The Michigan Law Review’s companion journal First Impressions today published an online symposium on Recent Proposals for Electoral College Reform.

Several proposals for changing the manner in which electoral votes are assigned have been increasingly debated since the 2008 presidential campaign began. Among these are recent suggestions that states assign their electoral votes based on the popular vote results in individual congressional districts or assign their electoral votes statewide based on the national popular vote. The symposium contributors explore the viability and advisability in today’s political climate of these and other Electoral College reform proposals.

Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law Professor Daniel P. Tokaji argues that the thirty-five day period in which states can take advantage of the “safe harbor” provision under federal law offers insufficient time for the resolution of post-election disputes over electors. Professor Tokaji proposes a new timetable that would allow states more time to complete recount and contest proceedings in the event of close, contested elections—a change he feels is justified on both fairness and federalism grounds.

Sacramento-based election law attorney and former legal counsel for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Republican Party Thomas W. Hiltachk explains and defends his proposed statewide initiative that would change California’s winner-take-all system of awarding its fifty-five electoral votes to a system that arguably would make California more relevant to the election process. If the California initiative took effect, the state would award the presidential candidate winning the popular vote in each of the state’s congressional districts one electoral vote while awarding the winner of the state’s overall popular vote two electoral votes.

Washington, D.C.-based election law attorney and former Democratic campaign manager Sam Hirsch critiques Hiltachk’s proposed initiative, arguing that the congressional-district system increases the chances of the presidency being awarded to the second-place finisher in popular votes, is significantly biased to favor one political party, and is founded on the erroneous assumption that congressional-district lines are politically “neutral” and thus well suited to functions other than electing members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

University of Chicago Dean of Social Sciences John Mark Hansen examines the effects of the Electoral College system and the proposed reforms to it on the prospect of equal voice in elections, concluding that if every vote is to count equally, the only solution is to elect the president by direct popular vote.

University of California’s Hastings College of the Law Professor Ethan J. Leib and Hastings College of the Law J.D. Candidate Eli J. Mark critique three state-based reform systems—reforms granting electoral votes based on winning congressional districts, reforms granting electoral votes in proportion to the state’s popular vote, and reforms granting all of a state’s electoral votes to the nationwide popular vote winner—and note the effects of partisan principles on defenses and critiques of them.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Visiting Scholar Alexander S. Belenky discusses instituting direct popular election of the president as well as the National Popular Vote interstate compact but also evaluates a third option that makes the nationwide popular vote a decisive factor in electing a president but retains the Electoral College as a safeguard against failure to elect a president.

University of Michigan J.D. candidate Daniel Rathbun contends both legal and sociological theory can explain the National Popular Vote compact’s failure to take hold. Legally, Rathbun argues, the NPV overlooks significant constitutional and practical-institutional obstacles. Sociologically, he contends, the NPV is structurally incapable of dis-embedding the federalist theory underlying the Electoral College.

To download a PDF of the entire symposium, feel free to click here.

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AP reports: The turnout Wednesday by voters in Mobile County may signal a lively ballot battle statewide Feb. 5 in the tightened Democratic and Republican presidential primary fields.

Mobile County Democratic Chairman Brad Warren said he was impressed with Wednesday's turnout, and his Republican counterpart, Mark Erwin, had a similar view.

"Looks like everybody that intended to vote got out today," Erwin said.

But with the votes in Mobile and Baldwin counties sealed until all Super Tuesday ballots are counted in Alabama, there was only anecdotal evidence of what drew voters to the polls.

Voters in the two coastal counties were allowed to cast ballots Wednesday because Feb. 5 also is a Mardi Gras holiday in both counties, with Fat Tuesday parades drawing huge throngs to downtown Mobile. -- Alabama's early voters signal lively races Feb. 5 - NewsFlash - al.com

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The Register-Herald reports: An attempt to lead West Virginia into a new era of voting for president by tying the hands of electors to the popular vote got nowhere Tuesday with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

For nearly 45 minutes, senators shuddered at the thought of a few electoral-heavy states making the decision on the occupant in the White House.

More than one panelist recalled the thinking of the Founding Fathers before resoundingly killing SB52. -- The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia - Panel nixes popular vote measure

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From a press release by DOJ: The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Tennessee officials to help ensure that military servicemembers and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the state's Feb. 5, 2008, federal primary election.

The agreement, which was filed at the same time as a lawsuit by the Civil Rights Division, creates emergency procedures for next week's presidential primary election to ensure eligible military and overseas voters have sufficient time to cast and return their ballots and to have their ballots counted. ...

The lawsuit was necessary after many counties in the state failed to mail requested absentee ballots to Tennessee's military and other citizens living abroad in sufficient time for them to vote in the federal primary election. The availability of ballots was delayed by difficulties stemming from the state's decision to move the primary date to Feb. 5.

The agreement, which was approved by the federal district court in Nashville today, provides extra time -- until Feb. 15 -- for the receipt of overseas ballots and allows eligible military and overseas voters who did not receive an absentee ballot to download and return a federal write-in absentee ballot. -- Justice Department Reaches Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in Tennessee Presidential Primary Elections

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: Boosted by support from Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a bill to create an independent redistricting commission sailed through a Senate committee yesterday.

Currently, the parties that control the state Senate and the House of Delegates after a 10-year census get to draw district lines.

Supporters said a change in the redistricting method would increase competition seats, decrease partisan polarization and make government more accountable to the voters.

Senate Bill 38, endorsed by the Privileges and Elections Committee, however, would leave a big loophole, giving the General Assembly the final say over the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts.

Still, its outlook remains dim in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, where leaders dismissed its chances. -- Redistricting bill advances - News - inRich.com

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The Washington Post reports: The campaign of U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) filed a complaint yesterday with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that his leading primary opponent has illegally coordinated her campaign efforts with independent organizations that support her -- charges that she immediately rejected as last-minute electioneering by an embattled incumbent.

In unusually strong language, Wynn accuses Prince George's County lawyer Donna F. Edwards of colluding with a small network of people to affect the outcome of the Feb. 12 election, a closely fought match in Maryland's 4th Congressional District that has received national attention. ...

Edwards, who came within three percentage points of defeating the eight-term incumbent in 2006, has the support of progressive organizations that have targeted Wynn because they think he too often votes with Republicans and accepts contributions from corporate interests. ...

Wynn's complaint, filed by campaign manager Lori Sherwood, contains 34 points and 126 pages of documentation. Among his allegations are that Edwards is being supported by two groups on whose board of directors she has served. -- Wynn Files Campaign Complaint - washingtonpost.com

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From a Reform Institute press release: Raising large sums of money, building an organization and attracting grassroots support are among the many challenges facing those who seek the highest office in the land. However, one of the greatest obstacles to candidates for the presidency is simply getting their name on the ballot. Presidential Ballot Access: State by State Report Card, a new report from the Reform Institute, a nonpartisan public policy group, provides a comprehensive analysis of the complex and often overwhelming process of getting a candidate placed on the ballot in all fifty states.

The report finds that campaigns face a daunting task in navigating the varied and sometimes Byzantine procedures required by each state. For Independent and third party candidates, the undertaking can be downright Herculean. These candidates often face considerable obstacles, such as petition signature requirements that are higher than those required for candidates from the major parties. The result is that electoral competition and correspondingly, voter participation, suffers.

“We are currently seeing in both the Democratic and Republican primaries that when the contests are competitive and voters have real choices, voter participation is strong and interest and involvement in the process increases significantly,” stated Cecilia Martinez, Executive Director of the Reform Institute. “As more voters become dissatisfied with politics as usual and look beyond the two traditional parties for solutions, it is critical that they have ample options on the ballot.”

Presidential Ballot Access provides a state-by-state examination of ballot access requirements and grades each state on whether the rules are reasonable and equitable across party lines. The report card focuses on petition signature requirements and registration fees because they are consistent variables across states and they represent the most common means of limiting ballot access. -- Limiting Ballot Access Means Limiting Voter Choice

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The New York Times reports: After months of denouncing the influence of special-interest money in politics, Senator Barack Obama is nonetheless entering a critical phase of the presidential campaign benefiting from millions of dollars being spent outside campaign finance rules.

Mr. Obama has repudiated a California group, Vote Hope, that is working on his behalf. But it has pressed on and, along with a sister organization called PowerPac.org, is planning to spend up to $4 million promoting him in California and conducting voter registration drives aimed at blacks in 11 Southern states.

The group has already run radio advertisements with local ministers in South Carolina. New advertisements, some for television, have been prepared for California, one with the rap star Common and others focusing on black and Latino voters.

As the campaign treasuries of Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton are rapidly draining heading into the nominating contests in more than 20 states on Tuesday, independent political groups — whether so-called 527 groups, political action committees, nonprofit organizations or trade unions — are stepping in to help fill the void. The efforts of these groups, particularly 527s, which are named for a section of the tax code under which they fall, worry campaign finance watchdogs because many can take unlimited contributions from donors and have limited oversight. -- Outside Groups Aid Obama, Their Vocal Critic - New York Times

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The Cullman Times reports: Democrats appear to be headed for a historic win by James Fields in the Alabama House District 12 special election With 20 of 38 precincts reporting, Fields leads his Republican opponent, Wayne Willingham, with 1,929 votes to 1,386. If Fields wins, he will be the first African-American elected to represent Cullman County at the state level. -- CullmanTimes.com, Cullman, Alabama - Homepage

Doc's Political Parlor quotes a Republican, "Fields won by a significant margin."

According to the official data, H.D. 12 was 1.60% black in 2000. Yes, less than 2%.

That sound you hear is pigs flying.

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Gerry Hebert emails: The Lone Star Project in DC has produced this 12 and a half minute video on the fight over the voter ID bill in Texas during the 2007 legislative session. It is a tribute to the courage shown by Senator Mario Gallegos, who risked serious health issues to stay in Austin and fight the bill. It’s well worth watching. Full disclosure: I make a cameo appearance.

It is available here on Google Video.

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The Miami Herald reports: The Justice Department will be monitoring the presidential primary election in Broward on Tuesday to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Broward.

Under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, Broward is obligated to provide all election information, ballots and voting assistance information in Spanish as well as in English. -- Federal monitors will watch over polling sites - 01/29/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

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UPI reports: A rights group filed a legal challenge on voting technology to be used in and around Cleveland in the March 4 presidential primary elections.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed the challenge Monday in U.S. District Court to Cuyahoga County's move back to paper ballots away from electronic touch-screen systems, a release on the group's Web site stated. ...

A hearing was set for Tuesday on the ACLU's request for an injunction, the report said. -- Ohio ACLU challenges primary ballots - UPI.com

The ACLU website has the press release and court documents.

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The New York Times reports: The conventional political wisdom in delegate-rich California is that the roughly three million registered voters without a party affiliation are ripe for the picking by the Democratic candidates for president.

Democrats began allowing independents to participate in their party’s presidential primary in 2004, and campaigns now see them — the fastest-growing group of registrants in California — as potentially pushing a candidate over the top in the primary on Feb. 5. ...

(Republicans only allow their own party members to vote; the state’s American Independent Party also allows decline-to-state voters to cast ballots in its primary, but the party’s presence is very small.) ...

It is also true that decline-to-state voters must be quite motivated — and knowledgeable — to cast a ballot in the Democratic primary. The voters must ask for a Democratic ballot at their polling station; otherwise, they are provided with a nonpartisan ballot that has statewide measures only. -- California’s Unaffiliated Voters Are Sometimes Unreachable

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The Washington Post reports: Mitt Romney wants to round up 12 million illegal immigrants and deport them. John Edwards wants to put an end to lobbyists. All the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates rail against the ways of Washington.

The question is not whether we agree with these views: Politicians stake out such positions precisely because they strike a chord with many voters. The question is why we like our bromides so simple -- especially when the same promises have been offered to us time and again in previous elections.

In an unusual study analyzing State of the Union addresses like the one President Bush will give tonight, psychologists found a curious pattern in the speeches delivered by 41 U.S. presidents. The pattern explains a lot about why politicians such as Romney and Edwards talk to voters the way they do.

The study found that in the first three years after a new president takes office, his speeches displayed higher levels of complexity compared with addresses in the fourth year in office. In the first three speeches, presidents were more likely to acknowledge other points of view, potential pitfalls and unintended consequences. In the fourth year, however -- as they were about to run for reelection -- the complexity of their speeches plunged. -- Shankar Vedantam - The Science of Presidential Complexity - washingtonpost.com

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The New York Times reports: The presidential campaign is entering a new phase as Democratic and Republican candidates move beyond state-by-state competition and into a potentially protracted scramble for delegates Congressional district by Congressional district. ...

It is the first time in over 20 years in which the campaign has turned into a possibly lengthy hunt for delegates, rather than an effort to roll up a string of big-state victories.

This development reflects the competitive races in both parties, with neither a Republican nor a Democrat yet able to claim front-runner status. It has forced the campaigns to master complex delegate-allocation rules as they make a series of critical decisions about how best to allocate campaign resources to produce the greatest return of delegates.

Many of these decisions involve as little as a single delegate. ...

For Republicans, this means, for example, turning to approximately 10 heavily Democratic Congressional districts in California where there are relatively few registered Republicans, making it easier, and less expensive, to win a district and its three delegates. Both Senator John McCain of Arizona and Mr. Romney are heading there on Wednesday.

For Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Mr. Obama, it means investing resources — mailings, telephone banks and candidate visits — in Congressional districts where there are an odd number of delegates at stake, creating an opportunity to pick up an extra delegate.

Under Democratic rules, two candidates who do well in a Congressional district are likely to end up evenly dividing the delegates; where there is an odd number of delegates, the extra one goes to the candidate who wins more votes. -- Races Entering Complex Phase Over Delegates - New York Times

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The Sunday Herald reports: THE FIRM that provided the e-counting technology at last year's botched Holyrood election is refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the fiasco.

DRS, which supplied the equipment for scanning and reading the ballot papers, said it has had to "regrettably decline" a request for oral evidence.

The company believes the "quantity of information" it provided to a previous inquiry makes an appearance at Holyrood unnecessary.
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The snub comes as the parliament's local government and communities committee looks at the problems surrounding last year's Scottish elections.

Around 140,000 ballots were spoiled last May after voters failed to get to grips with the new single ballot paper.

An official inquiry into the bungled election, led by Canadian Ron Gould, blamed political parties and the Scotland Office for putting their own interests above those of the public. -- Votecount Firm Snubs Holyrood Inquiry (from Sunday Herald)

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The Birmingham News reports: Three federal judges who ruled Gov. Bob Riley needed federal approval before naming a Jefferson County Commission replacement issued a clarification Friday outlining how long appointee George Bowman can remain in the position.

The three-judge panel initially issued an opinion and two-page judgment Tuesday. Lawyers in the dispute over Riley's appointment of Bowman then asked for clarification.

In Friday's filing, the judges say if Riley chooses to immediately appeal the ruling and notifies the court by Feb. 5 - the date of Jefferson County's special election - Bowman's appointment will be voided the same day without further order.

If Riley notifies the court by Feb. 5 that he will seek Justice Department approval of his appointing power, Riley would have 90 days, until about April 21, to receive the OK or Bowman would be out. -- Bowman term may end Feb.5- al.com

Disclosure: Jim Blacksher and I represent the plaintiff in this case.

The plaintiff's motion to alter the judgment is here. Download the Governor's response here. Download the Court's amended judgment here.

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The Detroit News reports: A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to tell indicted Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger why U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy and two of his top officials disqualified themselves from overseeing Fieger s criminal investigation.

It s a partial victory for Fieger -- charged with making $127,000 in illegal donations to the 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards -- as he attempts to show he was unfairly singled out for prosecution because of his politics.

The information is quite relevant and essential to that claim, U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman said in a 30-page order.

Borman said he has not decided whether Fieger was unfairly singled out, but said he finds it significant that contributions related to a re-election campaign for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman have been part of the federal investigation of Fieger since the probe began in April 2005. -- Judge s ruling favors Fieger

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AP reports: Elections must be delayed in North Carolina because boundaries for dozens of state House and Senate voting districts are unconstitutional, a lawyer representing a group of Republican voters told federal judges Friday.

The voters' lawsuit accuses state lawmakers of intentionally using incorrect population figures when they redrew district lines in 2003, and asks that the maps be corrected before elections are held for the General Assembly this year.

The candidate filing season is supposed to begin Feb. 11. State attorneys supported the maps and said granting the voters' request would delay all the May 6 primary elections, which include races for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House, in addition to state legislative races.

"There comes a point when it's that close to an election and you just cannot stop the train," Alexander Peters, a special deputy attorney general said during 2 1/2 hours of arguments at the New Bern federal courthouse. "It's too late to stop the election, even if (the maps) are ultimately found to be unconstitutional."

The voters, who sued the state in November, said legislative leaders used incorrect census data when they knew updated data was available. The adjusted district boundaries have been used since the 2004 elections. -- FayObserver.com - AP Article Page

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Jeff Greenfield writes on Slate.com: Remember all the lamentations, the rending of garments, the gnashing of teeth over the outsize power of two small, unrepresentative states over the presidential nomination process? Well, never mind. It turns out that the apparent pattern of 2000 and 2004, when Al Gore and John Kerry won Iowa and New Hampshire and sailed to the Democratic nominations, was not a pattern but a two-off.

This year, a raft of states, big, small, and mid-size, will have a real say in choosing the candidates for president for both parties. The problem is that many would have had a far greater say had they not succumbed to mass hysteria and rushed to hold their primaries as early as possible—before or by Super Tuesday on Feb. 5. Indeed, other states that were more patient may turn out to have the loudest voices of all.

Once upon a time—from the dawn of the modern primary system in 1972 through 1992—the primaries played out through the spring. In the 1980s, the race went from a Southern "Super Tuesday" to a series of big states through March, April, and May, and finally to a California-New Jersey bicoastal finale in early June. But this year, misled by the Gore-Kerry sweeps into thinking that early momentum was a permanent, decisive element of the nominating system, some 24 states moved their primaries or caucuses to the first date permitted by the national political parties: Feb. 5. -- The Late State Gets the Worm

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The Daily Sentinel reports: Gov. Bill Ritter asked lawmakers Wednesday to require counties to conduct the 2008 election using paper ballots so that the election will be secure.

“We have a bipartisan agreement struck in the Legislature that would take us to paper ballots with precinct voting,” Ritter said.

He said voters still could cast absentee ballots through the mail, and there would be a verifiable paper trail of each ballot following the election.

Ritter said he wants an all-paper election because he fears the “specter of litigation,” citing a 2006 court decision that nearly barred counties from using electronic voting machines.

The governor said Secretary of State Mike Coffman’s decision in December to decertify most of the electronic voting equipment used in Colorado made him doubt the reliability of the machines. -- Ritter wants ballots on paper statewide

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The St. Petersburg Times reports: Six days before Florida's statewide presidential preference primary, the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday approved three recent changes to state election laws and took no action on a fourth because it is the subject of a federal lawsuit.

Despite the federal approval that the state sought, the changes will not be put into effect at the polls because the decision came so close to the Jan. 29 primary.

In a letter to state officials, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division approved legislative changes excluding employer IDs or buyer club IDs as acceptable forms of identification at the polls; reducing from three days to two the period a voter who casts a provisional ballot can provide supporting documentation; and increasing penalties for third-party groups that violate the law in conducting voter registration drives. -- State: Feds approve state election law changes

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The Birmingham News reports: Gov. Bob Riley on Wednesday said he likely will appeal a ruling by a panel of three federal judges that said Riley needed approval from the U.S. Justice Department to appoint George Bowman to the Jefferson County Commission, approval he didn't seek.

"Right now, I think we'll probably appeal it," Riley said, adding that he likely would decide for sure "within the next few days," after meeting with lawyers.

Also Wednesday, Riley's legal adviser, Ken Wallis, said lawyers in the dispute over Bowman disagree on the meaning of the judges' ruling and what it said about Bowman's right to remain on the commission. ...

Ed Still, an attorney for Plump, filed a motion with the panel Wednesday, saying he believed the opinion and judgment said different things about how long Bowman might remain on the county commission.

"I think it's just an editing error," Still said, adding that he wanted the panel to clear it up. -- Alabama Gov. Bob Riley likely to appeal judicial ruling on Jefferson County Commission appointment- al.com

Disclosure: Jim Blacksher and I represent the plaintiff.

You may download the motion here.

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The Coshocton Tribune reports: The Morgan County Board of Elections has determined Prosecutor Rick Welch is not a qualified elector and his right to vote in the county has been revoked.

Now the acting county prosecutor will be reviewing whether further action should be taken after it was determined Welch does not live in the county.

Welch withdrew from the March primary on Tuesday after a complaint was filed with the elections board concerning his residency. The elections board met with a special prosecutor and a representative with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to discuss the matter on Wednesday.

Welch, who has been prosecutor since 2000, sent a letter to the board members stating he was withdrawing from the race due to his becoming a "catalyst for division and not unity." -- Coshocton Tribune - www.coshoctontribune.com - Coshocton, OH

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AP reports: The heated racial politics in the Feb. 5 Democratic primary in Georgia just got turned up a notch.

Barack Obama's campaign has asked Georgia's attorney general to investigate anonymous "robocalls" made to Atlanta-area residents taking aim at Rep. John Lewis, who worked closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement.

Lewis is supporting Obama's chief rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The calls urge listeners to call Lewis and tell the congressman, who represents King's hometown, to support a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, according to a transcript.

Obama's camp wasted no time denying responsibility for the automated calls. In an e-mail to supporters Tuesday, Obama's Georgia director, Eureka Gilkey, said they had received "disturbing reports" about the calls from metro-Atlanta area residents. -- Obama camp asks Georgia AG to investigate calls attacking Lewis

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The Herald reports: The Electoral Commission has admitted fundamental weaknesses in its ability to probe allegations of illegal donations to political parties.

An official document seen by The Herald shows that detailed procedures and guidance on how investigations should be carried out remain "in development", despite the fact that high-profile probes into allegations against senior Labour figures, including Scottish leader Wendy Alexander, are currently under way.

The 12-page paper, entitled Handling Allegations, also reveals that the commission does not have "any prescribed method for making decisions" and that it is "unclear" when discussions with the UK Ministry of Justice on increasing the range of sanctions it can hand down will be concluded.

The commission also admits many cases will go unpunished even if they find the law has been broken. -- Watchdog Admits Probe Weakness (from The Herald )

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WSFA TV reports: An organization working to restore the voting rights of ex-felons is touring the state. On Tuesday, the Let My People Vote Campaign stopped in Montgomery to get their message out.

For the past five years the Let My People Vote campaign has traveled to prisons educating and informing current and ex-prisoners that certain felonies should not result in a loss of voting rights. -- WSFA TV Montgomery, AL - Let My People Vote Campaign Stops in the Capitol City

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The Auburn Citizen reports: A suburban village has been violating the Voting Rights Act by using an election system that leaves its rapidly growing Hispanic population without representation, a federal judge said Tuesday.

The decision against Port Chester, on the Connecticut border 25 miles from New York City, is expected to force a revision of the village's at-large election system, in which all voters cast ballots for each of the six trustee positions that run the village government.

The likely alternative is a district system, in which each district would elect one trustee. One district would be drawn around Hispanic neighborhoods to increase the chances that a Hispanic-backed candidate would be elected.

Judge Stephen Robinson, who held a trial last May when the village and the Justice Department could not settle the case, said the at-large system "prevents Hispanic voters from participating equally in the political process in the village."

The government had alleged that the at-large system allowed candidates preferred by whites to win all the trustee elections because whites tended to vote in a bloc. No Hispanic has ever been elected trustee or mayor in Port Chester, although the population is almost half Hispanic. The white population votes in greater numbers. -- AuburnPub.com

You may download the decision and order here.

Thanks to Steve Pershing for noting my faux pas in calling Port Chester "Port Arthur." Maybe it is because there is a Port Arthur in Texas and I was just reading that case recently, or I was thinking of Chester A. Arthur.

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The Birmingham News reports: A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that Gov. Bob Riley should have obtained federal approval before filling the Jefferson County Commission's District 1 seat, but the judges did not immediately remove his appointee, George Bowman, from office.

Meanwhile, a Jefferson County election official said the Feb. 5 election to fill the seat vacated by Larry Langford, scheduled since October, will proceed.

The three federal judges gave Riley until Feb. 5 - the date of Jefferson County's special election - to file a notice that he intends to appeal their decision or that he intends to seek Justice Department approval of his power to appoint a replacement.

If Riley notifies the court on or before Feb. 5, Riley will be given 90 days to get the Justice Department's approval. If Riley misses that deadline, the judges said, Bowman's appointment will be set aside. -- Judges rule Alabama Governor Bob Riley needed federal OK to appoint Jefferson County commissioner- al.com

Disclosure: Jim Blacksher and I represent the plaintiff in this case.

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Two Four amicus briefs have been filed today supporting Gov. Riley's position in Riley v. Kennedy, a Section 5 case. More later.

You can download the briefs here: Thernstrom brief , Project on Fair Representation, Charles Fried brief, and the brief of Florida and several other states.

Disclosure:I am one of the lawyers for Kennedy et al. in this case.

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The 3-judge district court has ruled for the plaintiff in Plump v. Riley. More on this later.

Disclosure: Jim Blacksher and I represent the plaintiff in this case.

The opinion and judgment are attached.

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The Daily Tar Heel reports: The N.C. NAACP is protesting a lawsuit that seeks to make North Carolina comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, claiming the suit undermines the act's intent.

The lawsuit, filed by a group of N.C. Republicans in November 2007, calls for the state's congressional [sic: legislative] districts to be redrawn before the 2008 elections are held.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People claims that the redistricting would concentrate minority voters into fewer districts, leaving the rest of the state primarily white and Republican.

Al McSurely, chairman for the legal redress committee for the N.C. NAACP, said the plaintiffs want to "black-pack" minority voters into one district, which would give them fewer opportunities to elect representatives. -- NAACP protests redistricting suit - State & National

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AP reports: It's another election season and North Carolina voters could again be confused by a redistricting lawsuit that alleges state legislative boundaries drawn by the General Assembly are illegal.

If a federal three-judge panel in New Bern sides this week with a group of Republican voters who sued after a state Supreme Court decision last year involving one state House district, the May 6 primary election could be delayed.

And not just the legislative races _ state law requires that primaries for governor, Council of State races, U.S. Senate and U.S. House also would have to be rescheduled for the same date. And the presidential primaries also set for May 6 would be in jeopardy.

Legislative redistricting litigation delayed two of the three previous even-numbered year primaries, in 2002 and 2004. -- Redistricting lawsuit threatens NC primary schedule again

The case is Dean et al v. Leake et al, No. 2:07-cv-00051-FL-AD-RC (E.D. N.C.). The court docket sheet shows this order on 17 Dec. 2007:

The instant dispute raises questions of federal and state law in the context of electoral apportionment in the North Carolina state elections process. A three judge court presides over the dispute as mandated by 28 U.S.C. section 2284. Section 2284 allows a "single judge [to] conduct all proceedings excepts the trial," with limited exceptions that do not apply here. The court conducted this conference at the United States Courthouse, New Bern, North Carolina, on 12/17/07, with plaintiffs appearing through counsel Robert N. Hunter, Jr., and defendants appearing through counsel Tiare Smiley & Alexander Peters. The court addressed a number of matters with the parties, and engaged in preliminary dialogue with Ms. Anita S. Earls, counsel for the proposed intervener, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ("NAACP").The court memorializes the determinations madeat this conference below: 1. Request for hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction was allowed and hearing set for January 25, 2008 at the United States Courthouse at New Bern, North Carolina, pending final confirmation in the form of clerks office notice, confirming New Bern as the place for hearing and setting the specific time of hearing on January 25, 2008. and hearing set for January 25, 2008 at the United States Courthouse at New Bern, North Carolina, pending final confirmation in the form of clerks office notice, confirming New Bern as the place for hearing and setting the specific time of hearing on January 25, 2008.The court ordered today that any perceived need by the parties, particularly plaintiffs, for discovery or live witnesses which reasonably can be discerned upon the making of defendants' responsive pleading, due tomorrow, shall be presented to the court in telephonic format not later than Thursday, December 20, 2007. The court indicated in view of the expedited scheduleit dispenses with requirement for any written filing raising issues in discovery or the purported need for live witness testimony at hearing, and directed that the parties confer with it by the close of business Thursday through the offices of Ms. Rudd, the case manager. The court herein allows plaintiffs an additional fifteen (15) pages for the making of a consolidated reply not to exceed a total of twenty-five (25) pages except by leave of court. The parties will present to the court by Friday January 18, 2008, a joint report The parties will present to which shall roughly follow the form prescribed by Local Civil Rule 16.1, EDNC, for the making of proposed final pretrial orders. Signed by Chief Judge Louise Wood Flanagan on 12/17/2007.

The complaint is here.

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The Miami Herald reports: As the nation celebrated the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s quest for justice, Gov. Charlie Crist was honored Monday for reforming state clemency rules and helping the family of Martin Lee Anderson, the black teenager who died in a North Florida boot camp.

Crist said he was humbled by accolades at the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast at Jungle Island in Miami. ...

Last year, the Board of Executive Clemency, chaired by Crist, approved a rule change that almost automatically restores the civil rights of many ex-offenders who have completed their sentences. The change does not apply to murderers and sex offenders.

State Sen. Frederica Wilson said the group honored Crist not only for his support of Anderson's family but also for his efforts to make it easier for Floridians convicted of minor crimes to recover their right to vote. Crist promised black leaders he would work on the issue during his gubernatorial campaign, she said. -- Crist is hailed as civil rights hero - 01/22/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

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CentralOhio.com reports: Mississippi was a brutal place in the civil-rights era of the 1960s, from the perspective of two veterans of the movement who were there -- Flonzie Goodloe Brown-Wright and Hellen O Neal-McCray.

They shared their experiences Monday morning at Denison University during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration breakfast. Their presentation was "The Power of Story: A Dialogue Between Two Women."

"The date June 12, 1963, was the defining moment in my life," Brown-Wright told the standing-room-only crowd in the Welsh Hills Room of the Burton D. Morgan Center. "That s the day Medgar Evers was assassinated in his front yard in front of his wife and his children for trying to help people register to vote. I realized it was time for me to get out of my comfort zone. I began to work in the movement to get people registered to vote."

When Brown-Wright, now 65, tried to register to vote she was asked to define habeas corpus as part of the registration form -- a form only black Mississippians were expected to answer. She didn t know what it meant at the time, but she studied the state constitution and later returned to successfully register to vote.

Subsequently, she vowed she would get the job of the man who denied her the right to vote, and she did. She became the first black woman to be elected the county registrar. She frequently was persecuted for her efforts. -- Central Ohio - www.centralohio.com - Central Ohio, OH

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NPR's All Things Considered reports: Shortly after he was elected a year ago, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist pushed through changes that make it easier for released felons to get their civil rights restored. That process, though, has left many dissatisfied.

Only about 45,000 of some 950,000 people eligible have had their voting rights restored. The ACLU and other groups have been holding seminars to reach out to felons and have started a campaign to get them registered to vote. -- NPR : Florida Falls Short in Restoring Felons' Voting Rights

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The Trail blog of the Washington Post reports: Apparently the adage "whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" doesn't apply to politics.

Tensions between the Obama and Clinton campaigns escalated today when officials traded charges about conduct on the ground during the Nevada caucuses Saturday.

Aides for Sen. Barack Obama, who lost the first-in-the-West contest, announced they would ask the state Democratic Party to review reports that Clinton caucus organizers had sought to block entry to certain sites a half hour before the official deadline, as outlined in a Clinton campaign caucus manual.

The Clinton campaign fired back that it was considering its own legal options in response to a barrage of voter intimidation complaints about Obama tactics. -- After Nevada Caucuses, Charges of Foul Play | The Trail | washingtonpost.com

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AP reports: This year, for the first time, expatriate Democrats can cast their ballots on the Internet in a presidential primary for people living outside the United States.

Democrats Abroad, an official branch of the party representing overseas voters, will hold its first gl