Author Archives:
Senator Leland Yee: Gunrunner and Speech Regulator
A hero of the speech regulation crowd has been revealed as a gun runner, trafficker and indicted Senator. California Democrat Leland Yee was charged with multiple federal counts of gun running, trafficking and corruption. Yee was a champion of the speech regulators in California and opponent of Citizens United. One sample: Two new bills propose ways to give voters greater insights into the flood of political money from often obscure nonprofit organizations. SB 3, by Sens. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, and Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, would require nonprofit groups that donate $100,000 or more in a year to political campaigns to identify the source of that funding. AB 45, by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, would require politically active nonprofit organizations to disclose donors who in the six months before an election have contributed at least $50,000. The bill would also give the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission greater power to go to court to compel such groups to reveal donors.
Alabama moving ahead to require proof of citizenship when voters register
Alabama says it plans to move ahead with a requirement for potential voters to show concrete proof of citizenship, in the first sign of a wider impact from a court decision on Wednesday ordering a federal elections agency to help Arizona and Kansas enforce their own such requirement… The federal court decision “has given us the confidence that Alabama has strong footing for implementation of the rules regarding proof of citizenship,” Secretary of State Jim Bennett said.
Expect other states to follow suit.
In Voter ID Lawsuits, “Disparate Impact Isn’t Enough”
At NRO, Roger Clegg and Hans von Spakovsky summarize their Heritage Foundation report “Disparate Impact” and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act: From the report: In its voter ID lawsuits, the DOJ emphasizes its claims that the changes made by these states will make it more difficult for minorities to vote, but a claim that a challenged practice has a statistical impact greater than the status quo ante does not mean that there has been a violation of Section 2, since Section 2, unlike Section 5, is not a “retrogression” statute. It seems that the DOJ is refusing to accept the Shelby County decision and is trying to convert Section 2 into an “anti-retrogression” statute to replace the fallen Section 5. The important factor to consider under Section 2 is whether the challenged practice, such as a voter ID requirement, imposes a burden greater than the usual sort associated with voting… In this regard, Justice John Paul Stevens’s majority opinion in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board found that the burden of getting a voter ID does not rise above the “usual burdens of voting,” calling into question the validity of the Justice Department’s claims under Section 2 against Texas and North Carolina.
As Eric Holder’s Justice Department attacks voter-ID laws in Texas and North Carolina, the Heritage Foundation has warned courts that they should be wary of construing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to find liability when only a “disparate impact” on the basis of race has been shown.
South Texas county’s Democrat primary voting machines seized
Hidalgo County initiates tampering investigation The Monitor reports on the latest election irregularities in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley: A state District Court judge on Wednesday ordered the impounding of all voting machines used in the Hidalgo County Democratic primary this year. “Upon review of information received by the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office, regarding the forenamed election, criminal conduct may have occurred in connection with said election, therefore requiring impoundment of all the election returns, voted ballots, signature roster and other election records and equipment for an investigation and ultimately a determination of whether or not criminal conduct occurred,” the application states.
Voting machines and other materials used in the primary during early voting in late February and Election Day on March 4 were impounded Wednesday afternoon following an application the District Attorney’s Office filed in the morning in the 398th state District Court alleging possible criminal vote tampering.
Kansas Wins, EAC Loses: Can Demand Citizenship Info
A big win for Kris Kobach and Kansas on election integrity. A federal court rules that Kansas and Arizona can demand that the federal voter registration form contain citizenship proof. Read the opinion here.
A review of mummified woman’s voting records point to fraud
Inconsistent voting records for the woman who is thought to have been recently found mummified in a Pontiac home after about six years could point to election fraud, said a newly-announced State Senate candidate. Link to story.
Senator Boxer: “If voting lines over one hour, DOJ will require states to submit plan for approval to reduce time”
On Wednesday of this week, the Senate Rules Committee held a hearing entitled Election Administration: Innovation, Administrative Improvements and Cost Savings. At minute 35 of the hearing, Senator Boxer describes the penalty if any voting line in America is over one hour. In a nutshell, the state or local officials goes into the DOJ penalty box where they will hand over to the election official crayons and paper and require a joint plan to reduce the wait times. As if DOJ has some secret formula!!!
Trying to pull a fast one!! Congressman Hoyer: Skip hearings and pass new Voting Rights Bill by summer
“Mini” Voting Rights Act in Washington State – Dead
Failed to get out of committee.