Election Integrity Matters

States continue to fight for fair, honest elections

Fairfax, Va. – Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning issued the following statement in reaction to continuing efforts to protect election integrity at the state level:

“Yesterday the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced they were going to pursue a vote audit on the 2020 election similar to what the Arizona State Senate is doing in in Maricopa County, Arizona. These are both important steps toward restoring America’s faith in the electoral system. A newly-released poll shows nearly two-thirds of all voters reported that the issue of election integrity was either their top issue or in their top three when deciding how to vote.

“In the case of Pennsylvania and Arizona it is the state legislature’s responsibility to oversee the results of the election laws to ensure that the fundamental principle of one-person-one-vote is upheld.

“What is stunning, though predictable, is that Democratic operatives continue to oppose and impede an honest review of election results. Every voter needs to feel confident that their vote counted. Regardless of the outcome of these audits, the citizens of Arizona and Pennsylvania should be proud that their state legislatures are fighting to make certain that their vote counted.”

For media availability, call Catherine Mortensen at 703.478.4643 or email at cmortensen@getliberty.org.

TOWNHALL GUEST COLUMN: Election Integrity Threatened by Newly Confirmed Head of the DoJ’s Civil Rights Division

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOWNHALL

By Rick Manning

The newly confirmed assistant secretary of the Justice Department’s Civil Right Division is a far-left radical who has pushed racially divisive politics her entire career. Kristen Clarke, who was confirmed in the Senate Tuesday by a vote of 51 to 48, supports cop-killers, is anti-police, consorts with bigots, and accuses black single mothers of raising criminals. Not someone fit to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.This matters to you because Clarke will be responsible for enforcing federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and religion. These federal laws prohibit discrimination in education, employment, credit, housing, public accommodations, voting, and in certain federally funded and conducted programs, among other areas. In addition, the division prosecutes actions under several criminal civil rights statutes that are designed to preserve personal liberties and safety according to the  U.S. Department of Justice website.With all of the furor over the Biden administration’s attempt to federalize the nation’s elections, if successful, it would be Clarke who would lead the agency which would make every election law decision nationwide.While that may seem like hyperbole, the swing Democrat vote in the Senate, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has already declared that he has problems with passing the expansive S.1 federal election takeover legislation, but favors an alternative bill by Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.) which would hand control over state election laws through a nationwide expansion of the Voting Rights Act.

While the Leahy bill creates a complicated legal trap to ensure that left-wing lawfare groups like the ACLU can thrust every state into needing to get pre-clearance for all election laws from Clarke’s Justice Department Division, Manchin cuts to the chase by saying he favors that every state be thrown under federal control from the outset.

So, the question is, who is Kristin Clarke?

As the head of the Civil Rights Division, she surely must be an even-handed arbiter who will seek to protect individual voting rights while respecting the right of the people to determine their own voting laws. Surely, she recognizes that the ability of people of all races to vote has gotten dramatically better than 1965.

Judge for yourself.

While in Columbia Law School, Clarke forwarded a racist screed to a professor for inclusion in a program she was planning that states, “The Klan is now the police, with blue uniforms replacing sheets and hoods.”

The forwarded diatribe went on to declare, “That’s why Revolutionaries understand that the fundamental question of revolution is the seizure of state power, and once in power the people can use this instrument as a weapon to put the major industries, banks, transportation, communication under democratic public control and repress the present ruling class so that People’s Democracy and eventually socialism can emerge, and since there are still classes and class struggle under socialism, wield this weapon, the state, to ensure the evolution of a Classless society, which is called communism.”

Clarke did not write this, but here is the note from her to her professor which accompanied it, “Manning, here is the piece for magazine and Panel 3 – Race and the Death Penalty Mumia, Lynch Law and Imperialism.”

A clear endorsement of the inclusion of the document in a panel she was putting together for her professor.

Hardly a comfort that the person now entrusted with the state power was not appalled at the notion of using that power as a weapon against her perceived enemies.

If Democrats are successful in federalizing our elections, either through S1 or Sen. Leahy’s John Lewis Act,Clarke would oversee all state and local elections.

While there are many other instances where Clarke demonstrated her unsuitability to serve in this position of authority, President Joe Biden picked her and the Senate confirmed her, so she now holds the reins of power.  A cudgel over our nation’s electoral system due to the on-going authorization of the Voting Rights Act, even with the 2013 Supreme Court intervention to stop unwarranted application and expansion of the law.

The Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice has enormous power granted under existing law on a wide range of topics. Now that Clarke heads it, these powers must be curtailed before they are abused, and it is unthinkable to expand her authority over every aspect of state and local election laws, from voter identification and absentee ballot rules to the placement of individual polling places.

With Clarke in the lead, it would be a tragic mistake to hand massive discretionary power over our nation’s elections to the federal government division she runs.  It is time to put a stake through the heart of the Democrats federal election law takeover dreams by just saying no to both S1 and the Leahy bill.

Rick Manning is President of Americans for Limited Government.

Arizona Election Integrity Bills Model for Nation

Reforms protect ‘one person, one vote principle’

Fairfax, Va. – The Arizona State House of Representatives has passed a package of election integrity bills backed by Americans for Limited Government (ALG). ALG President Rick Manning issued the following statement in reaction:

“The Arizona State House of Representatives took a major step toward restoring Arizonan’s faith in their electoral system by passing a package of electoral reform bills designed to ensure that the ‘one-person, one-vote principle’ that is the foundation of our elected government is secured. The package, spearheaded by Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) incorporates reforms which will ensure that only eligible voters vote. The measures contain safeguards to ensure that no eligible voter is denied their opportunity to determine the outcome of an election.

“Significantly, Hoffman’s package also includes a condemnation of U.S. Congress’ H.R. 1, a measure known by many as ‘the free to cheat’ election bill.

“Americans for Limited Government urges the Arizona state senate and governor to pass and sign this urgent election reform package. In addition, we encourage every state legislature to introduce and pass this model for election integrity in 2021. Rep. Hoffman’s effort is a model for legislators around the nation. Hoffman has been unafraid to take on this tough issue which is essential to the survival of our representative form of government. Our entire system depends on trust in the election process because our government depends upon the consent of the governed for its legitimacy.”

The bills are:

  • HB 2039: Requires hand count audits to be statistically significant with a 99% confidence level
  • HB 2569: Prohibits private funding of elections activities. (like big tech billionaire(s) did to the tune of $400M)
  • HB 2792: Prohibits mass mailing of ballots to voters who DO NOT request one. Adds a class 5 felony for violating this statute.
  • HB 2793: Requires an affirmative request to be registered to vote (ie. proactively prohibiting automatic and mandatory voter registration). Adds a class 6 felony for violating this statute.
  • HB 2794: Prohibits an agent of the government from modifying a statutorily prescribed election deadline. Adds a class 6 felony for violating this statute.
  • HB 2811: Prohibits same day voter registration. Adds a class 6 felony for violating this statute.
  • HCR 2023: A concurrent resolution opposing HR1 in the US Congress.

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 or email media@limitgov.org.