Author Archives: ELECTIONLAWCENTER.COM

Attorney for Gila County (AZ) advises deference to DOJ on redistricting

It seems that the attorney advising Gila County Arizona has some interesting advice for the county:

“Big Brother knows best. So don’t bother your poor little brains. Just leave it all up to the U.S. Justice Department. That’s the gist of the advice the Gila County Board of Supervisors received this week as its consultants explained the strange logic they believe grips the apparently rigid minds of federal civil rights lawyers.”

More:

“The net effect would increase the Native American voting bloc in District 3 as well as the Hispanic voting bloc in District 2. It would also increase the total percentage of minority voters in District 2 modestly. However, it would also reduce the combined percentage of minority voters in District 3 from about 52 percent to about 44 percent.


That’s a non-starter with the Justice Department, say the county’s consultants — one of whom used to work for the Justice Department.”

Has the attorney/consultant [for Gila] examined the data to see if there is an effective difference in the opportunity to elect in a 52 percent district vs a 44 percent district?  Or is this an “eyeball” determination?  And who might that attorney consultant be that is advising Gila County to defer to his old friends at the DOJ?  Why none other than Bruce Adelson.  Should attorneys for Gila County be representing the interests of Gila County, or a blended agenda of a little bitta-Gila and a little bitta-DOJ?  Read more about this particular attorney here at National Review.

Photo ID mandate for Pa. voters awaits Senate vote

Here is Link to update of voter id debate in Pennsylvania.  If adopted in this state of 12.6 million citizens, it would be one of the largest states to adopt the voting reform.

excerpt:

Fourteen other states require or have approved laws that will require voters to show photo identification, according to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.  


Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a similar bill in 2006 but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Ed Rendell on the grounds that it would make voting unnecessarily difficult.


What will become of the latest bill remains to be seen, but with strong Republican support in the House and from GOP Gov. Tom Corbett, its prospects for passage — in some form — appear strong.

Colorado Dems see proposed redistricting as possible way to unseat Rep. Coffman

Link.  Days after U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman proposed printing more ballots only in English, Democrats released a new congressional map that would increase the Latino population in his district from 9 percent to 22 percent.

And this from the article: 

GOP attorney Richard Westfall said the Republican map creates only minimal changes to current boundaries so it doesn’t disrupt Latinos.  Democrats, he said, created a “very significant and unnecessary dilution of existing Hispanic voting strength” in the 2nd District, represented by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat.

Last week, Coffman announced he plans to introduce legislation to repeal portions of the 1973 voting act so ballots and other election materials would only have to be printed in English.  He said the current law states that if a certain threshold is reached, then everyone in the entire county must have dual-language ballots.



“The method for determining which counties fall under the mandate is highly suspect,” said Coffman, a former Colorado secretary of state.  He noted that respondents are asked if English is not their native language, do they comprehend English “very well,” “well,” “fair” or “none at all.”  “Anyone that answers anything but ‘very well’ is classified as English deficient and is counted toward the threshold,” he said

Port Chester voting appeal rejected

More at lohud.com.  This seems to be the end of the story:

The U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected the village’s controversial attempt to renew a nearly 5-year-old legal battle over its trustee election system.

A three-judge panel ruled Thursday that the village has no right to appeal a 2008 ruling that deemed the former at-large system unfair to Hispanics.


In 2009, Port Chester agreed to usher in a new and unusual method called cumulative voting, under a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. This year, after winning office under the new system, the newly elected trustees switched course, opting to appeal. Justice Department attorneys maintained the village had given up that right. In a two-sentence order, the appeals panel agreed.


“We obviously disagree with this ruling and are disappointed with this result,” said attorney Michael Carvin, who represented Port Chester. “We will be consulting with the Board of Trustees concerning this decision.”


The Justice Department’s 2006 lawsuit sought to replace at-large trustee seats with single-member districts. U.S. District Judge Stephen C. Robinson ruled that the villagewide vote had kept Hispanics, estimated to make up at least 22 percent of voting-age citizens, from electing their preferred candidates to the board. He ordered a change but allowed the village to adopt cumulative voting rather than districts.


The board voted 4-2 in February to appeal, despite a public outcry that the effort was a waste of taxpayer money on top of $1.2 million already spent on the case. The board agreed to hire Carvin of the Jones Day law firm at fees of up to $775 an hour, with a $225,000 maximum. Carvin is a high-profile appellate lawyer and the brother of Rye Town Supervisor Joseph Carvin.


The village has paid more than $35,000 to Jones Day, but that does not reflect the full amount to be billed, village Treasurer Leonie Douglas said.


“The case was over, but they hired fancy lawyers who convinced them otherwise, and they went on this fool’s errand,” said attorney Randolph McLaughlin, who joined the Justice Department’s lawsuit on behalf of plaintiff Cesar Ruiz, an unsuccessful candidate for trustee in 2001.