My latest at PJ Media: PJ Media reported years ago that the Obama administration brings lawsuits attacking voter ID but brazenly refuses to enforce other voting laws such as Section 8 of the National Voting Registration Act which requires states to maintain clean voting rolls. This policy was announced in my presence when I was at the DOJ by then Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes (who now works for George Soros’ Open Society Foundations spreading his billions to leftist groups to further undermine election integrity). Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina, on the other hand, feel the full weight of DOJ attacks on election integrity measures in those states. In the years that we have been reporting on this cherry picking policy, not a single case has been brought by DOJ to clean up voting rolls. Indeed, sources report that DOJ Voting Section Chief Chris Herren rushed out letters to states asking questions about corrupted rolls after our reports were published. But this was window dressing to disguise the real policy of inaction. Not one single case has been brought by DOJ since Obama’s inauguration in 2009. In the 2012 election, over four million ineligible voters were on state rolls. Leftists defending this corrupt inaction called it “prosecutorial discretion.” The Inspector General (appointed by President Obama) apparently disagrees with their dismissal of the matter. . . . And let’s be clear: “conservative” in DOJ Civil Rights parlance means a lawyer who isn’t willing to bring a lawsuit of marginal merit to appease a left wing race interest group. Merely following the existing caselaw can brand a lawyer as an enemy of the regime inside the Civil Rights Division. Part of the express agenda inside Civil Rights is to push the frontiers of legal theory and expand the number of claims a plaintiff alleging racial grievances can bring. Everything is about racial factions. Racial factions are the New Hungry Constituency. It’s redistribution time at DOJ, and the public litigation record proves it. … It might be hard for regular Americans to believe that DOJ employees who committed perjury and lied to Congress are still employed by the taxpayers, and I’m not just talking about Eric Holder.”
“Michael E. Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, published a memorandum to Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole about “challenges” facing the Justice Department. On the list of challenges were misconduct and malfeasance by DOJ employees and units which PJ Media has been reporting about for years. . . .
Full story at link.
Hilarious: DOJ Lawyers Chewed Out By Angry NAACP Activists in NC
“During the break, NAACP leader Barber passed a waist-high wall separating the audience from the proceeding and approached the three Justice Department lawyers to give them an earful. “We need this in court now,” he said. “You all should be serving us. As long as it’s out there and not tried, it’s killing us. The ungodly arrogance for you to walk into the South and allow [the defendants] to set the schedule… We should be walking into this courtroom unified.” “We remember those who told us to wait,” Barber said, referencing a Martin Luther King quote. “Lord, some things you can’t get back again. [There’s been] too much blood… too much hurt, to wait any longer. This is an attempt to rob democracy.”
Read the full story here, including this hyperbolic gem:
“Before the hearing resumed, Barber invited supporters of the plaintiffs to pray together. About 30 people huddled together quietly in the aisle of the courtroom, clasping each other’s hands or resting palms on their neighbor’s shoulder.
“Texas Voting Rate Increased in Its First Voter ID Test”
Via The PJ Tatler:
“The Economist has noticed a fact that has been available to anyone who took the time to check it for more than a month: After passing voter ID, the voting rate in Texas increased. By a lot…
“The November result totally destroys the Obama administration’s stated rationale for going to court to stop the law. But that isn’t likely to keep them from messing with Texas anyway.”
Bryan Preston did take the time to check – five weeks ago – and also noticed the opposite of voter suppression.
“Non Citizens Caught Voting in Key Swing State”
Eric Shawn has the story.
And where is the DOJ Election Crimes branch? Case after case after case of criminal voter fraud goes un-prosecuted by Eric Holder’s Election Crimes branch. Double voting. Illegal voting. Non citizen voting. Corrupted voter rolls. This is a case where 18 USC 611 has been violated. Where is the United States Attorney? Doing nothing, as in the case of Meloweese Richardson.
Speech Regulators “Latest Attempt to Censor Political Speech”
“The proposed regulation would redefine what the IRS considers “candidate-related political activity” for §501(c)(4) organizations. It is a thinly veiled attempt to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United by executive fiat, after the administration failed in a similar attempt when it couldn’t get the DISCLOSE Act passed by Congress. The regulation would seriously infringe the First Amendment rights of advocacy organizations.”
Human Events.
“Texas Residents Who Support Voter ID Denied Intervention in DOJ Lawsuit—Will the Same Thing Happen in North Carolina?”
National Review:
It is not surprising that the Justice Department opposed the intervention of True the Vote, but it is unprecedented. The Justice Department has a policy of not opposing motions to intervene by citizen groups interested in voting issues, such as the NAACP, LULAC, ACLU, MALDEF, and the League of Women Voters.
But all of those organizations are liberal advocacy organizations that oppose all election-integrity efforts. True the Vote is a conservative organization that is made up of Texas residents and voters. Apparently if you are a political ally of the Obama administration, your participation in attacking voter ID is welcome. But if you oppose the administration, then the Justice Department’s lawyers will vigorously oppose your intervention.
In addition to individual plaintiffs, the Texas case has the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Texas League of Young Voters, the Brennan Center, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and the Texas Association of Hispanic County Judges and County Commissioners (TAHCJCC) on the other side, joined with the Justice Department in going after Texas. Illustrating the complete hypocrisy and potential bias of the Justice Department is the fact that at almost the same time that Justice was opposing True the Vote’s intervention, it filed a response to the motion to intervene of the TAHCJCC and Maria Longoria Benevides saying it did “not oppose permissive intervention.”
In fact, Justice told the judge that “Courts have routinely allowed intervention by persons [similarly] situated” to Ms. Benevides, who is “a resident and registered voter of Texas” and to the TAHCJCC which is “an association of elected county officials.” “As such,” according to Justice, “they may possess relevant knowledge and a useful ‘local perspective on the current and historical facts’ at issue in this litigation.”
That perfectly describes True the Vote and Catherine Engelbrecht, a resident and registered voter in Texas, who were not allowed into the case even though Judge Ramos granted the motion of intervention that was filed by the TAHCJCC and Ms. Benevides.
“Guilty pleas resolve all five voter fraud convictions in Iowa”
…efforts to seek out and prosecute voter fraud cases have yielded five convictions. The cases represent a range of voting infractions, although there are definite patterns. Three of the cases involve felons whose voting rights had not been restored. All five were resolved with guilty pleas rather than trials — three to misdemeanors, two to felonies — and generally with lesser charges than those initially filed by county attorneys. More details at the Des Moines Register here.
Mandela’s South Africa voter ID requirement tougher than Wisconsin law
Media trackers compare the two electoral systems and use of ID.
An October story from a South African news outlet explains in advance of the nation’s 2014 elections, “aspirant voters must produce a valid South African identity document when registering to vote and when voting.” That means procuring one of “three forms of official identification.” One of those identification forms is new: a so-called “smartcard ID.” Although a new addition to the process, one election official said that “[a]ccommodating the new smartcard IDs has not been difficult.”
….The South African system stands in stark contrast to Wisconsin’s own election system. Voter registration is always available – including on election day – and early voting in some areas extends the amount of time voters have to cast ballots. No form of identification is required to cast a ballot and proof of residency is not always required to register to vote.
Denver Post: “Group files suit against Colorado county clerks over voter rolls”
True the Vote vs two counties with inflated voter rolls. I am working on this case along with Chris Coates and Jessica Peck. The Denver Post: “A national conservative organization that aims to address voter fraud filed lawsuits Monday against two Colorado county clerks for what it says is improper maintenance of voter rolls. True the Vote alleges clerks from Gilpin and Mineral counties have voter registration rates — according to the group’s analysis — of more than 100 percent, which it says signifies a problem. As a result, the group argues the clerks have not complied with the Voter Registration Act of 1993 by not making “a reasonable effort to conduct voter list maintenance programs in elections for federal office.” Moreover, the lawsuits looks to suspend in those counties a new elections law that requires ballots to be mailed to all eligible Colorado voters. According to lawsuit, implementation of the elections law “will exacerbate and intensify the violations.” Gilpin County Clerk Colleen Stewart and Mineral County Clerk Eryn Wintz , who are both Democrats, declined to comment.”
“Win For Kobach In Federal Court”
Kscbnews.com reports: It was a partial victory in federal court Friday for Kansas’ Secretary of State Kris Kobach after a federal judge ordered action be taken within a month on the state’s request to change a federal voter registration form. The federal form is used in less than 1% of voter registrations in Kansas but provides a loop hole to Kansas’ requirement demanding proof of citizenship. The federal form only requires a sworn signature.