But, in retrospect, the ruling may have been less statesmanlike than it appeared. According to a source who was briefed on the deliberations in the case, Anthony Kennedy was initially ready to join Roberts and the other conservatives in issuing a sweeping 5-4 decision, striking down the Voting Rights Act on constitutional grounds. But the four liberal justices threatened to write a strong dissent that would have accused the majority of misconstruing landmark precedents about congressional power. What happened next is unclear, but the most likely possibilities are either that Kennedy got cold feet or that Roberts backed down. The Voting Rights Act survived, but what looked from the outside like an act of judicial statesmanship by Roberts may have in fact been a strategic retreat. Moreover, rather than following the principled alternative suggested by David Souter at the oral argument--holding that the people who were challenging the Voting Rights Act had no standing to bring the lawsuit--Roberts opted to rewrite the statute in a way that Congress never intended. That way, Roberts was still able to express his constitutional doubts about the law-as well as his doubts about landmark Supreme Court precedents from the civil rights era, which he mischaracterized and seemed ready to overrule.
-- Read the whole article --> Roberts Versus Roberts | The New Republic

ASU President William Harris, invoking the authority of his office, said later that it was the first step in seeing that the nine are awarded degrees at this spring's commencement program.

"I do, today, repeal the arbitrary, illegal and intrusive involvement of the governor of Alabama into the educational activities of ASU and hereby return the nine expelled students to their academic status as of the day of the forced expulsion," Harris said.

That day was exactly half a century ago -- Feb. 25, 1960 -- when ASU's president at the time, Harper Councill Trenholm, expelled the students under pressure from then-Gov. John Patterson and the Alabama Board of Education. -- Read the whole story --> ASU reinstates 1960 sit-in participants | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

The officer, known as a receiver, says the money belongs to investors who were allegedly defrauded by Stanford. The disgraced financier is accused of using their money in a Ponzi scheme instead of investing it. ...

The SEC froze Stanford's assets a year ago, well before the Justice Department indicted him. The SEC also asked the federal district court in Dallas to appoint the receiver, who's responsible for recovering other money that Stanford had thrown around in his high-flying lifestyle. -- Read or listen to the whole story --> Courts Seek To Recover Stanford's Political Pledges : NPR

There are four ads - two are open to all citizens and two are “status eligible” ads. Two ads require proficiency in one of several languages, while the other two ads state a preference, but not a requirement, for such language proficiency.

The ads describe the procedures for applying. Ad 1 Ad 2 Ad 3 Ad 4

The bill, HB 30, has been unanimously approved by the Senate Constitution, Campaign Finance, Ethics and Elections Committee and read for the sec­ond time in the Senate.

The bill is now pending a third reading and final passage in the Senate. The bill cleared the House in January with a 96-0 vote. ...

The bill would allow service members to file requests for ab­sentee ballots by e-mail or fax. Currently, the requests must be made by U.S. Postal Service. It also would allow for the ballots to be sent to the service mem­bers by e-mail or fax, as well as U.S. Postal Service. -- Read the whole story --> New bill would expand absentee voting options | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

A spokesperson for the Talladega County Sheriff?s Department said Smithwick was charged on Friday and released on a $5,000 bond. The two charges were failure to file annual reports and improper reporting of contributions.

Both charges are Class B misdemeanors under state law.

The indictment stems from an investigation into contribution forms submitted by Smithwick during a 2008 campaign. That year, he ran in the Republican primary for the District 3 State School Board seat.

Under state law, all candidates are required to submit their annual contribution reports no later than Jan. 31 of the following year. Smithwick?s final report was dated as received Oct. 6, 2009, by the Secretary of State. -- Read the whole story --> The Daily Home - Grand jury indicts BOE member Misdemeanor charges stem from failure to file campaign forms

Jean Brown, Chapman's chief legal advisor; Ed Packard, her supervisor of voter registration, and Adam Thompson, the secretary of state's director for the federal Help America Vote Act, remained calm as accusations flew back and forth between registrars Bobby Wise, Joan Hamburger and Keith Kuzma, the board's chair.

The major bone of contention was a growing stack of voter application forms that have not been processed, and the inability of Wise and Hamburger to gain access to the office's street files, which dictate in which geographic district each voter is to be registered.

Kuzma, who was appointed by the county commission in October 2008 as manager of the street files, filed last week an "informal complaint" against his fellow registrars for their refusal to process applications until they were granted access to the information for which Kuzma was ultimately responsible. -- Read the whole story --> montgomeryadvertiser.com :: Accusations fly during training session

The Civil Rights Division is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in voting, education, employment, housing, police services, public accommodations and facilities, and federally funded and conducted programs. The Voting Section enforces federal statutes designed to safeguard the right to vote. These statutes include the Voting Rights Act, as amended; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; and the Help America Vote Act.

More details --> [for the Trial Attorney jobs] USAJOBS - Trial Attorney

[for the Deputy Chief job] USAJOBS - Deputy Chief

The opinions in the case run 176 pages. It will take a while to digest it all. In the meanwhile, the opinion is here: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf, in case you want to read it yourself.

Griffith, who switched from the Democratic to the Republican party Dec. 22, initially said he'd return the campaign cash of disappointed supporters. The next day he excluded money spent on his behalf by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But this week many supporters who asked for their money back were surprised to be turned away with a form e-mail, which says that the money given in 2008 has long since been spent. There could be no refund. - Read the whole story at --> Griffith won't return some donations - al.com

HB 30 -- Elections, overseas absentee voting, Electronic Overseas Voting Advisory Committee, established to advise whether secure electronic means of voting available, duties of absentee election manager, overseas voter certificate required, Secretary of State to implement rules

HB 85 -- Campaign contributions, PAC to PAC transfers, prohibited, Sec. 17-5-15 am'd.

HB 129 -- Electioneering communications and paid political advertising, disclosure of source of funding required, exceptions, contributions by political committees further provided for, Secs. 17-5-2, 17-5-8, 17-5-12 am'd.; Act 2009-751, 2009 Reg. Sess. am'd.

HB 145 -- Elections, write-in candidates, registration with judge of probate or Secretary of State prior to election required, compliance with Fair Campaign Practices Act and State Ethics Law required, Sec. 17-6-28 am'd

Note -- to view the Alison system, you must be using Internet Explorer or the IE Tab add-on to Firefox.

Though qualifying has not yet opened, a slate of impressive candidates from across the state have already been gearing up for a spirited primary season. An unofficial list of candidates who have expressed their intent to run is available at the Party website (www.aladems.org) under the Directory for 'Candidates'. The Party will update that list as candidates officially qualify for office.

I'll wait while you go read it.

I know and have worked with several of the people mentioned in the article. I first met Chris Coates when he was at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. Gilda Daniels worked for me at the Lawyers' Committee. Chris Herren worked for me before he went to law school. I worked with John Tanner for years when he was at the Voting Section and I was in private practice or at the Lawyers' Committee.

I can't pretend to have any inside knowledge of this story. I view it simply as an outsider who is very interested in the work of the Voting Rights Section. I feel I should say something like the neighbors always say when someone is arrested for a crime. "He seemed like a nice man."

But as for the work of the Voting Section, it must get back on track to protecting the voting rights of Americans. I hope and pray that Chris Herren can guide it properly.