Just four months ago, D.C. District Court Judge John Bates reaffirmed that §5 of the Voting Rights Act is constitutional. Though many advocates celebrated the thorough opinion—and called particular attention to its source, a Bush II appointee—all recognized that the Supreme Court would inevitably weigh in. No appeal has yet [...]
In October, the Nebraska State Democratic Party ran this advertisement. Seemingly innocuous, it closes with Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson registering his intent to oppose any attempts to weaken Social Security or Medicare. Senator Nelson’s appearance is what makes the advertisement exceptional. His decision to work directly with an outside group [...]
Arizona was back in the news last week with Governor Jan Brewer’s highly controversial move removing the chairwoman of the state’s “independent” redistricting committee. Seeing the process now corrupted by an ideologically aligned governor and legislature, what can the voters in Arizona to make the process more independent and more immune from partisan influence?
In a succinct and persuasive paper entitled “If I can shop and bank online, why can’t I vote online?“ David Jefferson explains why online voting is unrealistic. A computer scientist by trade—and chair of Verified Voting’s board of directors—Jefferson elaborates technical differences between purchasing textbooks on Amazon.com and registering your vote [...]
On Tuesday, Mississippi voters will decide whether to amend their state constitution to define a person as “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.” The ballot initiative is the result of efforts by the anti-choice movement to ban abortion in the state and [...]
The proliferation of super PACs and their organizational push for 501(c)(4) support has generated debate about disclosure. Last week, however, the debate shifted back to another familiar disclosure question: whether the government may disclose the identity of those petitioning for a ballot issue. The question had risen through the Ninth [...]
Fueled by the lingering (and largely erroneous) perception of a liberal judiciary, Republican presidential candidates are calling for new legislation to curb the power of federal judges. As the Washington Post reports, a majority of the Republican field is calling for some sort of judicial reform, including the abolition of [...]
When 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper was born, women were legally barred from voting. With the passage of Tennessee’s new voter identification law, women’s access to the polls is once again in jeopardy. As of last year, Tennessee law requires voters to present a valid, government-issued ID before casting a vote in [...]
The emergence of super PACs enables electioneers to aggregate lots of capital from few donors. Some worry that the capital raised will reintroduce the corruption concerns that animate campaign finance reform. In response to that worry, proponents of super PACs often point to disclosure. They note that super PACs must [...]
Stephen Colbert has increased the visibility of super PACs with Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. And if Colbert’s goal is to initiate discussion about super PAC impact, he may satisfy his goals. But if Colbert wants to reform this new vehicle for political spending, the legal system is an unlikely [...]
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