Election Law Commons^™

Inventing Equal Sovereignty, Leah M. Litman

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder relied on the “fundamental principle” and “historic tradition” of equal sovereignty to hold one of the Voting Rights Act’s key provisions unconstitutional. Yet almost three years after Shelby County, and despite a recent wave of equal sovereignty challenges to major federal programs, the equal sovereignty principle remains largely unexamined. This Article seeks to provide some clarity—both to establish the contours of the equal sovereignty doctrine and to evaluate whether it is a sound rule of constitutional federalism. The principle of equal sovereignty, as initially articulated by courts and subsequently …

Voters’ Choice Showed Their Pragmatic Side, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The electoral victory by the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Murali Pillai in Saturday’s by-election in Bukit Batok did not come as a surprise. Mr Murali won 61.2 per cent of the votes, defeating Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) Chee Soon Juan in a straight fight.

Will The Real Candidate Please Stand Up?: Political Parody On The Internet, Jon H. Oram

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

The Hatch Act Modernization Act: Putting The Government Back In Politics, Shannon D. Azzaro

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

De Facto Class Actions? Plaintiff- And Defendant-Oriented Injunctions In Election Law, Voting Rights And Other Constitutional Cases, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Keeping Up With New Legal Titles, Tina M. Brooks

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In this book review, Tina M. Brooks discusses Voters' Verdicts: Citizens, Campaigns, and Institutions in State Supreme Court Elections by Chris W. Bonneau and Damon M. Cann.

Judging Judicial Elections, Michael S. Kang, Joanna M. Shepherd

Michigan Law Review

Melinda Gann Hall’s new book Attacking Judges: How Campaign Advertising Influences State Supreme Court Elections suggests what seems impossible to many of us—a powerful defense of today’s partisan judicial elections. As judicial races hit new levels of campaign spending and television advertising, there has been a flood of criticism about the increasing partisanship, negativity, and role of money. In view of the “corrosive effect of money on judicial election campaigns” and “attack advertising,” the American Bar Association (ABA) recommends against judicial elections, which are currently used to select roughly 90 percent of state judges. Justice O’Connor, who has championed judicial-election …

A National Model Faces New Challenges: The New York City Campaign Finance System And The 2013 Elections, Janos Marton

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Empowering Small Donors: New York City’S Multiple Match Public Financing As A Model For A Post-Citizens United World, Amy Loprest, Bethany Perskie

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Dark Money Rises: Federal And State Attempts To Rein In Undisclosed Campaign-Related Spending, Kristy Eagan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Campaign Finance Advisory Opinions At The State Level, Allen Dickerson, Zac Morgan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Martin E. Connor

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Public’S Right To Know Versus Compelled Speech: What Does Social Science Research Tell Us About The Benefits And Costs Of Campaign Finance Disclosure In Non-Candidate Elections?, Dick Carpenter, Jeffrey Milyo

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Saving Democracy: A Blueprint For Reform In The Post-Citizens United Era, Jocelyn Benson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Since the founding of our democracy, attempts to curb the influence of money in the political process consistently fall short of their goal. In fact, a growing number of cynics see campaign finance reform—or any effort to reduce the impact of money in the political process—as inherently doomed to fail. With the recent dearth of meaningful campaign finance reform on the federal level in the post-Citizens United era, reform advocates must look to the states to explore and enact changes to the law that will promote a healthier role for money in politics. This Article reviews efforts to reform government …

Limiting Political Contributions After Mccutcheon, Citizens United, And Speechnow, Albert W. Alschuler

Florida Law Review

There was something unreal about the opinions in McCutcheon v. FEC. These opinions examined a series of strategies for circumventing the limits on contributions to candidates imposed by federal election law, but they failed to notice that the limits were no longer breathing. The D.C. Circuit’s decision in SpeechNow.org v. FEC had created a far easier way to evade the limits than any of those the Supreme Court discussed. SpeechNow held all limits on contributions to super PACs unconstitutional.

This Article argues that the D.C. Circuit erred; Citizens United v. FEC did not require unleashing super PAC contributions. The …

From Mainstreaming To Marginalization?--Idea's De Facto Segregation Consequences And Prospects For Restoring Equity In Special Education, Kerrigan O'Malley

University of Richmond Law Review

Part I of this comment provides an overview of IDEA provisions and implementation regulations followed by a review of judicial interpretations in landmark IDEA service delivery cases, specifically the Supreme Court's Rowley ruling. Drawing upon both le-gal and educational scholarship, this analysis then assesses how IDEA's aspirational equality goals ultimately devolved into de facto segregation in special education. Part II considers factors resulting from the Supreme Court's tuition reimbursement rulings that trend away from IDEA's original equality purpose and integration preference to compromise equality in four ways: creating a means-based bias in private school placement; undermining IDEA's cooperative paradigm and …

When “Testing The Waters” Tests The Limits Of Coordination Restrictions: Revising Fec Regulations To Limit Pre-Candidacy Coordination, Marc E. Klepner

Fordham Law Review

During the preliminary stages of the 2016 presidential election, many prospective candidates took an active role in the Super PACs that would eventually support them after they became candidates. The regulatory system in place provides clear restrictions on Super PACs’ abilities to coordinate with candidates; however, what is less clear is whether such regulations restrict the behavior of individuals during pre-candidacy, known under Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations as the “testing-the-waters” phase. This Note gives an overview of the laws and regulations governing Super PACs, as well as the regulations and FEC guidance concerning when an individual becomes a candidate. …

Will Tan Cheng Bock’S “Political Gambit” For Presidency Pay Off?, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong described Dr Tan’s move as a “calculated political gambit”, which came as a nine-member Constitutional Commission is reviewing the Elected Presidency framework, including the eligibility criteria for candidates. Mr Goh added that Dr Tan risked being misunderstood that he was trying to influence the Commission’s work.

Election Law Federalism, Justin Weinstein-Tull

Michigan Law Review

This Article provides the first comprehensive account of non-Voting Rights Act federal voting laws. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act—long the most effective voting rights law in American history—was disabled by the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is in the crosshairs. As the Supreme Court becomes more hostile to race-based antidiscrimination laws like the Voting Rights Act, Congress will turn to race-neutral, election administration-based reforms to strengthen the right to vote. Indeed, many proposals for reform post-Shelby County have taken this form. The federal laws this Article examines—the National Voter …

Neutral Principles And Some Campaign Finance Problems, John O. Mcginnis

William & Mary Law Review

This Article has both positive and normative objectives. As a positive matter, it shows that the Roberts Court’s campaign finance regulation jurisprudence can be best explained as a systematic effort to integrate that case law with the rest of the First Amendment, making the neutral principles refined in other social contexts govern this more politically salient one as well. It demonstrates that the typical Roberts Court majority in campaign finance cases follows precedent, doctrine, and traditional First Amendment theory, while the dissents tend to carve out exceptions at each of these levels.

As a normative matter, it argues that following …

A First Amendment Right To Observe Elections: Fulfilling The Dream Of Richmond Newspapers By Extending It To The Polling Place, Andrew D. Howell

Catholic University Law Review

The First Amendment has long been held to protect the right of citizens to gather information. In 1980, the Supreme Court articulated a two-pronged test in Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, which examined both the “experience” and “logic” of granting public access to criminal trials. The jurisprudence of lower courts has since extended this qualified First Amendment presumptive right of access to civil trial and administrative hearings. This Comment examines the extension of this constitutional test to the governmental process at work at polling places. This Comment argues that the public, via the powerful vehicle of the press, ultimately meets …

The New Elections Clause, Michael T. Morley

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

The Elections Clause and Presidential Electors Clause are the sources of a wide range of constitutional doctrines concerning federal elections. While Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, on its face, addresses only the meaning of “Legislature” in the Elections Clause and the validity of redistricting commissions, the Court’s broad reasoning sweeps much further. This Essay offers a first analysis of the “new” Elections Clause in the wake of this ruling.

The New Elections Clause, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Upholding The Integrity Of The Ncmp Scheme, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Last Friday’s combative parliamentary debate on filling Ms Lee Li Lian’s vacated Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat offered a foretaste of the dynamics between the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Workers’ Party’s (WP) in the 13th Parliament.

Thou Shalt Not Electioneer: Religious Nonprofit Political Activity And The Threat “God Pacs” Pose To Democracy And Religion, Jonathan Backer

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC invalidated a longstanding restriction on corporate and union campaign spending in federal elections, freeing entities with diverse political goals to spend unlimited amounts supporting candidates for federal office. Houses of worship and other religious nonprofits, however, remain strictly prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity as a condition of tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3). Absent this “electioneering prohibition,” religious nonprofits would be very attractive vehicles for political activity. These 501(c)(3) organizations can attract donors with the incentive of tax deductions for contributions. Moreover, houses of worship need …

First Amendment Freeze Play: Bennett'S Strategy For Entrenching Inequality, Frank A. Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Quick And Dirty: The New Misreading Of The Voting Rights Act, Justin Levitt

Florida State University Law Review

The role of race in the apportionment of political power is one of the thorniest problems at the heart of American democracy, and reappears with dogged consistency on the docket of the Supreme Court. Most recently, the Court resolved a case from Alabama involving the Voting Rights Act and the appropriate use of race in redistricting. But though the Court correctly decided the narrow issue before it, the litigation posture of the case hid the fact that Alabama is part of a disturbing pattern. Jurisdictions like Alabama have been applying not the Voting Rights Act, but a ham-handed cartoon of …

A "Checklist Manifesto" For Election Day: How To Prevent Mistakes At The Polls, Joshua A. Douglas

Florida State University Law Review

Mistakes happen—especially at the polls on Election Day. To fix this complex problem inherent in election administration, this Article proposes the use of simple checklists. Errors occur in every election, yet many of them are avoidable. Poll workers should have easy-to-use tools to help them on Election Day as they handle throngs of voters. Checklists can assist poll workers in pausing during a complex process to avoid errors. This is a simple idea with a big payoff: fewer lost votes, shorter lines at the polls, a reduction in post-election litigation, and smoother election administration. Further, unlike many other suggested election …

The Nineteenth Amendment Enforcement Power (But First, Which One Is The Nineteenth Amendment, Again?), Steve Kolbert

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contingent Constitutionality, Legislative Facts, And Campaign Finance Law, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

Many of the Supreme Court's important holdings concerning campaign finance law are not pure matters of constitutional interpretation. Rather, they are "contingent" constitution- al determinations: the Court's conclusions rest in substantial part on legislative facts about the world that the Court finds, intuits, or assumes to be true. While earlier commentators have recognized the need to improve legislative factfinding by the Supreme Court, other aspects of its treatment of legislative facts-particularly in the realm of campaign finance- require reform as well. Stare decisis purportedly insulates the Court's purely legal holdings and interpretations from future challenge. Factually contingent constitutional rulings should, …