President Obama stated in his 2013 State of the Union that he is creating a new “non-partisan” commission with “voting experts” to solve the nations’ voting line issue:
We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes one of the most fundamental right of a democracy: the right to vote. When any American, no matter where they live or what their party, are denied that right because they can’t afford to wait for five or six or seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. So tonight, I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. And it definitely needs improvement. I’m asking two long-time experts in the field — who, by the way, recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign — to lead it. We can fix this, and we will. The American people demand it, and so does our democracy.
Who does the fact-checking for the President? First, the lines averaged about 15 minutes across the country. Second, based on the selection of its leadership, the Commission can only be considered highly partisan.
While not sure how Democrats view Mr. Ginsberg, Republicans view Mr. Bauer with deep suspicion as a hyper partisan lawyer due to his partisan flame-throwing and cutthroat tactics. Indeed, both Democrat Robert Bauer and Republican Ben Ginsberg are campaign finance specialists. However, campaign attorneys have a different role than that of experts in the field of election administration or voting.
Their job is keep their clients out of trouble with the byzantine laws of campaign finance and ethics, not to make the voting experience for Americans a more comfortable experience.
Both attorneys have furthered the partisan interest of those political parties, committees, and candidates and that has been their primary focus for decades. Bauer even served as the President’s counsel in the White House. Also, I am fairly certain that Bauer did not spent his career figuring out ways to solve the nations voting problems; instead it was more focused on fighting the latest wars money after Citizens United. Similarly, Ginsberg represented Bush-Cheney to make sure Bush won Bush v. Gore not to pick up the pieces of the elections process in Florida.
The President could have sought out two or more former Secretaries of States with partisan credentials but some real experience in the field. However, it appears he is simply expecting “the lawyers” to negotiate on behalf of the political parties (RNC and DNC) and wander toward some grand political solution on what is essentially a local election administration problem.
Perhaps these leading lawyers for the two political camps will bring in the experts to offer solutions to the issues presented, but that remains to be seen.