Election-Campaign Law

Michigan: Fieger was acquitted, but now faces the FEC

Posted on June 05, 2008
The Detroit News reports: Though acquitted of criminal campaign finance charges, Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger still faces possible civil prosecution by the Federal Elections Commission for reimbursing employees and others for donations to the 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John...

Alabama: details of voting irregulatires in Perry County

Posted on June 05, 2008
WSFA-TV reports: Concern is building over what may have happened at some polls in Perry county during Tuesday s primary vote. As we reported, a federal observer notified the state that a candidate allegedly violated state law by helping people...

Alabama: Supreme Court hears arguments in Jefferson County election case

Posted on June 05, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: A decision on the dispute over a vacancy on the Jefferson County Commission may hinge on whether a special election to fill it was legal or if a group of residents had the right to sue...

40 years ago ... Bobby Kennedy

Posted on June 05, 2008
Forty years ago today, I woke up in a hotel room in Montreal where I had gone to visit the leftovers of the prior year's World's Fair. I turned on the TV. It took a few moments for me to...

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Alabama: candidate reported as loitering at polls in Perry County

Posted on June 03, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: A federal observer from the U.S. Department of Justice reported potential violations of election law in Perry County to the Alabama secretary of state Tuesday afternoon. The observer reported that one candidate was loitering in the...

Alabama: R.I.P. Tim Baer

Posted on June 03, 2008
The Birmingham News reports: Former Alabama Republican Party Executive Director Tim Baer, a plainspoken political operative who helped the GOP take over the state s appellate courts, died over the weekend. Mr. Baer, who was born near Buffalo, N.Y., and...

South Carolina: GOP candidate sues Democratic Party for defamation

Posted on June 03, 2008
MyrlteBeachOnline.com reports: Bill McKown, a Republican candidate for the state Senate in District 28, sued the S.C. Democratic Party Monday for conspiracy and defamation about a month after the party filed a lawsuit alleging he did not live in District...

Alabama: my personal experience with voter I.D.

Posted on June 03, 2008
When I went to vote this morning in Alabama's primary, the poll workers looked as lonely as Maytag repairmen. To liven things up a bit, when asked for identification, I pulled out my Alabama Gas Company bill. I pointed out...

Vet.Admin. refuses to register voters

Posted on June 03, 2008
The St. Petersburg Times reports: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last month said it would refuse to abide by a 14-year-old presidential directive requiring it to help register veterans to vote. It says doing so would detract from providing...

R.I.P. -- Jordan Wright

Posted on June 02, 2008
The New York Times reports: Jordan M. Wright, who at 10 was thrilled to learn that politicians hand out self-promotional baubles, then collected more than a million bumper stickers and other campaign artifacts — from the time of George Washington...

Switzerland: referendum rejects change in citizenship process

Posted on June 02, 2008
The New York Times reports: Swiss voters on Sunday defeated a measure that would have legitimized the practice of allowing secret votes by townspeople on granting citizenship to foreigners in their communities. The vote was a blow to the powerful...

Michigan: Feiger acquitted on campaign-contribution charges

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Detroit Free Press reports: Southfield lawyer Geoffrey Fieger and his law partspener Vernon (Ven) Johnson were acquitted by a federal jury in Detroit today of illegally contributing more than $100,000 to John Edwards’ 2004 presidential campaign. The defendants smiled...

Tax-exempt group close to McCain just happens to run ads supporting his position

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Washington Post reports: For weeks, Republican presidential candidate John McCain had been hammered for supporting the Air Force's February decision to award a $40 billion contract for refueling tankers to Northrop Grumman and its European partner...

Oklahoma: legislature bans lobbyist contributions during legislative session

Posted on June 02, 2008
AP reports: The Oklahoma Legislature gave final approval on May 22 to a bill banning political contributions from lobbyists to legislators during and immediately after legislative sessions. The prohibition would apply to legislative incumbents and challengers alike...

Iowa: election-day registration now available

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Times-Republican reports: While the time to pre-register to vote has passed, those wishing to participate in Tuesday’s primaries have an option that was not available in previous years – registering on election day. This is the first statewide primary...

Texas: suit filed against at-large voting in Irving school district

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reports: An unsuccessful school board candidate filed a federal lawsuit today alleging that the Irving school district’s system of at-large elections for trustees violates the law by denying representation to the school district’s Hispanic citizens...

Civil Rights Commission to review DOJ plans for 2008 presidential election

Posted on June 02, 2008
From a press release of the Commission: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will be holding a briefing to review Department of Justice plans to monitor voting rights enforcement for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. Among the topics expected to...

DC: a lobbying push for DC voting rights

Posted on June 02, 2008
The Hill reports: A renewed campaign to give the representative from Washington, D.C. the right to vote in Congress is gaining ground with lobbyists for civil rights groups, ethics watchdogs and unions gearing up for a new push next year....

Alabama: DOJ observers in Perry County for primary

Posted on June 02, 2008
AP reports: The Justice Department is sending federal observers to Perry County in west Alabama to monitor the primary election Tuesday. The Justice Department announced Monday that its observers will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and...

Florida, Michigan: 1/2 vote to each delegate

Posted on June 01, 2008
The New York Times reports: To jeers and boos that showcased deep party divisions, Democratic Party officials agreed Saturday to seat delegates from the disputed Florida and Michigan primaries at the party’s convention in August but give them only half...

Florida: archives still has most 2000 ballots (and chad)

Posted on June 01, 2008
The Miami Herald reports: In the final seconds of the new HBO movie Recount, a box labeled Palm Beach County ballots is shown sitting inside a gigantic warehouse. As the camera pulls slowly back, it reveals row after row of...

Alabama: roundup of blog commentary on Riley v. Kennedy

Posted on May 31, 2008
Janai Nelson, "Chipping Away at the VRA One Court Decision at a Time," Talking Justice Anita S. Krishnakumar, "The 'Mischief Rule' Rule and the VRA in Riley v. Kennedy," Concurring Opinions Lee P, " U.S. Supreme Court vindicates Riley, King,"...

Florida, Michigan: if you think your vote won't count, you are less likely to vote

Posted on May 31, 2008
TPM Election Central reports: As the DNC prepares to decide the fates of the Florida and Michigan delegations tomorrow, a key question has to be asked: Did those rogue primaries truly reflect the will of their states Democratic voters? The...

Texas: NAMUDNO loses on challenge to Sec. 5 of Voting Rights Act

Posted on May 31, 2008
The New York Times reports: A special three-judge court ruled Friday that Congress acted constitutionally when it extended the law requiring sections of the country with a history of racial discrimination to get federal approval for any changes in voting...

Alabama: summary of Riley v. Kennedy opinion

Posted on May 30, 2008
Thomas Haymore writes on SCOTUSblog: With a “preclearance” mechanism requiring Justice Department approval before a state may “enact or seek to administer” any changes in “any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to...

Georgia: Dems sue over voter I.D. law

Posted on May 30, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Despite a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of requiring voters to produce state-issued picture IDs at the polls, the Democratic Party of Georgia has filed a new lawsuit challenging the constitutionality...

Alabama: Supreme Court reversal may net Chastang back pay

Posted on May 29, 2008
The Mobile Press-Register reports: If Juan Chastang gets his Mobile County Commission seat back, it will almost certainly be a temp job but it also could net him tens of thousands of dollars in back pay, a commission attorney said....

Lieberman and Graham leave board of anti-Obama group

Posted on May 29, 2008
The New York Times reports: Senators Joseph I. Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, prominent surrogates for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign, stepped down Wednesday from their positions with an independent group that released a pair of Internet advertisements attacking Senator Barack...

Texas: AG and Dems settle suit over voter-fraud charges

Posted on May 29, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reports: The Texas Democratic Party has settled a federal lawsuit against the state, with Attorney General Greg Abbott agreeing not to target people who collect legitimate mail-in ballots as part of his voter-fraud campaign. Both sides...

Michigan, Florida: DNC lawyers recommend 50% penalty for each state

Posted on May 28, 2008
The Boston Globe reports: Democratic Party lawyers told a committee looking at the fate of disputed delegates from Florida and Michigan that at most they can restore only half of their 368 total delegates. IN A MEmo sent late Tuesday...

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