(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – June 28, 2019: Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) was invited to participate in a SCOTUSblog
symposium on the Census case opinion released Thursday. Below are
some excerpts from the submission:
In short, the court concluded that the secretary could
reinstate the citizenship question and had good reason to reinstate the
citizenship question, but the explanation he provided for why he did so was
lacking, and that, in itself, is a fatal flaw worthy of sending the issue back
to the Department of Commerce. Game over? Maybe not.
…
Not only is there disagreement among the justices
regarding the court’s analysis, there is disagreement among commentators about
the effect of the decision. There is a genuine question about whether the
Commerce Department can satisfy the court’s concerns in time for the 2020
census and, if so, how.
…
Adding to the complication is that the Supreme Court decision only
involved the challenges that were brought in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York. There are separate challenges to the
reinstatement of the citizenship question pending in the U.S. Courts of Appeals
for the 9th and 4th Circuits, and in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Maryland. Despite the New York court’s decision blocking the reinstatement
of the question in mid-January and the Supreme Court’s agreement to hear the
case this term, the other lower courts proceeded with their own fact-finding
and ruled against the government.
Read the Foundation’s prior case filings on the matter here.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the nation’s most active
public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the National Voter Registration
Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American elections – bringing more
than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance obligations and inspection
rights under federal law in federal courts across the nation in addition to
serving as amicus in more than a
dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election officials and
policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – June 27, 2019: Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision regarding the inclusion of a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 Census.
“Chief Justice Roberts unfortunately was the deciding vote,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “He agreed with the arguments of the institutional Left that how the Census question was added was more important than the common sense of asking the question in the first place. This is an unfortunate victory for the Swamp that opposed collecting facts about how many aliens are in the United States.”
“It is a sign of our time that the inclusion of a question about citizenship on the census has become a subject of bitter public controversy and has led to today’s regrettable decision. While the decision to place such a question on the 2020 census questionnaire is attacked as racist, there is a broad international consensus that inquiring about citizenship on a census is not just appropriate but advisable.” — Justice Alito
Read the Foundation’s prior case filings on the matter here.
The Foundation had made several arguments as an amicus party as this
case developed.
Robust citizenship data is necessary to determine if redistricting
maps properly protect minority voters. In the decades-long absence of
general citizenship data provided by the Census, the DOJ had to selectively
employ citizenship estimates – yet only in jurisdictions where such
data were available. Without it, DOJ and others live in a statistical fog to
determine whether a minority group is sufficiently large and geographically
compact to necessarily yield a single-member district.
Citizenship data helps facilitate private efforts to enforcing
voting laws. Census data are critical to determining which
jurisdictions are falling behind federal mandates to maintain voter rolls free
from bloat and corrupted entries. Courts have repeatedly relied on the ratio
between registered voters and resident citizens in a locale as valuable
insights—yet the citizenship data in its current form is not without flaws and
can risk skewed interpretations. Improved data quality will also help empower
private interests to ensure that federal law is being followed.
Disagreement between Executive Branch Officials and career
bureaucrats cannot serve as evidence of discriminatory intent. Plaintiffs are conjuring evidence of discriminatory intent due to
administrative policy changes after an election. If such arguments are
successful, core foundational concerns regarding the Executive Branch are
endangered. The brief notes: “the Constitution of the United States makes plain
that ‘executive Power shall be vested in the President of the United States of
America.’ As the Supreme Court stated, ‘The insistence of the Framers upon
unity in the Federal Executive—to insure both vigor and accountability—is well
known.’ The unitary Executive is essential for individual liberty.”
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the nation’s most active
public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the National Voter Registration
Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American elections – bringing more
than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance obligations and inspection
rights under federal law in federal courts across the nation in addition to
serving as amicus in more than a
dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election officials and
policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
“The Supreme Court
wisely chose to reject federal overreach into the states’ constitutional authority
to conduct redistricting,” PILF President and General Counsel J.
Christian Adams said. “Partisan foes
of the federalist balance of power have yet again sunk millions of donor
dollars. The 15th Amendment gives federal courts the power to stop
racial discrimination. The Constitution
doesn’t give federal courts the power to pick partisan outcomes.”
Read the Foundation’s prior case filings on the matter here.
The Foundation made several arguments as an amicus party in recent months.
The original intent of the Fourteenth Amendment does
not support political gerrymandering causes of action. [The authors] were
elected from districts with far greater disparity between statewide political
preferences and the partisan composition of legislative delegations than those
districts challenged [in the North Carolina action].
Allowing a federal cause of action for partisan
gerrymandering upsets the Constitutional balance. States have the general
power to manage their own elections subject to explicit and well-defined exceptions, like violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The lower court’s
decision is an affront to the important federalist balance and should be
rejected.
The Constitution grants States the power over
elections. To the States, the Framers granted exclusively the authority to
control who may vote in federal elections … Congress’s power to regulate how elections are held, however, is superior to the States’ power to do the same
only when they differ.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the nation’s most active
public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the National Voter Registration
Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American elections – bringing more
than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance obligations and inspection
rights under federal law in federal courts across the nation in addition to
serving as amicus in more than a
dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election officials and
policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
“The NCSBE is hiding
records detailing their reported efforts to identify and remove noncitizens
registered to vote,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “The disclosure of these records will better
improve policymakers’ understanding of how to prevent future ineligible
registrations—as opposed to constantly playing defense.”
The NCSBE denied
access to several forms of documentation outlining how state and/or local
officers identify and eventually remove registrants for citizenship-eligibility
defects using immigration or driver licensing data. These refusals constitute a
violation of the public inspection rights under the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993, as outlined in the complaint.
In 2018, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District indicted
19 foreign nationals for allegedly participating in the 2016 Election and
others.
The new case was filed in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division. The case
number is 5:19-cv-00248. Attorneys for the Public Interest Legal Foundation are J. Christian Adams and Noel H. Johnson. Benton Sawrey of Narron Wenzel, P.A.
serves as local counsel.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
Because of the Voting Rights
Act, it has never been easier to register to vote and vote as it is in America
in 2019 … 2019 is not 1965. The heavy hand
of federal micromanagement of state election law was justified in 1965. It is
not in 2019.
Churchwellargues that more modern uses of the preclearance power under the Clinton and Obama
Justice Departments yielded abuses.
Unfortunately, the preclearance power
became a power that was abused. From South Carolina voter ID to Georgia
redistricting, Justice Department lawyers exercised powers that they did not
possess by blocking states’ laws that were neither discriminatory in purpose or
effect, and in some cases, courts handed down sanctions.
Churchwellreminds the Subcommittee that preclearance as a concept will again prove inefficient if
reconstituted.
Whether or not the old
preclearance regime can be fully credited for the actual progress made in
creating a more just voting system – history will show that the program had a
proper time and place – and that time has passed. I contend to this body and
the general public that trying to resuscitate the concept of 20th Century-style preclearance will prove an inefficient use of federal resources and
will always be at least one step behind emerging population and demographic
trends.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the
nation’s most active public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American
elections – bringing more than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance
obligations and inspection rights under federal law in federal courts across
the nation in addition to serving as amicus in more than a dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election
officials and policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
[T]he citizenship
checks on the federal voter registration form are merely an honor system … In
my experience, these “safeguards” are wholly inadequate.
Phillipsargues that the vulnerability has proven to fail immigrants and citizens alike.
Noncitizens
continue to be registered to vote, sometimes by their own error and sometimes
by the errors of election officials. Our research has shown that individuals
have been registered to vote even when they leave the citizenship checkbox
blank or, worse, when they answer “no” to the question “Are you a citizen of
the United States of America?”
Phillipsurges the Subcommittee to take substantive action.
If the Committee
seeks to protect voters, it would be wise to focus on the failure of the citizenship
checkbox. One solution is to equip states to verify citizenship before an
individual is placed on the rolls.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation has
issued reports since 2016 detailing how flaws within the existing Motor Voter
programs in Virginia, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, California,
Illinois, Georgia, New York, and Michigan are exposing ineligible noncitizens to the voter registration process—leading
some to vote. These actions often surface when legal permanent residence seek a
path to naturalization—only to risk rejection or deportation thereafter.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the
nation’s most active public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American
elections – bringing more than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance
obligations and inspection rights under federal law in federal courts across
the nation in addition to serving as amicus in more than a dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election
officials and policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
(ALEXANDRIA, VA.) – April 25, 2019: The Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) today commended the State of Texas and local law enforcement for the
arrest of Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina.
“Texas continues to
be a shining example of how states can fight voter fraud,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Developing cases against alleged ballot ‘harvesting’ schemes demands
significant time, manpower, and investigative acumen. Attorney General Ken
Paxton and local law enforcement here again prove they have the right stuff to
confront corruption in elections.”
According to a Texas Attorney General’s Office release
circulated today, sitting Edinburg Mayor Molina won his 2017 race by more
than 1,200 votes after he allegedly organized a “harvesting” operation that
fraudulently registered voters in addresses not their own—particularly in an
apartment complex belonging to Molina.
The Foundation previously alerted Texas election officials and law enforcement to altered voter registration applications mailed by the Texas Democratic Party, which were directed to noncitizen Rio Grande Valley residents. The Secretary of State referred the complaint to AG Paxton’s office for review prior to the 2018 General Election.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the
nation’s most active public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American
elections – bringing more than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance
obligations and inspection rights under federal law in federal courts across
the nation in addition to serving as amicus in more than a dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election
officials and policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
(LARGO, FL.) – April 1, 2019: thePublic
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) alerted local, state, and federal law enforcement to on-camera comments
and apparently corroborating voting records describing acts of a person voting
twice in Pinellas County, Florida, and Erie County, New York, during the 2018
General Election.
The video footage in question may be replayed here.
The Foundation cited legal concerns to the various authorities. Under 52
U.S.C.S. § 10307:
(1) Whoever
votes more than once in an election referred to in paragraph (2) shall be fined
not more than
$10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(2) The
prohibition of this subsection applies with respect to any general, special, or
primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or
electing any candidate for the office of President, Vice President,
presidential elector, Member of the United States Senate, Member of the United
States House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, Guam,
or the Virgin Islands, or Resident Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation previously filed
election complaints in southern Texas in 2018, involving on get-out-the-vote
efforts targeting
admitted noncitizens. The complaints were later transferred to the Texas Attorney General for criminal investigation.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the
nation’s most active public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American
elections – bringing more than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance
obligations and inspection rights under federal law in federal courts across
the nation in addition to serving as amicus in more than a dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election
officials and policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
The federal district court in Houston, Texas, held that
the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar’s motion to
dismiss PILF’s case is denied and adopted the U.S. Magistrate’s Memorandum
and Recommendation on Monday, March 11.
“Proponents of open
and transparent government notched an important victory today,” PILF Communications and Research
Director Logan Churchwell said. “Federal law empowers everyone access to
inspect voter registration records to determine how well they are kept. Harris County has, for years, told the
public about noncitizen voting to influence policy in Austin and Washington.
This order brings us one step closer to demonstrating the true scale and
causes.”
Following the Monday order,
the Court is slated to consider motions for summary judgment.
The case continues in tandem with a state
court action brought by Harris County against Texas Attorney General Ken
Paxton after his office opined that noncitizen records sought by PILF should
generally be disclosed under state statutes as well.
PILF previously
responded to claims made by Harris County suggesting that it had no right
to data related to noncitizen voter registrants and that the federal case
should be stayed pending a state court judgment in Austin, among other matters.
Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
allows individuals to inspect “records concerning the implementation of
programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring accuracy and
currency of official lists of eligible voters,” the PILF noted in its original
complaint.
The case was filed in the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The case number is 4:18-cv-00981.
Attorneys for the Public Interest Legal Foundation are J. Christian Adams and Noel H. Johnson. Brenham-based Andy Taylor of Andy
Taylor & Associates, P.C. serves as local counsel.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the
nation’s most active public interest law firm dedicated to enforcing the
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity of American
elections – bringing more than a dozen cases to enforce voter list maintenance
obligations and inspection rights under federal law in federal courts across
the nation in addition to serving as amicus in more than a dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also works with election
officials and policymakers to improve the integrity of elections.
Public
Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm
dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and
others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in
American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to
protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American
elections. ###
The Foundation seeks to intervene in the ongoing case
against Texas’ recent guidance to counties offering voter list maintenance
leads on potential noncitizens registered to vote. PILF wishes to share its
concerns about attacks on protected speech and attempts to chill reasonable
efforts to clear voter rolls of ineligible registrants. The Motion to
Intervene, filed today, notes:
By characterizing [the State of Texas’] reporting on efforts to maintain an accurate voter registration roll as “voter intimidation” designed to “create fear” and “stoke public anxiety,” this case presents an alarming attack on the power of public officials, and their ancillary rights to participate in the public discourse about the actions of their office … To allege that communications such as these constitute threats, coercion, and voter intimidation is an attack on both constitutionally protected speech and on the power of a state election official to manage elections and voter registration.
“LULAC and its allies are heavily invested in chilling Texas’ ability to positively identify and remove noncitizens registered to vote,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “This is the end-game for strategy for those who wish to confront the greater election integrity cause.If the plaintiffs prove successful, an official or private party could be accused of voter intimidation for simply communicating concerns about ineligible voter activity.”
The Foundation will make various arguments that it
believes would not otherwise be made by the State of Texas.
LULAC’s
interpretation of the voter intimidation portion of the Voting Rights Act is
unconstitutional as applied
The VRA plainly requires intimidation, threats, or
coercion to actually occur to properly invoke the statute. LULAC and others
would have the court rule that communications regarding voter list maintenance
efforts be deemed intimidating. LULAC’s allegations seek to expand the Voting
Rights Act beyond what the drafters intended and what courts have allowed.
LULAC and others
are pleading inadequate facts
The current complaint before the court contains
allegations that even if there were found true, cannot entitle relief requested
under the Constitution or Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Motion to Intervene as Defendant and Proposed Answer
by Defendant-Intervenor PILF filings can be found, here. Case
number 5:19-cv-00074 (LULAC et. al. v.
Texas) is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Texas – San Antonio Division.
Attorneys for the Public Interest Legal Foundation are J.
Christian Adams and Kaylan L. Phillips. Andy Taylor from the Andy Taylor &
Associates, P.C. serves as local counsel.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is the nation’s most active public interest law firm dedicated to
enforcing the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and ensuring the integrity
of American elections – bringing more than a dozen cases to enforce voter list
maintenance obligations and inspection rights under federal law in federal
courts across the nation in addition to serving as amicus in more than a dozen voting law cases. The Foundation also
works with election officials and policymakers to improve the integrity of
elections.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity.
The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election
integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on
numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and
preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. ###
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