Election-Campaign Law

Alabama: is write-in campaign a dirty trick?

Posted on October 30, 2010
The Mobile Press Register reports: Republican Robert Bentley's gubernatorial campaign said Friday that his Democratic opponent, Ron Sparks, is behind web sites promoting write-in votes for Bentley's former GOP rival, Bradley Byrne. "This is an obvious attempt to suppress Republican...

Montgomery AL: burglars steal computers from GOP

Posted on October 30, 2010
The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Unknown suspects broke into the Montgomery County Republican headquarters over­night Thursday, stealing nine laptop computers that could contain sensitive information, and scrawling "Vote Dem" on two walls. The last volunteer left at about 8:15 p...

DOJ Voting Section advertises for analysts

Posted on October 29, 2010
The Voting Section has today posted ads seeking to fill additional civil rights analyst positions. Click on the links below for the ads; they describe the procedures for applying. Ad #1 http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=91768076&JobTitle=Civil+Rights+Analyst&q=%22voting+section%3f%22&where=&x=0&y=0&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=Y&FedPub=Y&AVSDM=2010-10-29+00%3a03%3a00">Ad #2 Ad #3 Ad #4...

Sumter Co., AL: high number of absentee-ballot requests

Posted on October 29, 2010
The Tuscaloosa News reports: West Alabama's absentee ballot hot spot may have shifted from Greene and Hale counties to Sumter County this year and Sumter County Circuit Clerk Edmond Bell wants something done about it. "There have been a lot...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

DOJ to monitor polls in 18 states

Posted on October 29, 2010
From a Justice Department press release: The Justice Department announced today that its Civil Rights Division plans to deploy more than 400 federal observers and department personnel to 30 jurisdictions in 18 states for the Nov. 2, 2010, general election...

Alabama: Bentley returning contributions, faces suit to disqualify

Posted on October 28, 2010
AP reports that Dr. Robert Bentley has returned excess contributions to 8 corporations after a complaint from Dr. Jimmy Blake, former Birmingham city council member. Blake has also filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court seeking to disqualify Bentley on...

Alabama: unreported funds moving from PAC to PAC

Posted on October 28, 2010
The Press Register reports: The single largest campaign contribution that state Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker got this year was a $100,000 check he accepted from a political action committee set up by his campaign spokesman. But the original source...

Pike Co, Ala: suspended sentence for election fraud

Posted on October 27, 2010
The Troy Messenger reports: Former Pike County Commissioner Karen Berry?s plea arrangement netted her a sentence without jail time for a felony conviction of absentee ballot fraud and first-degree perjury. In a sentence handed down Tuesday by Judge Thomas Head,...

Alabama: 1.1% increase in voter registration

Posted on October 27, 2010
The Gadsden Times reports: Voter registration in Alabama increased little since the summer, and it may portend an average election turnout on Tuesday. Statewide, the number of active registered voters increased by only 1.1 percent since August, from 2...

Alabama: Justice Tom Parker demands removal of slanderous ad about his taxes

Posted on October 27, 2010
The Mobile Press Register reports: Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker today demanded that his Democratic opponent pull a "slanderous and defamatory" TV ad that claims Parker does not pay his taxes. The ad for Mac Parsons, a judge in...

Alabama: Justice Tom Parker returning some of gambling-tainted contributions

Posted on October 26, 2010
The Mobile Press Register reports: Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker said today that he would return campaign contributions that came from a political action committee that raised its funds from gambling interests. Parker, a Republican seeking a second term...

Mobile: 6000 voters will hae to go to two polling places

Posted on October 26, 2010
Voters in Mobile's District 6 may have to go to two polling sites | al.com The Mobile Press Register reports: About 6,000 voters in Mobile City Council District 6 will have to go to two different polling places on Nov....

Alabama: most of Justice Bolin's money from 4 PACs

Posted on October 25, 2010
The Mobile Press Register reports: From mid-April until mid-September, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin raised $582,380 for his re-election campaign, with donations flowing from 80 different sources, according to his last two campaign finance reports...

Alabama: Justice Tom Parker pulling in Democratic money

Posted on October 24, 2010
The Mobile Press Register reports: No member of the Republican-dominated Alabama Supreme Court touts his conservative credentials more than Tom Parker. But in paying for his campaign, the darling of social conservatives and protégé of former Chief Justice Roy Moore...

Alabama: Sparks wants special session on ethics

Posted on October 23, 2010
The Tuscaloosa News reports: Democrat Ron Sparks said earlier in the week that he will call a special session on ethics. He said it will come after he calls a special session to expand, tax and regulate gambling. Sparks wants...

Alabama: Bentley proposes special session on ethics

Posted on October 23, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Republican Robert Bentley said today that, if elected governor, he would call a special session of the Legislature to push for stronger state ethics laws. ... In the special session, Bentley said he would propose new...

Alabama: Blake calls for removal of Bentley from ballot

Posted on October 22, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Jimmy Blake, a former Birmingham City Council member, called a press conference this afternoon to say he was filing a formal complaint with Alabama Attorney General Troy King seeking Bentley's removal from the Nov. 2 ballot...

Alabama: Senator "forgot" to file final report on PAC for 4 years

Posted on October 22, 2010
The Huntsville Times reports: Democratic State Senate candidate Jeff Enfinger has dissolved a political action committee that is at the center of a campaign finance controversy. Enfinger sent paperwork terminating his 2006 PAC to the secretary of state's office by...

Pike Co., Ala: former commissioner arrested for absentee-ballot fraud

Posted on October 21, 2010
The Troy Messenger reports: Former County Commissioner Karen Berry has been charged with voter fraud and perjury in connection with her 2008 bid for office. Berry turned herself in to the Pike County Jail Tuesday on charges of absentee ballot...

Weaver: what's an office of profit?

Posted on October 19, 2010
The Anniston Star reports: Weaver?s mayor and two council members are continuing a legal fight that has each side challenging the other?s right to hold office. On Monday, lawyers for council members Jeff Clendenning and Sheila Field filed motions in....

Decatur: Census data will start legal fight over change in form of government

Posted on October 18, 2010
The Decatur Daily reports: The city of Decatur is about six months from kicking off what could become a protracted legal battle to change its form of government. With census data due to the president in January and to state...

Alabama: Senators can use campaign funds for criminal defense

Posted on October 11, 2010
The Gadsden Times reports: The four senators who were indicted in the bingo bribery case can use their campaign money to pay their lawyers. An attorney general's advisory opinion from 2000 said that excess campaign funds may be used by...

Alabama: GOP question (lack of) financial disclosures by new PAC

Posted on October 10, 2010
The Huntsville Times reports: State Republicans have raised questions about what they call a lack of financial disclosures by a political action committee linked to the Democratic Party. The head of the Front Door Democracy PAC, however, said there's been...

Bessemer, Ala: mayor fires city clerk over absentee ballots

Posted on October 07, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Bessemer's city clerk, who is the city's election official, said today he was fired by Bessemer Mayor Ed May Monday night -- the night before today's election -- because he refused to go to a site...

Autauga Co: convicted felon can't serve, but can't be removed from ballot

Posted on October 02, 2010
The Prattville Progress reports: Former Autauga County Coroner Willie Mack "Billy" Brown III, who was convicted in July on theft and ethics charges, cannot legally serve as county sheriff. But that doesn't mean he couldn't be elected to the office....

"How to Tilt and Election through Redistricting"

Posted on September 26, 2010
The New York Times reports: It was a gerrymander too ambitious for its own good. When Pennsylvania lost two seats in Congress to the booming Sun Belt in 2000, the Republicans who controlled state government redrew the map of Congressional...

Google shows 2010 political polling data on maps

Posted on September 24, 2010
Google announces: How will the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans shake out after the elections on November 2? Many political experts and news sources track and revise predictions, but until now it's been hard to compare perspectives. We've...

Alabama: "I see dead people" on the voting rolls

Posted on September 14, 2010
TPMmuckraker reports: J. Christian Adams, the former DOJ lawyer at the heart of the New Black Panthers case, has sent letter to 16 states warning them that they are breaking voter law by not removing dead and ineligible voters from...

Alabama: former Sec of State wins in Ala Supreme Court

Posted on September 11, 2010
The Huntsville Times reports: The state Supreme Court today handed former Secretary of State Nancy Worley a victory in her battle to overturn five felony charges that accuse her of using her office to influence the votes of five employees...

Shelby County: VRA challenged argued in DC

Posted on September 11, 2010
The Birmingham News reports: Shelby County is intent on having key sections of the Voting Rights Act declared unconstitutional and ending federal oversight of elections across the South, not just in one Alabama county, the county's lawyers said Friday...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.