Law Commons^™

Florida On Trial: Federalism In The 2000 Presidential Election, Jon L. Mills

Jon L. Mills

This article analyzes how Florida's state election laws operated during the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. The intersection of law and politics in this controversy was critical. Political considerations affected decisions in both the Bush and Gore camps. The aftermath of the 2000 election found the federal government, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the State of Florida (among others) commissioning task forces and committees to investigate and suggest election reforms. Ultimately, the State of Florida passed significant election reform legislation. On May 10, 2001, Florida enacted sweeping election reform legislation entitled the Florida Election Reform Act of …

Tax Code Section 527 Groups Not An End-Run Around Mccain-Feingold, Edward B. Foley, Donald B. Tobin

Donald B. Tobin

This article ... will analyze both the statutory and constitutional questions concerning whether 527organizations are ‘‘political committees’’ under FECA and thus subject to the $5,000 cap on the contributions they receive from each donor. The article will also consider whether other forms of tax-exempt organizations besides 527s—most notably so-called 501(c)(4) organizations—provide an alternative means of circumventing this $5,000 contribution limit.

The Geography Of Racial Stereotyping: Evidence And Implications For Vra Preclearance After Shelby County, Christopher Elmendorf, Douglas Spencer

Douglas M. Spencer

The Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) effectively enjoined the preclearance regime of the Voting Rights Act. The Court deemed the coverage formula, which determines the jurisdictions subject to preclearance, insufficiently grounded in current conditions. This paper proposes a new, legally defensible approach to coverage based on between-state differences in the proportion of voting age citizens who subscribe to negative stereotypes about racial minorities and vote accordingly. The new coverage formula could also account for racially polarized voting and minority population size, but, for constitutional reasons, subjective discrimination by voters is the essential criterion. We demonstrate that the …

Political Advocacy And Taxable Entities: Are They The Next "Loophole"?, Donald B. Tobin

Donald B. Tobin

No abstract provided.

Campaign Disclosure And Tax-Exempt Entities: A Quick Repair To The Regulatory Plumbing, Donald B. Tobin

Donald B. Tobin

This article argues that there are some quick regulatory fixes the Treasury can implement to ensure that tax-exempt organizations are operating within the rules and that aggressive tax planning is not being used as a way to obfuscate rules for political organizations requiring disclosure. The article recommends that Treasury promulgate new regulations to require disclosure by tax-exempt entities of expenditures and contributions in excess of $25,000. The article also proposes that Treasury institute procedures to require tax-exempt organizations to file for exempt status, and to provide procedures for ensuring that these organizations meet the requirements in the statute and are …

Freedom Of Speech & Election Day At The Polls: Thou Doth Protest Too Much, James J. Woodruff Ii

James J. Woodruff II

This Article seeks to answer the following question: What are the actual limits the government can place on political speech at and around the polling place? In examining this question, this Article argues that some of the current limitations placed on polling-place activities are unconstitutional. Specifically, this Article focuses on the wearing of political slogans and images within the polling room and campaign-free zone and the placement of campaign signs within the campaign-free zone.

Instead Of Government Truth Police, A Wiser Course Is Informed Citizenry, Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

No abstract provided.

Citizens Disunited: Mccutcheon V. Federal Election Commission, Adam Lamparello

Adam Lamparello

The wealthy are democracy’s darlings, the middle class are its stepchildren, and the poor are its orphans. And the Constitution’s written and unwritten rights are alive for the wealthy, merely evolving for the middle class, and dead for the poor. Corporate giants like Goldman Sachs and AT&T line the pockets of senatorial candidates—and purchase influence—while average citizens walk into a polling station, often encounter voter suppression tactics, and cast a largely symbolic vote. Stated simply, we now live in a society of soft inequality. Like the “soft bigotry of low expectations,” soft inequality has created a liberty gap between the …

Citizens United, States Divided: An Empirical Analysis Of Independent Political Spending, Douglas Spencer, Abby Wood

Douglas M. Spencer

What effect has Citizens United v. FEC had on independent spending in American politics? Previous attempts to answer this question have focused solely on federal elections where there is no baseline for comparing changes in spending behavior. We overcome this limitation by examining the effects of Citizens United as a natural experiment on the states. Before Citizens United about half of the states banned corporate independent expenditures and thus were “treated” by the Supreme Court’s decision, which invalidated these state laws. We rely on recently released state-level data to compare spending in “treated” states to spending in the “control” states …

Independent Redistricting Commissions For Cities: Redistricting Need Not Be A Quintessentially Political Process, Robert Stephen Bickerstaff

Robert Stephen Bickerstaff

No abstract provided.

Epilogue: Some Sober Second Thoughts, Christopher Hoebeke

Christopher H Hoebeke

No abstract provided.

The Paradox Of Popular Sovereignty: An Introductory Essay, Christopher Hoebeke

Christopher H Hoebeke

No abstract provided.

Structuring Big Data To Facilitate Participation In International Law, Roslyn Fuller

Roslyn Fuller

This is an interdisciplinary article focusing on the interplay between information and communication technology (ICT) and international law (IL). Its purpose is to open up a dialogue between ICT and IL practitioners that focuses on the ways in which ICT can enhance equitable participation in international legal structures, particularly through capturing the possibilities associated with big data. This depends on the ability of individuals to access big data, for it to be structured in a manner that makes it accessible and for the individual to be able to take action based on it.

High Courts And Election Law Reform In The United States And India, Manoj Mate

Manoj S. Mate