Judicial Watch Leads Effort to Save Clean Elections Just over a year ago, voter fraud became a much tougher proposition in North Carolina, where state lawmakers passed HB 589. This well-crafted piece of legislation requires voters to show a photo ID before they cast a ballot. The bill also eliminates same day registration, reduces the number of days of early voting, and calls for provisional ballots to be cast in the precinct where the voter is registered. Americans who care about ballot integrity have every reason to be pleased with HB 589. But not so with the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ). In fact, in September 2013, it asked a U.S. District Court to enjoin several key provisions of HB 589 under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It argued that the bill would disfranchise up to 2 million North Carolina minority voters. But, of course, it offered no substance to back up its claims. Judicial Watch responded in June 2014 by filing an amicus curiae brief with the District Court. And as you might expect, we did provide substance. That included a definitive study debunking DOJ arguments. The study showed that black turnout actually increased in the one major election that was held in North Carolina since the bill became law. And, as we noted in our brief, the numbers were devastating to the plaintiffs case because they contradict all of their experts bias for asserting harm: The results of this analysis ... show that black turnout increased in 2014 by every meaningful measure. Black share of the total electorate increased. The percentage of black registered voters voting increased. Using Census Bureau estimates, Dr. Camarota [the Director of Research for the Center for Immigration Studies] found an increase in turnout among blacks of voting age. Finally, while turnout increased across the board in May 2014, and while white turnout increased by 13.7%, black turnout increased much faster - by an astonishing 29.5%. I am pleased to report that now out-going Attorney General Eric Holder and his government attorneys suffered a significant setback when the District Court ruled against the DOJ request to enjoin HB 589 this past August. The District Court allowed us to present our arguments in opposition to the DOJ at a key hearing. And those arguments clearly prevailed. Yet, while there is cause for encouragement, the well-funded lobby of voter fraud apologists continues to work through the court system in an effort to eviscerate HB 589. By the way, our partners in that legal effort were Allied Educational Foundation (AEF) and Christina Kelley Gallegos-Merrill (a North Carolina resident and former political candidate). AEF and Ms. Gallegos-Merrill both have an interest in upholding the rule of law and constitutional values. (Ms. Gallegos-Merrills interest is based on experience, as she ran for County Commissioner of Buncombe County in 2012 and lost a very close election. She believes that this loss was due to same-day registration during early voting and to improperly cast ballots.) So, this is where we are now. The American Civil Liberties Union has appealed the lower court ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit and we have promptly responded. On Sept. 17, we joined with our partners again to file an amicus curiae brief with the Fourth Circuit asking it to deny the ACLUs motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of HB 589. Youll be pleased to know that respected civil rights lawyer Chris Coates, who served as Chief of the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department under President Obama, has been serving as lead counsel for Judicial Watch and its amicus partners. In our new filing, we argue that if the ACLU were to succeed, it would have a chilling effect on voter confidence in the integrity of elections, both in North Carolina and nationwide. We added: If North Carolina is compelled to reinstate same-day registration, to extend the early voting period by a week, and to permit out-of-precinct provisional ballots, many North Carolina citizens could have their votes diluted by unlawful ballots cast in the names of false or duplicate registrations. Furthermore, Plaintiffs-Appellants requested relief will undermine the confidence in the integrity of elections among citizens. I have to say that the Obama DOJ assault on North Carolinas attempt to protect the integrity of the ballot box was not altogether unexpected. On the very day that HB 589 passed, Holder delivered a speech to the National Urban League concerning the Supreme Courts decision in Shelby Co. v. Holder declaring that a voting rights lawsuit the DOJ had recently filed against Texas, is the Departments first action to protect voting rights following the Shelby County decision, but it will not be our last. This statement was widely seen as a reference to a potential lawsuit against North Carolina over its new election integrity law. So, your JW was more than prepared for the Holder assault. We believe the Fourth Circuit should affirm the lower court ruling on behalf of ballot box integrity and stave off yet another attempt by the Obama administration (or, in this case, its front group - the ACLU) to turn fair and open elections into nothing more than free for alls. But, as Jefferson said, Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. And that is why we continue to fight. Our Election Integrity Project is heating up - expect more litigation and other significant steps to ensure clean elections not only in November but beyond. As always, your support is welcome. I urge you to learn more about the threat to election integrity. If the Left and other corrupt politicians of both parties are able to steal elections...well, I dont need to describe the awful consequences to our nation. Until next week ... Tom Fitton President
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 00:14:42 +0000
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