Voting Rights ActThis category will include postings on the VRA extension and various court decisions interpreting the Voting Rights Act. von Spakovsky Gets It Wrong…Yet Again Hans von Spakovsky is telling anyone who will listen that the Indiana voter ID case was a complete vindication of his approval of a Georgia voter ID bill while at the Justice Department. Misleading and factually inaccurate statements like this are what have undermined his chances of confirmation from the outset. CLC Blog Update: Cases of Interest It is a busy time in campaign finance and election law, with a growing number of cases on court dockets around the country, particularly those challenging existing campaign finance laws. With all the new developments, it seemed a particularly good time to update our “Cases of Interest,” providing a brief summary of pertinent cases and the Campaign Legal Center’s involvement. Break Provides No Breakthrough on FEC Standoff The Easter recess has come and gone and the Federal Election Commission is still held hostage by President Bush and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The two have presented Senators with a Hobson’s choice — either vote for an individual who is wholly unworthy of Senate confirmation, or refuse to let this nomination go through and thus allow the commission charged with enforcing federal campaign laws to be brought to a halt during an election year. 50% Rule Gets Its Day in the High Court A redistricting case out of North Carolina accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court today could have a significant impact not only on voting rights law, but also on drawing districts (congressional, legislative, and local government) nationwide. The Court granted a petition for certiorari in Bartlett v. Strickland, which is likely to have a significant effect on the post-2010 round of redistricting. "He Said, She Said" at the EAC In the face of two directly contradictory accounts by two EAC Commissioners regarding significant outside pressure to suppress a report on voter fraud (possibly from the Bush White House or from Capitol Hill), the Inspector General punted. Super Tuesday was a Super Mess in New Mexico on Tuesday Caucus voting. In numerous polling places all across the nation on Super Tuesday, Americans faced hurdles of varying sizes as they went to cast their votes. Campaign Legal Center Policy Director Meredith McGehee’s mother Jackie relates her experience in New Mexico that offers a glimpse of her own perseverance as well a snapshot of the Election Day tribulations that have contributed to steadily falling voter turnout. Making Sense of Lopez Torres The Supreme Court’s opinion in New York State Board of Election, et al. v. Lopez Torres, et al. is a problematic decision. This result is perhaps inevitable given that the case involved a problematic New York state law requiring political parties to nominate judicial candidates through a hybrid primary election-convention process. The holding, however, will hopefully have limited application to voting rights cases not connected to the party primary process, such as the Indiana voter identification case still pending before the high court. Is DOJ Still Steeped in Politics? Some of the details by some in the Bush Administration to politicize the Justice Department’s law enforcement efforts are now well known, thanks in large measure to Senate and House Judiciary hearings held last year. Those hearings should continue in the year ahead for a couple of reasons. von Spakovsky Nomination Should be Withdrawn Too often the FEC is hamstrung by the partisan make-up of the Commission, but even a weak enforcement entity is far better than no enforcement entity at all. The current impasse must be resolved, especially given the fact that it is an election year. At this juncture, the ball is in President Bush’s court. FEC Impasse Continues Yesterday, the Senate left town without voting on the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to a six-year term on the Federal Election Commission. With the Senate set to adjourn the first session of the 110th Congress, Hans von Spakovsky’s recess appointment to the FEC will expire. |
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