Link at Roll Call.

 Story here out of Appropriations Committee.

The House Appropriations Report has language requiring an outside audit of the Civil Rights Division by an outside organization.  After the DOJ Inspector General released a blistering report on the malfunctioning of the Civil Rights Division, Congress is inserting the following language into the DOJ budget:

Independent review of the Civil Rights Division.–In response to the OIG report that found unprofessional and inappropriate behavior by the managers and employees of the Civil Rights Division over a period of time, the Committee has included language directing that $1,000,000 shall be transferred from the General Administration appropriation to the OIG to commission a comprehensive, independent assessment of the direction and management of the division, with specific recommendations for management and policy remedies.

Campaign finance law has indeed become a bewildering array of arcane, seemingly arbitrary distinctions and lines. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, I was one of a group of former FEC commissioners who attempted, in an amicus brief, to impress on the court the exceedingly complex nature of the law. Among other things, we noted that campaign finance regulations imposed unique rules on 71 different types of speakers, for 33 different types of campaign-related speech.

Much of this complexity has come about from the interplay of courts and regulators (by whom I mean not only those in government who do the regulating, but the substantial complex of lobbying organizations and foundations that promote further regulation of campaign speech). Regulators pass laws that are so broad as to offend most any normal interpretation of the First Amendment. The Courts attempt to confine those laws to a limited space, leaving ample alternative avenues for free speech. The regulators then pass laws attempting to block off those alternative avenues, and another go around begins.

 PJ Media on the SDNY DEO at DOJ.

Lite blogging at least from me the next two days.  I’ll be speaking at the Northern Illinois University law school this evening in a debate with Ilya Shaprio.  He’ll take the position that the damage speech regulators can do to the nation is worse than the damage that the voter fraud deniers and process manipulators can do to the nation.  Because in many instances, the speech regulators and voter fraud deniers are one in the same, we both win the debate.

I”ll also be participating in a Voting Rights symposium at NIU law on Friday with Ilya, Hans von Spakovsky and a variety of others. 

 Powerline Blog.

Holder said yesterday in a House Judiciary hearing that the DOJ will “review a request” to send monitors to Shelby TN.  Translation: Voting Section lawyers are booking their travel.

A group of Florida Democrats are proposing a state cause of action for voting lawsuits.

Its unfortunate that groups like the LWV and the NAACP consistently oppose election integrity, no matter what the circumstances.  Citizens in North Carolina found dozens of questionable registrations and election officials are following the statutory process to deal with them.  Naturally, these groups oppose following the law to rid the rolls of deadwood.

“Buncombe County elections officials on Thursday will consider removing 95 inactive voters from the roll following challenges to the registrations.