“Secretary Dunlap
purports to be a champion of transparency, until it comes to his own office,” PILF President and General Counsel J.
Christian Adams said. “Maine law conflicts with federal statute. A
person or organization’s lack of partisan interests should not disqualify them
from reviewing list maintenance records. Maine’s elections records must be made
available to the public.”
The complaint filed today, February 19, explains the Foundation initially requested copies of
Maine’s statewide voter file and voting histories on October 17, 2019 pursuant
to Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Secretary Dunlap’s
office notified PILF the same day that the request was denied, given that the
Foundation did not intend to leverage the data for electioneering purposes. On
October 29, the Foundation provided
notice to Secretary Dunlap that litigation would commence after his office
did not release the data pursuant to the federal statutes governing the matter.
The Foundation seeks relief under Section 8 of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which requires officials to make voter
list maintenance documents like the voter roll itself available for inspection
to the general public. The law also offers a private right to file a lawsuit if
denied.
Other federal courts which have confronted the issue have
sided in favor of disclosure of public records.
Maine is now one of the last states to disclose election
records in the face of federal inspection rights. Delaware and Massachusetts
recently opened access to their respective registration records pursuant to
PILF’s federal inspection requests. Litigation
is ongoing in Maryland for the same.
Augusta maintains a contradictory record with respect to
disclosure laws in recent years.
-Secretary Dunlap notoriously sued the U.S. Presidential
Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (for which he was a commissioner)
over claims he was excluded from business communications and was therefore due
those records. He later admitted he was “cajole[d]”
into standing as a plaintiff for a third-party organization wishing to
bring the suit.
-Prior to suing his fellow commissioners, Secretary
Dunlap denied the presidential advisory commission’s request for a copy of Maine’s voter
registration roll.
-PILF previously represented a nonprofit organization
that spent more than five years fighting to protect the names of its private donors
from the State of Maine. The foes of PILF’s client complained that PILF’s
client violated Maine’s campaign finance laws. Maine decided to investigate the
organization, seeking sensitive information including donor
identities. There, Maine fought to enforce its disclosure laws over the client’s
concerns about donor harassment.
The Foundation sued
the City of Detroit for failing to maintain its voter list from dead and
duplicate registrants in December 2019. The lawsuit is intended to help ensure
the best voter roll data quality ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election.
The new case was filed in the United States District
Court for the District of Maine. The case number is 1:20-cv-00061. The attorneys
for the Public Interest Legal
Foundation are Noel H. Johnson and Kaylan L. Phillips. Portland-based Stephen
C. Whiting 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. ###
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – January 23, 2020. The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) initiated a private investigative effort into recent official disclosures that Illinois’ automatic voter registration system reportedly invited noncitizen DMV customers onto the voter rolls. More than a dozen are reported to have voted in the 2018 Midterms as a result.
“We’ve warned and proven for
years that Motor Voter was pushing noncitizens onto voter rolls,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Then Illinois and other states made it worse by automating
the process. The Foundation has sent a demand letter under public inspection
rights of the National Voter Registration Act to Illinois for data regarding
the alien voting problem they have and impacts on elections there— like a
sheriff’s race decided by a single ballot.”
Early local news
reports based on statements from the Illinois State Board of Elections indicate
that an alleged programming glitch in its new automatic voter registration
system for DMV customers placed 574 noncitizens into the statewide registry
prior to the 2018 General Election. Of those, at least 19 cast a ballot. The
hundreds of noncitizens were reportedly self-identified, meaning more could
remain masked as citizens within the voter roll to date.
The Foundation
filed a records inspection request with the ISBE to address at least four inquiries:
Were all of the self-reported 574 noncitizens
actually registered via DMV transactions?
Is Illinois undertaking any official efforts to
proactively identify remaining registered noncitizens?
Were noncitizens self-reporting in Illinois
prior to the 574 cases?
Did any self-reported noncitizens vote in
elections potentially decided by their participation?
The Foundation
intends to distribute a catalog of findings to better educate the general public on official election fraud risks ahead of
the 2020 Elections.
Section 8 of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) empowers any party to physically
inspect local election records related to voter list maintenance efforts.
A copy of the
inspection request letter may be accessed, 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.
“Maryland is refusing
to follow federal election law and is denying access to public election records
ahead of the 7th Congressional District Special Election and the 2020 contests,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Maryland should choose transparency over
concealing list maintenance records.”
The initial complaint filed today, December 16, explains the Foundation initially requested copies of
Maryland’s statewide voter file and select voting histories on November 13,
pursuant to the application procedure set forth by the MSBOE. The State
notified PILF two days later that its application was denied because the
organization was not local. This reason was given despite an August 2019 court
ruling against the MSBOE, finding that federal inspection rights over such data
supersede state rules preventing outside access.
The Foundation seeks relief under Section 8 of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which requires officials to make voter
list maintenance documents like the voter roll itself available for inspection
to the general public. The law also offers a private right to file a lawsuit if
denied.
In the interest of a speedy resolution ahead of the CD-7
special contests in Spring 2020, the Foundation is also filing for a motion for
summary judgment.
The Foundation recently sued
the City of Detroit, Michigan, for failing to maintain its voter list from
dead and duplicate registrants on December 10. Both lawsuits are intended to
help ensure the best voter roll data quality ahead of the 2020 Presidential
Election.
The new case was filed in the United States District
Court for the District of Maryland. The case number
is 1:19-cv-03564. The attorney for the Public Interest Legal Foundation is
Noel H. Johnson. Baltimore-based Glenn E. Bushel and Richard L. Costella of Tydings
& Rosenberg LLP serve 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.
“We are a major
step closer to understanding how badly Pennsylvania bungled voter registration
by allowing noncitizens to register to vote.,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Election officials should be transparent if
they want Pennsylvanians to have confidence in elections. Hiding documents
about alien registration is bad policy and must end.”
“Pennsylvania wanted our lawsuit
to go away so they could keep records concealed. It isn’t going away, and the
records should be disclosed to the public about how badly government officials
screwed up our election system.”
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 City of
Detroit is failing to perform some of the most basic functions owed to its
citizenry,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “The city government’s nonchalant attitude
toward addressing evidence of dead and duplicate registrations exposes yet
another vulnerability in our voting systems as our nation works to improve
election security before November 2020. Making a federal case out of this was necessary, and I hope we can
achieve a resolution before the polls open.”
Detroit Quick Facts
–Voter Registration Rate per 2016 Citizen Voting-Age
Population: 106%
— # of Dead Registrants Aged 85+: 2,503
— # of Registrations flagged for duplicate, triplicate
concerns: 4,788
— # of Registrations Missing Actual Dates of
Registration: 16,465
The initial complaint filed on December 10 explains the Foundation has studied the City’s voter list
maintenance efforts since 2017 by a variety of means. Earlier this year, PILF
acquired the statewide qualified voter file from the Michigan Secretary of
State for the purpose of comparing registration lists against federal death
records. The Foundation ultimately sampled all active registrants whose
respective ages were 85 years or older, finding more than 2,500 within the age
range who were listed in the Social Security Death Index with corresponding
death records and/or obituaries.
The Foundation also studied and catalogued examples of
single registrants who managed to become registered to vote two and even three
times with matching or substantially similar names and other biographical
information within the same addresses. PILF flagged a grand total of 4,788
registration files for duplicate and triplicate concerns. Among them, examples
of married/maiden name conflicts, simple typographical errors, and conflicting
gender designations were trending concerns.
The Foundation also flagged impossibly old and disqualifying young date of birth information held within the voter file. One registrant is stated as being born in “1823,” well before Michigan was annexed into the Union. Another 16,400 registrants were flagged due to the fact that officials did not demonstrate when they actually became registered to vote.
The Foundation seeks relief under Section 8 of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which requires officials to make
“reasonable efforts” to maintain voter lists and offers a private right to file
a lawsuit if standards are not met.
The new case was filed in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The case number is 2:19-cv-13638.
The attorney for the Public Interest
Legal Foundation is Kaylan L. Phillips. Robert L. Avers of DickinsonWright
PLLC 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. ###
Prior to the
public release of its latest report,
PILF shared its detailed findings with current Palm Beach County Supervisor of
Elections Wendy S. Link (PBSOE). Supervisor Link’s office committed to
reviewing findings and taking necessary corrective actions going forward, while
also sharing other matters beyond her immediate control with the Florida
Secretary of State. Essentially all findings worthy of official action were
created during now-removed Supervisor Susan Bucher’s term of office, or a
predecessor.
“We are one year out from the 2020
General and this report is a stark reminder that you can’t have election
‘security’ without integrity first,” PILF President and
General Counsel J. Christian Adams said.“Palm Beach County serves as an example of
the types of vulnerabilities found within Florida’s voting system that could be
leveraged by an outside saboteur. Our research suggests these problems are
fixable well before the presidential election.
“I want to particularly commend Supervisor Link’s
office for not only providing necessary data during our research, but also
keeping an open door and accepting our findings,”Adams added.
PILF discovered a
variety of apparent flaws
and procedural errors ranging from snowbird double voting, duplicate voter
registration, non-citizen voter participation, illegal addresses, and even deceased
voting.
Access to Calm Before the Storm: Are Palm Beach
County’s Elections Protected Against Emerging Threats? is available, here.
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.
J. Christian Adams joined the Frank Beckmann Show on WJR Detroit today to discuss the Southfield Clerk’s alleged attempts to
invalidate 193 absentee votes in the 2018 midterm election.
12 Times Donors Were Targeted
for Harassment or Worse
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – October 1, 2019: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed
an amicus curiae brief in the
U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s
request to be heard regarding California’s donor disclosure laws.
In the brief,
the Foundation cites 12 examples where donor disclosure laws or efforts were
leveraged to fuel personal attacks against otherwise private individuals – even
in some cases where privacy protections were officially violated to achieve the
end result. Supporters of both charitable and political ventures have risked
threats of violence (including their minor children), commercial boycotts, and
personal ruin.
“Donor anonymity is
a bedrock American value. Private
associations deserve to have their donors remain private,” PILF President and General
Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “This tradition led to the creation of civil
society institutions that worked for the betterment of the country. Hopefully,
the Court will find a way to uphold that tradition. This case is one way.”
Texas Public
Policy Foundation –
According to the group, in 2012, an unredacted IRS Form 990 Schedule B was
officially leaked and entered circulation among various news media outlets,
despite it being confidential under federal law.
National
Organization for Marriage –
In March 2012, the organization learned its unredacted 2008 Schedule B was
posted on an opposing group’s public website. The IRS later admitted to
“improperly” releasing the document to a private individual contrary to federal
law.
The IRS
Targeting Scandal –
Conservative groups targeted by the IRS during their application process were
subjected to unnecessary questions including for names of donors.
Friends of
Abe –
Politically-conservative Hollywood figures seeking fellowship in an anonymous
fashion faced a demand from the IRS to effectively reveal their member roster.
LULAC v. PILF – During discovery for a now-settled
lawsuit, the progressive group committed extensive resources and attention to
understating this Foundation’s fundraising and donor relations efforts. The
federal court eventually indicated that the probes were irrelevant to the case.
Chick-fil-A – Agitation against America’s most
profitable fast food chain’s charitable contributions and spiritual modus operandi is as notorious as the quality of their chicken sandwich. Some
municipalities, like San Antonio, Texas, officially banned the franchise from operating in local
government spaces.
Competitive
Enterprise Institute/U.S. Virgin Islands – In April 2016, the CEI was subpoenaed by USVI Attorney General
Claude Walker for a decade’s-worth of internal records, including donor information.
The demand was eventually withdrawn.
California’s
Prop 8 – Opponents of Prop
8 utilized public disclosures of supporters’ information to compile online maps
detailing private homes and places of business.
Will &
Grace – Cast members for
the NBC comedy took to Twitter in August 2019 and demanded that lists of
attendees to a President Donald Trump fundraiser be revealed due to the
public’s “right to know” their identities.
Rep. Joaquin
Castro (D-TX) – Shortly
after the recent mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, the congressman published a
list of San Antonio-area donors of the Trump re-election campaign, saying they
“fuel” hatred to Hispanics, hinting to a shared causality with the tragic
event.
Michigan
Chamber of Commerce – A
local organization executed an ad campaign featuring members of the MCC’s
executive board, accusing them of running a “dark money” effort to prevent
redistricting reform. Social media promoters and commenters opined about the
need for a guillotine, firing squads, and the general sense how violence “can
be used for good.”
SoulCycle – After a company investor hosted a fundraiser for President Trump, a boycott effort
substantially drove down attendance to training sessions.
California law
requires any IRS-designated 501(c)(3) charitable organization wishing to
solicit donations in the state to annually file IRS Form 990s with unredacted
Schedule Bs. These files list every donor giving at least $5,000 a year to the
group in question. Petitioner AFP Foundation has refused to disclose the
documents since 2001.
The Public
Interest Legal Foundation also refuses to disclose its Schedule Bs—preventing
any targeted fundraising in the state.
The Foundation’s brief,
filed in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence,
Foundation for Michigan Freedom, and Texas Public Policy Foundation urges the
Supreme Court to grant a writ of certiorari from the 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals as requested by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation.
Kaylan L.
Phillips and J. Christian Adams serve as attorneys of record for PILF in this
matter.
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, the Foundation
seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of
American elections. ###
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – September 30, 2019. The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) initiated a private investigative effort into and around allegations of official election fraud reportedly perpetrated by Southfield City Clerk Sherikia L. Hawkins during the Michigan’s November 2018 General Election.
“It is unacceptable in this political environment for
an election official to allegedly attempt to alter or invalidate absentee
ballots for any reason,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian
Adams said. “It is equally troubling to see Michigan officials downplay
the matter. Michiganders and the larger American electorate deserve another set
of eyes to help explain—in plain language—the course of events, motivations,
and trends as to why these particular 193 absentee voters were allegedly
targeted by Hawkins for disenfranchisement. The inner workings of our elections
are typically a mystery to the public even in the best of times. This demands
complete transparency.”
Upon reviewing the Michigan felony
complaint records regarding Southfield Clerk Sherikia L. Hawkins, the Foundation opted to utilize several federal and
state open records laws tailored to election administration and absentee
balloting files.
Documents of
particular interest relate to lists of all registered voters in Southfield who
attempted to vote absentee for the 2018 midterm elections, in addition to
detailed records exhibiting which voters were impacted by Clerk Hawkins alleged
actions. Other records sought can help confirm that all eligible and properly
submitted ballots were counted according to Michigan law.
PILF has also asked
to inspect records held by the Elections Division in Oakland County, Michigan,
the office that discovered the alleged alteration of voting records.
The Foundation intends
to distribute a catalog of findings to better educate the general public on
official election fraud risks ahead of the 2020 Elections—particularly in the
area of absentee balloting, which has seen an increase in popularity with
voters and fraudsters, alike.
Section 8 of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) empowers any party to physically
inspect local election records related to voter list maintenance efforts.
Michigan law grants similar access rights for voter registration records and
records related to the application, mailing, return, and official handling for
each absentee ballot in a given election.
The Public Interest
Legal Foundation is building a record of targeted research efforts that focus
on particular elections and jurisdictions. In April 2019, the Foundation filed
state and federal law enforcement complaints regarding apparent double voting efforts in Florida and New York. In
October 2018, PILF helped trigger a Texas Attorney General
investigation referral into
apparently altered voter registration applications mailed to non-U.S. citizens
in the Rio Grande Valley.
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.) – September 9, 2019: Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams will testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee regarding evidence of current and ongoing voting discrimination this Tuesday, September 10.
“It has never been easier to vote in the United States
than now. In some cases, voter access has broadened to the point that it lacks sufficient
safeguards to ensure immigrants and felons don’t register before they are
eligible. There is still work to be done, however.”
In prepared remarks, Adams explains how Guam attempted to
discriminate against U.S. citizens wishing to participate in a recent
plebiscite election:
“The legislature of Guam passed an election law
confining the right to vote in a status plebiscite to a preferred racial group
– so called ‘native inhabitants’ … Guam
imposed voter qualifications based on blood ancestry much like the Oklahoma
grandfather clauses struck down by the Supreme Court over a century ago … When [my
client] sought to register to vote at the government office, his registration
form was marked ‘VOID’ by election officials. Even in the Jim Crow south of the
early 1960’s, southern registrars weren’t brazen enough to deny the right to
vote explicitly on having the wrong racial blood.”
Adams adds that oft-described “civil rights” groups like those invited to testify
alongside him are conspicuously missing from modern challenges.
Adams also explained how the Commonwealth of Virginia improperly removed U.S. citizen voter
registrants after questioning their eligibility:
“Virginia has been cancelling the voter registrations
of American citizens, mistakenly cancelling them as ‘declared non-citizens.’
This is happening because the Motor Voter law passed in 1993 is outdated … Yet
as in Guam, the improper cancellation of American citizens on the voter rolls
has not seemed to draw the attention of any of the traditional civil rights
groups who so zealously catalog the latest threat to voting.”
The hearing is scheduled for 10am Tuesday, September 10,
in the Rayburn HOB 2141.
Read a copy of Adams’
testimony, here. You can watch at the House Judiciary
Committee 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. ###
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