Republicans

John Doe is Dead – Wisconsin Supreme Court Denies Motion to Reconsider

Election Law Society · December 4, 2015 ·

By Dan Sinclair

It appears Wisconsin’s controversial “John Doe” investigations into conservative political groups is finally at an end. Again.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court Wednesday reaffirmed an earlier ruling that halted the investigations, declaring the acting special prosecutor has no grounds to continue investigation of groups suspected of illegally coordinating with the recall election campaigns of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Nebraska’s Death Penalty Saga: Referendum on the Plains

Election Law Society · November 16, 2015 ·

By: Eric Sutton

Background and the Referendum Process

On Wednesday, May 27^th, 2015, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature eliminated capital punishment through LB 268. The bill was approved over a veto by Governor Pete Ricketts, by a no-votes-to-spare 30-19 margin, and marked the end of State Senator Ernie Chambers’ 39-year effort to end the death penalty in Nebraska. The repeal made Nebraska the first conservative state to eliminate capital punishment in more than 40 years. However, immediately after the repeal, State Senator Beau McCoy, a conservative, expressed his frustration over the vote and announced his intent to pursue a ballot initiative to reinstate the death penalty. Less than one week after the repeal and Sen. McCoy’s statements, a group named Nebraskan’s for the Death Penalty (“NFDP”) filed the appropriate paperwork with the Secretary of State to reinstate the death penalty by referendum.

Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

Election Law Society · October 15, 2015 ·

By: Dan Sinclair

In 2008, in the wake of a legislative caucus scandal and partisan rulings by the state’s Elections Board, Wisconsin announced the formation of a new non-partisan ethics and elections agency. The Government Accountability Board (GAB), formed from the merger of the Elections Board and Wisconsin’s Ethics Board, was intended to provide an independent body capable of investigating criminal and civil violations of the state’s ethics and election laws free from the partisan and financial pitfalls that wracked its predecessors.

When States Gerrymander, Everyone Loses: The Fight Over Florida’s Fifth Congressional District

Election Law Society · October 5, 2015 ·

Florida’s Fifth Congressional District is quite a sight to behold. Beginning in Jacksonville, it runs south all the way to the outer edges of Orlando, also managing to scoop up part of Gainesville on the way. The District twists and turns, becoming very narrow and then very wide, so that one must wonder, what could be the motivation behind such an oddly shaped district? Unsurprisingly, the answer is gerrymandering. Unfortunately, the 5^th District is an example of gerrymandering at its worst but there is hope. The shape of the 5^th District may be changing very soon, but, in the meantime, nobody in either major political party will likely be happy with the district and average citizens are hurting when their community interests are not fairly represented.

UT: Count My Vote

Election Law Society · October 1, 2015 ·

By: Benjamin Ader

With a presidential election on the horizon, many state election offices and party organizations are beginning their process for electing nominees for various offices up for a vote. In Utah this will be a significant test for a new nomination process inspired by the Count My Vote (CMV) initiative. This movement was a response to the fact that Utah was one of seven states with a caucus system, but the only state that did not have any other means of getting a candidate on a ballot.

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