Author Archives: J Christian Adams

“What is the most dysfunctional election agency of all?”

As every member of the FEC start to serve expired terms, the Editors at Bloomberg.com asks whether We Should Kill the Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Given its propensity for deadlock, with the panel’s three
Republicans pitted against its three (and now, due to vacancy,
only two) Democrats, the FEC is arguably the most dysfunctional
agency in the federal government.

Members of Congress are more confident that the “Zombie Agency” otherwise known as the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), is the most dysfunctional agency in the federal government.  With the departure of each commissioner and majority of professional staff, the agency is an empty shell.


“The EAC, an obsolete agency that has long outlived its purpose, now has
no commissioners, no executive director, and no general counsel.  It is
a zombie agency, lumbering forward lifelessly devouring taxpayer
dollars.“

What is your vote?

In Colorado, “Gessler wins latest battle over mail ballots”



As the Colorado Senate debates the Democrats’ partisan election code rewrite HB 1303 – which state Senator Lundberg just offered an amendment to rename the “Same Day Voter Fraud Act” – Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who was shut out of the bill drafting process that included a multitude of progressive organizations, “has won the latest battle over whether ballots should be mailed to inactive voters.” 


 


If HB 1303 passes, however, the victory will be short-lived, as the bill requires all registered voters including those classified as inactive to be mailed a ballot – not an application but an actual ballot.


“Justice Department OKs Ousting Texas School Board”

Subject to review under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act: “Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams named the new board of managers in December, saying the replacements were needed to regain the public trust.”

Outcome: ” U.S. Department of Justice said it won’t oppose ousting the locally elected school board in the wake of a testing scandal at several of high schools.”

Story.

Bringing the Voting Rights Act into the 21st Century

 Project 21: “With the exception of a small-minded few who possess no real political power, the American people have long since moved on from rules that singled out certain people for disparate treatment. Federal regulators, unfortunately, have not. At this very minute, state and local governments are still beholden to mandates from Washington that oversee and control purely local issues.”

PJ Media: “Suit Filed Over Refusal to Clean Up Voter Rolls”

 PJ Media:


“The American Civil Rights Union wants local election officials to clean up voter rolls in Mississippi. Last Friday, the group filed suit against two counties that have more registered voters than the Census says they have voting-eligible citizens. . . .


That may seem to be a commonsense requirement, but the radical wing of the civil rights community loathes the provision.



The Obama administration has not filed a single case to enforce Section 8, even though numerous counties in many states have the same disparities between voter rolls and eligible voters as these two Mississippi counties. Their voter registration lists are out-of-date because local officials are not deleting names of those who have died, moved away, or otherwise become ineligible to vote. According to a recent report on the Civil Rights Division by the Department of Justice inspector general, ten witnesses told the IG that one of Obama’s political appointees and Perez’s direct subordinates, Julie Fernandes, told Division staff that the administration was not interested in pursuing any cases under Section 8 because it did not expand voter access.



In fact, Christopher Coates, the former chief of the Voting Section at the Division, recommended at least eight states be investigated for violating Section 8. Perez ignored his recommendation. . . .



These are the first lawsuits from the ACRU’s “Election Integrity Defense Project,” which is headed by former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese. By trying to enforce federal laws intended to secure the integrity of our democratic process and our most fundamental right — the right to vote in free and fair elections — the ACRU is doing what the Justice Department should be doing, and would be doing if its law enforcement decisions were not so politicized.”

House Republicans to EAC: “Reform or Die”

House Republicans, primarily serving on the Committee on House Administration, have filed a bill to terminate the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and are demanding accountability of the federal agency tasked with providing assistance to states and counties with election administration. 

The bill consolidates the EAC’s duties with other agencies, terminates taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns and party conventions and pockets the savings towards deficit reduction.  A newer version of the bill can be found by searching for H.R. 260 here. 

Interesting enough, the Executive Order establishing the Presidential Commission on Election Administration states that the “Commission shall be informed by, and shall strive to avoid duplicating, the efforts of other governmental entities.”  A review of election administration issues the new Commission is tasked with already reveals a significant amount of duplication of effort with the decade old EAC.  Perhaps the reasoning is if the EAC is terminated, there is no longer a duplication of effort. 





Imagine a World Without Section 5


I have written that Section 5, as constituted, does a disservice to the country by creating racially gerrymandered districts across the nation, even in places where it makes no sense to cover those jurisdicitions under Section 4.  A side-effect of Section 5 is increased racial polarization, where candidates from these racially gerrymandered districts become polarizing and unable to appeal to a broader cross section of voters.  The safe racial enclaves produced by Section 5, where candidates can never lose no matter what they say, is an unfortunate by-product of Section 5.  Rep. Hank Johnson once again demonstrates my point: