Election-Campaign Law

Alabama: federal judge grants injunction against law which would stop AEA from dues collection through payroll deduction

Posted on March 18, 2011
The Huntsville Times reports: A federal judge issued a temporary injunction this afternoon halting a new state law that could potentially cripple a statewide teachers' organization. U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith issued the injunction against a law passed by the...

Wilcox County, Alabama: vote-buying charge

Posted on March 17, 2011
WSFA-TV reports: The Chairman of the Wilcox County Board of Education has been indicted by a grand jury on the charge of vote buying. According to District Attorney Michael Jackson, Clifford "Don" Twilley, the Chairman of the Wilcox County Board...

Alabama: AEA sues over payroll deduction of dues

Posted on February 28, 2011
Courthouse News Service reports: Alabama's lame-duck governor called a special session at which he rammed through an unconstitutional law, under the guise of "ethics reform," which prohibits teachers from allowing automatic payroll deductions for union dues, and makes union members...

Shelby County, Alabama: the supplemental briefing

Posted on February 20, 2011
The Birmingham News reports: A decision on whether key sections of the Voting Rights Act remain constitutional 47 years after it was passed may hinge on whether it was appropriate for Congress not to update which parts of the country...

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Alabama: Census numbers due next week

Posted on February 18, 2011
The Gadsden Times reports: The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday said it will release Alabama?s 2010 population numbers next week, kicking off the legislative process to redraw federal and state election districts. Redistricting is one of the most political of...

Alabama: Jerome Gray's quiet civil-right career

Posted on February 13, 2011
The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Unlike his contemporaries who took to the streets to pro­test racial inequities, Jerome Gray opted to use his organiza­tional skills and quiet persever­ance to do the same thing. In fact, the 72-year-old former field director for...

One day, Title 52 USC

Posted on February 09, 2011
The Office of Law Revision Counsel reports on the codification of "voting and elections" laws: The bill gathers provisions related to voting and elections and restates these provisions as a new positive law title of the United States Code. The...

Alabama: gambling-related PACs closing up

Posted on February 07, 2011
The Birmingham News reports: A network of political action committees has been partially dismantled, months after helping to funnel nearly $6.3 million from gambling interests into 2010 political campaigns, financial disclosure forms show. Since the Nov...

"Drawing Democracy Fairly"

Posted on February 07, 2011
In commemoration of the 46th Anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" and the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, please join us in Selma on Saturday, March 5th from 9:30-11:00 for an important panel, "Drawing Democracy Fairly: Minority Voting Rights On the...

Shelby County: VRA challenge argued

Posted on February 03, 2011
The Birmingham News reports: Lawyers for Shelby County asked a federal judge in Washington today to declare two key parts of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional because Congress relied on old voting statistics when it extended the historic civil rights...

Shelby County: VRA challenge argument in DC

Posted on January 31, 2011
The Birmingham News reports: Shelby County will be at the forefront of the national debate over whether minorities, especially in the South, still face discrimination at the ballot box when a judge this week hears the county's arguments that parts...

Marshall Co, Alabama: GOP does not want one party switcher

Posted on January 08, 2011
The Huntsvile Times reports: Marshall County Republicans have asked Circuit Judge Howard Hawk, who announced a switch to the GOP in December, to switch back to the Democratic Party. In a special meeting Monday, the 27 members present of the...

Dothan, AL: another legislator with a two-job problem

Posted on December 25, 2010
The Dothan Eagle reports: An attorney general?s opinion has raised some questions about Alabama Rep. Dexter Grimsley?s eligibility to serve in the Legislature, but Grimsley says it?s all smoke and no fire. Grimsley, a newly-elected Democrat representing Alabama House District...

R.I.P.: James A. Head

Posted on December 22, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: James A. Head, a prominent businessman and a key leader in pushing for racial progress in Birmingham, died Tuesday after a brief hospitalization. He was 106 years old. From a hardscrabble childhood, Mr. Head, who never...

Tuscaloosa businessman forgets about copyright law in his political message

Posted on December 08, 2010
The Tuscaloosa News reports: A Tuscaloosa businessman who put up billboards lauding the defeat of Democrats around the country in the Nov. 2 election ran afoul of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. after using the company's logo in the...

Alabama: the anti-stimulus bill?

Posted on December 08, 2010
The Montgomery Advertiser reports: A proposed ethics crackdown that would limit spending on public officials could have a huge impact on Montgomery restaurant owners, causing some to shutter their doors and costing the area hundreds of jobs, Montgomery Mayor Todd...

Arab, AL: no more political sponorships of high school football; will anti-sign ordinance be enforced?

Posted on December 07, 2010
The Arab Tribune reports: Political candidates can no longer sponsor Arab High School football games, and Mayor Gary Beam will discuss with the council what to do about political signs at polling places on election day. As it is, political...

Jefferson Co, AL: Nell Hunter has retired after servicing 47 years as voter registrar

Posted on December 03, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Nell Hunter has a cold, but the only reason she's home on this chilly December morning is that she retired last month from the Jefferson County Board of Registrars office after more than 40 years as...

Huntsville: proposal to confiscate illegal signs

Posted on December 03, 2010
The Huntsville Times reports: Huntsville City Councilman Bill Kling says he wants to invoke the "death penalty" on campaign signs placed too close to the street. During this year's elections, city code enforcement officers confiscated hundreds of rogue political signs...

A report from Election Protection

Posted on December 01, 2010
Below is a rundown of some of the issues Election Protection volunteers dealt with on Election Day: OHIO Election Protection volunteers and legal experts on the ground in Cleveland reported massive crowds, long lines and improper enforcement of voting policies...

R.I.P. -- Annie Lee Cooper

Posted on November 26, 2010
The Selma Times-Journal reports: Annie Lee Cooper, a civil rights hero, died Wednesday afternoon at Vaughan Regional Medical Center. She was 100 years old. Cooper became known worldwide in 1965 for a confrontation with Sheriff James G. Clark. Historian David...

Shelby County: summary of DOJ and amicus arguments

Posted on November 25, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: The U.S. Justice Department and civil rights advocates representing black voters in Shelby County have asked a federal judge to uphold the historic Voting Rights Act as a fair and still-necessary deterrent to bias at the....

Jefferson Co., AL: recount for judge race, completed

Posted on November 24, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: A recount in the race for Place 20 on Jefferson County Circuit Court gave Julie Palmer an additional 410 votes and a long-awaited victory in the election that took place on Nov. 2. The automatic recount...

Alabama: Iron Bowl tickets as an ethics problem

Posted on November 23, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Jim Metrock pulled out a binder. Inside was page after page of contact information for members of the Alabama Legislature, with symbols and codes that only he can decipher. This is how he tracks which legislators...

Jefferson Co., AL: recount for judge race

Posted on November 23, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Jefferson County will conduct a recount Tuesday of ballots cast Nov. 2 for the Circuit Court Place 20 contest, Probate Judge Alan King, the county's chief election official, said Monday. The state canvassing board certified statewide...

Alabama: defense funds for indicted senators

Posted on November 23, 2010
The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Legal defense funds are be­ing established to help defray the legal costs of two state sena­tors indicted for allegedly par­ticipating in a vote-buying scheme in the Alabama Legisla­ture. Supporters have already es­tablished a legal defense fund...

"The quiet authority of John Doar"

Posted on November 21, 2010
The Anniston Star comments: John Doar puts a lot of value in the softly spoken word. He doesn?t bark or scold, he could never be accused of thundering orders. He merely explains in a gentle way that carries forward an...

Lauderdale and Lawrence counties: authomatic recounts

Posted on November 16, 2010
The Times Daily reports: Recounts on Monday put to rest two northwest Alabama elections that were left unsettled after the Nov. 2 general election. In both cases, the incumbents will continue to serve. Lauderdale County District 1 Commissioner D.C. Thornton,...

Madison Co: returning polling places to schools

Posted on November 16, 2010
The Huntsville Times reports: The Madison County Commission wants voters to return to schools to cast their ballots in future elections when students are not in class. The commission this morning approved a resolution asking that local school systems starting...

Alabama: suit to remove Bentley from ballot dismissed

Posted on October 30, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: A lawsuit aimed at tossing Republican Robert Bentley off next week's general election ballot was itself tossed Friday by a Jefferson County judge. Circuit Judge Nicole "Nikki" Still ruled that Alabama law does not give her...

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