New York Times

Outside Groups Eclipsing G.O.P. as Hub of Campaigns

New York Times by Nicholas Confessore

About once a month, a dozen or so of the country’s most influential Republicans meet in a bare-walled conference room in Washington to discuss how to make further gains in the Congressional elections next year and defeat President Obama.

They share polling and opposition research, preview their plans for advertising and contacting voters in swing states, and look for ways to coordinate spending hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 12 months, drawing on years of experience laboring for the party.read more >>

Judge Rejects Challenge to Voting Rights Law by County in Alabama

New York Times by Campbell Robertson

Ruling that the intentional voter discrimination that led to the passage and multiple extensions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 still exists, a federal judge in Washington on Wednesday dismissed an Alabama county’s claim that portions of the act were unconstitutional. read more >>

House Prohibits Federal Money to Acorn

New York Times by Carl Hulse

September 18, 2009

WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to deny any federal money to the nationwide community organizing group Acorn, and the Senate reaffirmed its opposition as well after embarrassing videos of a few of the group’s workers became public.read more >>

A Turning Point for Voting Rights Law

New York Times by The Editors

(Photo: Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times) Voters casting their ballots in February 2008 in Decatur, Ga., a state covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on the constitutionality of a central provision of the Voting Rights Act, considered one of the most effective civil rights laws passed by Congress. The provision, known as Section 5, requires states and local governments with a history of discrimination to obtain advance federal permission, or “preclearance,” before changing their election laws.read more >>

Senate Measure Seeks to Spur Foundations to Give More

New York Times by Stephanie Strom

Three senators introduced legislation Tuesday intended to encourage foundations to give away more of their money.

The measure would change the way foundations are taxed on their investment income, replacing the current two-tiered system with a single tax rate. Foundations complain that the current system effectively penalizes them when they give away more money than usual.

Expanding National Service

New York Times by Editorial

The nation is close to a major civic breakthrough. By a 321-to-105 vote last week, the House approved an ambitious bipartisan measure to enlarge the opportunities for Americans of all ages and income levels to participate in productive national and community service.

A similar plan is now before the Senate. A favorable vote this week would help speed a worthy initiative to President Obama’s desk.

Still Broken

New York Times

In last year’s presidential election, as many as three million registered voters were not allowed to cast ballots and millions more chose not to because of extremely long lines and other frustrating obstacles. Ever since the 2000 election in Florida, the serious flaws in the voting system have been abundantly clear. More than eight years later, Congress must finally deliver on its promise of electoral reform.

Narrowing the Voting Rights Act

New York Times by Editorial

The Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the Voting Rights Act this week when it ruled that it does not require states to create so-called crossover districts. The regrettable 5-to-4 ruling overturns two of the act’s central goals: protecting minority voting rights and moving the nation toward a more colorblind future.

In crossover districts, minorities are not a majority, but they have enough voting power that they stand a good chance of electing a candidate of their choosing.

Hurdles to Voting Persisted in 2008

New York Times by Ian Urbina

WASHINGTON — Four million to five million voters did not cast a ballot in the 2008 presidential election because they encountered registration problems or failed to receive absentee ballots, which is roughly the same number of voters who encountered such problems in the 2000 election, according to an academic study to be presented to the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday.

Justices Hear Arguments on Money-Court Nexus

New York Times by Adam Liptak

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared split along familiar ideological lines at an argument Tuesday over whether a state court judge should have disqualified himself from an appeal of a $50 million jury verdict against an energy company whose chief executive had spent $3 million to elect him.

The more liberal justices expressed concern about the role money has come to play in judicial elections. The more conservative ones suggested that there was no principled way to decide when campaign spending required disqualification.read more >>