Charlie Cooper
Friday, April 19, 2024
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Leader Schumer carrying water for crypto interests
Schumer wants to avoid more stringent regulation of the crypto industry. He is planning to put provisions into a bill that will avoid the Banking Committee chaired by Sherrod Brown, a proponent of strong regulation.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Leonard Leo won't comply with Senate Democrats' subpoena in Supreme Court ethics probe - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/leonard-leo-subpoena-supreme-court-senate-democrats-judiciary-committee/
Republicans accuse Democrats of partisanship for investigating gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow to justices Alito and Thomas. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have issued a subpoena for Crow and also for Leonard Leo who runs a vast Network of dark money organizations involved with influencing the court system. Although the subpoena was authorized by the Democratic majority of the committee months ago, was only issued this Thursday, and Leo says he won't comply.
Charlie Cooper.
Friday, April 12, 2024
Group sues Maryland Board of Elections on voter roll maintenance
Two recently-formed groups have filed a lawsuit in Maryland Courts claiming that "the [State] has lost control of the voting system." The groups appear to be part of a Trump-linked campaign to create doubt about election integrity. Maryland LLC, one of the groups filing the suit, was formed in January, 2024. The other group was founded by a South Carolina man. Joanne Antoine, Executive Director of Maryland Common Cause, said that Maryland's elections are a model for the nation.
Charlie Cooper with thanks to Ronda Cooperstein
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Biden urged to take executive action on dark and foreign money in electins
A coalition of national groups has asked Pres. Biden to issue 4 executive orders: 1) "establishing a White House Office of Democracy; 2) directing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine the amount of foreign money spent in U.S. elections; 3) calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to require that public corporations disclose the full extent of their lobbying activities and expenditures; and 4) directing the DOJ, the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and other law enforcement agencies to vigorously employ the U.S. Department of the Treasury's new beneficial ownership database to investigate cases of corruption, conflicts of interest, and foreign money laundering impacting our elections."
While Biden has said that saving democracy is the primary thrust of his candidacy for a second term, he has not used the authority he has to reduce the influence of dark and foreign money.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Baltimore County man gives big
Local developer Jack Leutkemeyer gives big money in state and local races in Maryland. Most of that money goes toward the election of Democrats. In national politics, he favors Republicans, trying to help them take over the Senate. The article goes into detail about specific politicians that Leutkemeyer has supported or opposed (and sometimes supported and then opposed).
Charlie Cooper
Monday, April 8, 2024
When is election disinformation a crime?
Congress passed broadly-worded laws after the Civil War making it a crime to seek to deprive a person of their voting and civil rights. Right wing internet trolls are now being prosecuted under these laws, creating a controversy about when the vagueness of the laws violate the First Amendment freedom of speech. Douglass Mackey posted lies urging people to "vote by text" to avoid long lines and inconvenience and was convicted in federal court and sentenced to 7 months in prison. Some argue that the laws are too vague and that the federal Court of Appeals should overturn the conviction due to the failure of Congress to pass more specific laws criminalizing lies about the mechanics of voting.
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, April 4, 2024
AIPAC money in 3rd District Congressional race
AIPAC (under the name United Democracy Project) has spent $600,000 on behalf of State Sen. Sarah Elfreth who is running for the District 3 Congressional seat being vacated by John Sarbanes. Elfreth said she was not aware that she would be getting this support until the ads started running. Candidates Harry Dunn (a former Capitol Police officer who testified before the January 6 Committee), Juan Dominguez and John Morse held a press conference, calling "the United Democracy Project a beneficiary of 'MAGA money,' and said the group's decision to run an independent expenditure campaign on Elfreth's behalf is 'an insult to Congressman Sarbanes,' a leading congressional crusader against the influence of money in politics."
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Lawmakers trading in defense stocks
Defense stocks showed double-digit gains over the past couple of years with Congress pouring in money and wars raging in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine. " A 2022 analysis by The New York Times found that 97 lawmakers or their families bought and sold stocks that directly intersect with their work on congressional committees."
Charlie Cooper
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Kari Lake offers no defense in defamation case
Kari Lake is running against Democrat Reuben Gallego for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Kyrsten Sinema. Steven Richer was a Republican elections official in Maricopa County when Lake ran for governor of Arizona in 2022. She accused him of purposely misprinting ballots and otherwise trying to prevent her from being elected. Now she has refused to offer a defense against defamation charges filed by Richer. Instead, she filed a motion to proceed directly to the damages phase of the trial.
On March 26, 2024, Mr Richer, posted this to Twitter: "It was a lie. It was always a lie. She did it to get your $25. Or to fire you up. But it was all a lie. There were no '300,000 fraudulent early ballots' etc. She defamed me. But she also lied to you."
Charlie Cooper
Crypto using big money to influence races for Congress
The cryptocurrency industry seeks to avoid much-needed regulation. They have hired some of the same consultants working for key Democratic incumbent senators in order to either replace those senators (!) or influence their stance on crypto regulation. The article names office-holders and key operatives in both parties who are working for lax crypto regulation.
" Rep. David Trone, a democratic candidate for Senate in Maryland recently began echoing the industry's calls for federal regulations to legitimate the industry. His opponent in the Democratic primary, Angela Alsobrooks, has also been promoting crypto."
Charlie Cooper
RFK, Jr.'s VP pick is all about money
Nicole Shanahan is the ex-wife of Google founder Sergei Brin who is worth $129 billion. She will be in a position to spend unlimited amounts on the election if she so chooses.
Charlie Cooper
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Details of one of Trump's fundraising schemes
Fund transfers between a "leadership PAC" and a SuperPAC are helping to pay Trump's legal fees.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Deepfakes threaten to exacerbate cynicism around elections
Until very recently, deep fakes, could only be generated with a team of talented technicians and advanced hardware and software. Now the technology is open to anyone, and the number of false stories, images, and video/audio tracks may proliferate. It will be even more difficult for voters to ascertain whether a communication is true.
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, March 21, 2024
SCOTUS could have but did not exonerate Trump
The Supreme Court could have ruled that Trump did not participate in insurrection. Instead they came up with a technicality about state versus federal authority.
Charlie Cooper
Planning A Simcha?
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
SCOTUS may make it more difficult to prosecute corruption
https://www.levernews.com/the-supreme-court-case-designed-to-legalize-bribery/?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-article
"Conservatives" are pursuing this case to reverse a conviction because they have the money to buy favors from public officials.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Brennan Center report on party-biased voter purges
Republicans seek to gain advantage, led by Cleta Mitchell and Mike Lindell. Their "efforts appear to be focused on precincts that lean Democratic or are home to large communities of color."
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Software consultant publishes book refuting Trump election fraud claims
Ken Block was paid $800,000 by the Trump campaign to examine claims of fraud in the frantic period following the 2020 election. He never was able to substantiate any of the claims. Now he has published a book recounting his experiences. "[H]e has received subpoenas as part of investigations by special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani T. Willis, who are both pursuing criminal cases against Trump, alleging that the former president improperly tried to overturn the election."
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Michigan election officials speak out against right-wing voter purge effort
Michigan officials restored 1,100 voters to the rolls in two townships because voters are entitled to time to explain whether their voting residency has really changed or whether an address change is temporary. "[Journalists] exposed a targeted, right-wing plot to expedite that cancellation schedule ahead of the 2024 presidential election—including a failed scheme to cancel registrations in Genoa and Waterford townships."
Right-wing activists target Democratic areas and then seek to expedite removal of voters from the rolls. But their allegations rarely prove true. "Just last week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against [Michigan Secretary of State] Benson's office that alleged officials were allowing thousands of dead voters to remain on the voter rolls, finding that Michigan is 'consistently among the most active states' in canceling the registration of dead voters."
Charlie Cooper
Lawsuit details Trump-supporters' efforts to hack into Georgia election systems
The article alleges that Georgia Secretary of State Raffensberger should have investigated the attempts by Trump supporters to obtain election system software.
Charlie Cooper
Nonprofit group classifies swing state legislators as election deniers
The group used analysis of social media posts and votes in the state legislature. Their criteria may be controversial.
Charlie Cooper
Corporations finance racist campaign via Republic Governors Association
Mark Robinson is the Republican nominee for Governor of North Carolina. He has made many virulent anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ statements. Big corporations that say they abhor such hate speech nevertheless fund his campaign through the Republic Governors Association.
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, March 7, 2024
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/maryland-board-election-lawsuit-42TN7IZH7FDUZCWR5SBYPSJYNM/?schk=YES&rchk=YES&utm_source=The+Baltimore+Banner&utm_campaign=ad6369934f-NL_PMSC_20240307_1740&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ad6369934f-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=ad6369934f&mc_eid=db16e63ea4
Group sues Maryland State board of elections, alleging incompetence and violations of state law.
Charlie Cooper
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Raskin plans bill to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment
He knows it can't pass in the GOP-lead House, but it will be on a long list of priorities if he becomes House Oversight Committee Chair in the 119th Congress.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is popular in Maine
The Maine legislature is on the brink of passing the NPV Interstate Compact. A recent poll indicates that about 70% of voters in Maine support the idea.
Charlie Cooper
Analysis of disturbing implications of SCOTUS ruling on 14.3
By ruling that Congress must pass an enabling statute to activate section 3 of the 14th Amendment, the Court has ignored the plain language of the Constitution and relegated the provision to lower status than other Constitutional Amendments.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Study shows racial turnout gap widens since the end of pre-clearance
The Brennan Center sponsored a study which found that the racial turnout gap "has consistently grown since 2012 and is growing most quickly in parts of the country that were previously covered under Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was suspended by the Supreme Court in its 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder."
The authors state that "our primary models indicate that the white–Black turnout gap in these [covered] regions was about 5 percentage points greater than it would have been if the Voting Rights Act were still in full force, and the white–nonwhite gap was about 4 points higher."
Charlie Cooper
Wyoming House votes on money in politics
In Wyoming, "a majority of state House members voted for Joint House Resolution 0002, calling on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to ensure transparency in election spending and allow states to regulate corporate, union and other political contributions." Unfortunately, the measure required a two-thirds majority to advance; however, the organizing work done among Republicans in Wyoming is encouraging.
Charlie Cooper
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Friday, February 9, 2024
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Very good op-ed on reforming U.S. democracy
The author is Exec. Dir. of a climate policy think tank. He says that Pres. Biden and the Democrats have not made enough progress on reforming democracy. He argues for:
- Using Article III to remove campaign finance from the jurisdiction of SCOTUS.
- Passing voting rights reforms [similar to Freedom to Vote Act and John R. Lewis Act].
- Reforming the SCOTUS with more justices, term limits, and the SCERT bill.
- Adopting the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
Monday, January 29, 2024
Republican hearing officer in Illinois recommends removing Trump from ballot
https://apnews.com/article/trump-election-illinois-insurrection-e6c8bf05a1bb99eea7afe6531383b43e
The hearing officer appointed by the Illinois State board of elections, a former Republican judge, recommended that the preponderance of the evidence proves that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and should not appear on the Illinois ballot. He said that the decision would be better made by a court then by the board of elections itself. Board of elections is holding a hearing on the matter on January 30th at 9:30 p.m. Central Time.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Friday, January 26, 2024
Constitutional Law Scholar Rich Hasen calls for a voting rights amendment
"... in Bush v. Gore, to give a relatively recent example, the Supreme Court reiterated that the Constitution does not guarantee citizens the right to vote for president and confirmed that states may take back the power to appoint presidential electors directly in future elections."
The Warren court of the [ERA] was the only Supreme Court in history that was favorable to broadening voting rights.
The lack of an affirmative right leads to attempts at voter suppression. In the current era, Republicans are trying to shape the electorate to dampen turnout. Also, "[a]n affirmative right to vote in the Constitution could de-escalate the voting wars and decrease the amount of election litigation by simultaneously protecting voter access and ensuring election integrity."
An amendment should "guarantee not only the right to vote but also the right to have that vote fairly and accurately counted."
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Tennesseeans seeking to have their voting rights restored must first have gun rights restored
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2024/01/23/tennessee-voting-rights-officials-consider-linking-gun-voting-rights/72313073007/?utm_source=Democracy+Docket+Newsletters&utm_campaign=1932207d4d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_07_18_06_01_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-9336cb8284-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=1932207d4d&mc_eid=3ad478424e
Restoration advocates accused the state board of elections of moving the goal posts.
Charlie Cooper
Democratic-leaning group sue No Labels for campaign finance violations
No Labels is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, but it is making progress in gaining ballot access in all 50 states for a possible presidential campaign. End Citizens United is a Democratic-leaning PAC that is suing No Labels arguing that they must file campaign finance reports and give up their (c)(3) status, which confers tax breaks and donor anonymity. The article states that Democratic-learning groups fear that a No Labels candidacy will hand the presidency to Donald Trump.
Charlie Cooper
Monday, January 22, 2024
Congress can help protect election workers
This article summarizes the depth of the threat and what Congress can do to help states protect election workers.
Charlie Cooper
What members who recently left the General Assembly did with their campaign funds
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2024/01/22/new-hospital-association-chief-showers-ex-colleagues-with-donations-from-campaign-fund/?emci=259afb08-27b9-ee11-bea1-0022482237da&emdi=c95c5580-29b9-ee11-bea1-0022482237da&ceid=260506
Members left the general Assembly for positions in the Moore administration or in the private sector. Melanie Griffith, now leading the Maryland Hospital's Association, gave large contributions to many former colleagues and still has a healthy campaign chest, even though she's not running for an office.
Charlie Cooper
Alaska's New election system offers counter to hyperpartisanship
https://thefulcrum.us/Elections/Voting/alaska-voting-system
Alaska now has non-partisan primaries and ranked choice run off voting for the four highest vote getters in those primaries. Nevada is in the process of possibly adopting a similar system.
Charlie Cooper
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Reaffirming our broad agenda on the 14th anniversary of Citizens United v FEC
Our ally Move to Amend reviews why "overeturning Citizens United" is not a sufficient solution to the nations' affliction of big money in politics.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Watch "Rep. Raskin: To know the law is to understand Trump is disqualified from office" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/0kEynIBIPYs?si=_7zWLjkWK1mMqvTq
Rep. Jamie Raskin's explanation of why Trump is disqualified from being President under section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Charlie Cooper
Respected Constitutional scholar argues for affirmative right to vote
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/16/opinion/voting-rights-constitution-28th-amendment.html?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20240120&instance_id=113009&nl=opinion-today®i_id=33603389&segment_id=155858&te=1&user_id=a2639148267bad823b53e9ae1e246e50
Rick Hasen reviews the disappointing History of the Supreme Court when it comes to protecting voting rights. He argues that a carefully written constitutional amendment guaranteeing the affirmative right to vote to all US citizens over a certain age could eliminate a lot of the voter suppression and election litigation we have been experiencing recently..
Charlie Cooper
Friday, January 19, 2024
Monday, January 15, 2024
Sinema trails potential general election opponents
Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema trails badly against her chief Republican and Democratic opponents in a new poll. She has not announced whether she will try to retain her Senate seat. Republican Kari Lake trails Democrat Ruben Gallego 36% - 35% while Synema garnered 17% of those polled.
Sue Fothergill
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Federal court rules that right-wing voter challenges in Georgia are not illegal
A federal judge vigorously criticized the tactics of True The Vote, a right-wing organization that has challenged the registration of 364,000 Georgia voters. He stated:
"TTV's approach to list maintenance 'utterly lacked reliability' and 'verges on recklessness.'"
However, he did not find that the challenges constituted illegal voter intimidation under the federal Voting Rights Act. Fair Fight, the voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams, vows to continue to challenge TTV's voter suppression tactics by other means.
Charlie Cooper
Trump issues dog-whistle call for violence on disqualification
Donald Trump predicted "big trouble" if the Supreme Court does not rule in his favor in his appeal of the 14.3 disqualification case in Colorado.
"'I just hope we get fair treatment,' Trump said at an Iowa rally Friday. 'Because if we don't, our country's in big, big trouble. Does everybody understand what I'm saying?'"
Charlie Cooper
Thursday, January 4, 2024
Biden schedules campaign speech on democracy
Pres. Biden will deliver a campaign speech near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on January 5, 2024. He seeks to invoke the memory of the Revolutionary War to illustrate that a Trump presidency would constitute a grave threat to democracy. GMOM and many other groups, however, will be looking for concrete action. Biden could require firms with large federal contracts to disclose all election spending, and he could crack down on foreign money that is influencing elections. A purely rhetorical discussion of democracy will be disappointing.
Charlie Cooper
Letter to Pres. Biden urges executive action on democracy initiatives
GMOM is a signatory to this letter to Pres. Biden urging him to take concrete action to protect democracy. The groups urge Biden:
"... to direct the U.S. Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to determine the frequency and amount of foreign money that is directly or indirectly spent in connection with U.S. elections, to call on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to begin a rulemaking process requiring public corporations to disclose the full extent of their lobbying activities and expenditures, and to maximize the use of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's forthcoming beneficial ownership database to investigate cases of corruption and foreign money laundering...."
Charlie Cooper
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Federal judge denies Fair Fight a victory in voter intimidation case
A right-wing group called True the Vote set up and funded an operation that challenged the voter registration of 364,000 people in Georgia, targeting mostly people of color. A federal judge ruled that the operation did not violate the voter intimidation clause of the Voting Rights Act. The judge criticized that substance of the voter challenge methodology as cruel and unfair but said these were matters that should be corrected by the Georgia legislature -- which is gerrymandered to be in the control of Republicans who will not act to correct these injustices.
Charlie Cooper
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Trump on the ballot? It's a matter of law.
This is my letter to the editor criticizing political speculation and calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a speedy ruling as to whether Trump is disqualified to serve as President under 14.3
Charlie Cooper
8th Circuit Court of Appeals seeks to weaken Voting Rights Act
The Arkansas NAACP and other citizen groups filed suit to say that reapportionment of the Arkansas legislature violated the Voting Rights Act bar on racial gerrymanders. But in early December of 2023, a panel of the the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis agreed with a lower Court judge who ruled that the Voting Rights Act permits only the U.S. Attorney General to file suit -- not private citizens. If upheld, this ruling will overturn almost 60 years of practice and a prior U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Charlie Cooper
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)