Yesterday, several of our interns attended a hearing in the Senate about an important voting rights issue; I've asked them to share their observations here. - Kirstin
Yesterday the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a subcommittee hearing to examine S. 453, to prohibit deceptive practices in federal elections. The sponsor of 'Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007,' Senator Obama (D-IL), offered testimony in addition to Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Feingold (D-WI). These three proponents addressed the "shameful amount" of "despicable" deceptive acts that plague campaigns and elections, specifically targeting minorities, and the need for strong penalties to prevent this form of voter intimidation, fraud and deception. Currently, there is no statute on the books that makes it a crime to offer misinformation as a means to alter a voter's conduct and such trickery exists as a dirty yet effective political tactic.
Witnesses testified before the committee, and some of them gave first-hand accounts of voter intimidation and suppression. Maryland County Executive Jack Johnson and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler both endorsed this legislation because "the health of our democratic system depends on our ability to ensure that all citizens entitled to vote may do so."
I love this quote from Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio who responds to the
passage of the Senate's lame lobby reform bill by saying:
"I don't know," Mr. DeWine said. "People are not really talking to me directly about lobbying. I think they're concerned about some of the quote scandal, but I don't have anybody come up to me and say there's a lobbying problem. It doesn't get that specific."
The "quote scandal." I guess the fact that federal agents are investigating more than a dozen members of Congress and their staff for possible felonies is not a quote big deal for Senator DeWine.
Our assessment of the lobby bill below the fold.
Common Blog
