the oil boom, the population grew 17.6% (to 14,716) during the same time period. Since the census, the population of Williston is now estimated to be around 20,000, a 60% increase since 2000. This population growth could have a major impact in the upcoming election in 2012.

With longtime incumbent Kent Conrad (D) set to retire, the seat will be open for the first time since 1987. When Conrad announced his retirement in January, most political commentators viewed this as a likely win for the Republicans. Although North Dakota has had at least one Democratic senator in office since 1982, North Dakotans are generally conservative, do not support President Obama (his approval rating is in the 30’s), and lean Republican. However, the influx of new citizens has given the Democrats hope in the upcoming elections. [Read more…] about North Dakota’s new voters

Politics and pictures: Rhode Island and its new voter ID law

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In elections past, Rhode Island has not required photo identification for a ballot to be counted. However, with the passage of a new law the state has at least superficially joined the ranks of states which have approved legislation that will hamper the voting rights of its most vulnerable citizens. Yet the truth may not be so simple. Rhode Island’s law is less restrictive and more benign than legislation passed by other states which may explain the unique politics behind the passage of RI’s new photo identification bill.

The law will be implemented in two stages. “The first stage will require non-photo ID beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The second stage will require photo ID beginning Jan. 1, 2014.”

For the upcoming 2012 election, voters are able to vote by establishing their identity through possession of forms of ID that do not have their photo, “including without limitation”: a birth certificate, social security card, or government-issued medical card. The language “without limitation” can reasonably be construed as meaning that “any current photo identification that includes the name and photograph of the voter will be accepted.” [Read more…] about Politics and pictures: Rhode Island and its new voter ID law