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Advocacy Blog


Monday, October 06, 2008

New 501(c)(4) Group Files A Familiar Lawsuit

A new 501(c)(4) group called the Committee for Truth in Politics Inc. (CTP) announced it has filed a lawsuit challenging Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules. CTP has been sponsoring television ads in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina criticizing Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for his position on abortion related legislation. This lawsuit is similar to others filed recently by the group's lead attorney James Bopp challenging FEC rules that could restrict funding or require disclosure of those funding similar ads.

They filed the lawsuit to seek protection against any future any FEC investigation and enforcement action. CTP is requesting an injunction to allow them to run an ad titled "Basic Rights," which criticizes Obama's position on partial-birth abortion legislation. According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), the lawsuit also has a script for another ad, called "Tragic But True." Both ads ask viewers to call Obama and tell him to change his position on the issue. The lawsuit also challenges the FEC's policy of determining whether or not a group should be treated as a political action committee.

The new lawsuit said the CTP ads may not be regulated because the Supreme Court held in the WRTL case that broadcast ads are constitutionally protected if they may reasonably be interpreted as something other than as "an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate." The CTP ads contain no such appeal to vote; instead, they are grass roots lobbying ads on a public issue addressed to an incumbent public official, the lawsuit argued. Bopp also argued that, under WRTL's constitutional analysis, compelled disclosure of those funding this type of political message is unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, last week, the FEC received an advisory opinion request from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) regarding rules for proposed radio ads criticizing Obama. In the request, Bopp asked the FEC whether planned radio ads sponsored by the NRLC would be considered "express advocacy" under FEC regulations and if the ads would be deemed "susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as appeal to vote for or against a particular candidate."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:58:08 PM



Friday, October 03, 2008

New GAO Report on Lobbyist Compliance with Disclosure Reporting

According to a report released Sept. 30 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), "lobbyists could provide accurate supporting information—in either written or verbal form—on income or expenses for at least 95 percent of all first quarter reports filed that required this information." This was based on a random sampling of 100 clients chosen from the first-quarter reports. The report, Observations on Lobbyists' Compliance with New Disclosure Requirements," was required by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act.

Particularly interesting was the finding that since 2004 the U.S. Attorney's Office "has received more than 4,000 referrals from the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House. Because of a lack of consistent records in past years, the Office was unable to provide complete and accurate data for each reporting period prior to 2006 to indicate the number of letters it sent to lobbyists asking them to comply with the Act, and the number of lobbyists who complied after the referral was received." And, five staff people in the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office spend part of their time working on LDA compliance matters.

RollCall ($$) reported that GAO's "approach drew some criticism from watchdog activists that had expected the GAO to scrutinize more thoroughly whether firms were accurately reporting their information to Congress. 'I was expecting a more formal audit,' said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. Ethics lawyers had also anticipated more scrutiny of lobbyists' records along the lines of an Internal Revenue Service audit."

The GAO also asked lobbyists about the challenges of complying with the law. While "a number" of lobbyists felt existing guidance was sufficient, others believed more clarification on how to report certain information about their lobbying activity was needed, according to the report. The agency recommended that the U.S. district attorney "develop a structured approach" in order to target lobbyists who continually fail to comply with the lobbying law.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:45:52 PM



U.S. Government Stops International Charity's Family Planning Work

The State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) told six African governments to stop giving contraceptives donated by the United States to the Marie Stopes International family planning organization for distribution to their populations. According to the Associated Press, this was done because of the charity's work in China.

"The move affects Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe and follows a determination by USAID that the organization is a major player in a U.N. program in China that the administration says promotes coerced abortion and sterilization. [. . .] Marie Stopes International, one of the world's largest family planning organizations, complained bitterly about the step, which it said was 'purely political' and 'dangerous' because it could result in more abortions, maternal deaths and health problems for poor African women and girls."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:22:45 PM



Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Early Voting is Changing the Meaning of Election Day

Across the nation, millions of people are already in the process of voting for the next President of the United States. The emerging popularity of early voting has changed the manner in which elections are conducted.

Paul Gronke, a researcher with the Early Voting Information Center in Portland, Oregon, told the Washington Post that, "early voting, by mail or in person, is becoming more common and is likely to account for one-third of all votes cast in the November elections, up from 14 percent in 2000."

Both major presidential campaigns are encouraging their supporters to vote early. Experts say that early voting does not benefit one candidate or party over another. However, candidates tend to target infrequent voters with their early voting initiatives. According to the Washington Post, "On the Democratic side, that means urban, often minority voters and students. On the Republican side, it is older voters and those in more rural areas who favor absentee ballots."

Thirty-one states allow early voting without requiring the voter to provide an excuse for doing so. Other states allow voters to vote early if they have a valid reason for doing so.



Posted by Lateefah Williams, 04:57:30 PM



Tuesday, September 30, 2008

EU Court Says Charity Listed as Terrorist Has Due Process Rights

On Sept. 3, 2008, the European Union's Court of Justice ruled that funds of charities suspected of having connections with terrorism cannot be seized without the owners receiving a fair hearing. The judgment overturned a 2001 decision by EU officials to freeze the assets of a Saudi businessman and a Sweden-based charity, Al-Barakaat International Foundation. The court ruling declared, "The right to be heard and the right to effective judicial review of those rights were patently not respected." The decision does not remove individuals or organizations from the watch list, but forces the EU to inform those on the list that their assets have been seized. Currently, the EU has over 370 people and 60 organizations on a terrorism watch list.

Posted by Kay Guinane, 11:37:10 AM



Monday, September 29, 2008

Dozens of Pastors Violate Federal Tax Law by Endorsing Political Candidates from the Pulpit

On September 28, thirty-three pastors around the nation participated in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," an initiative by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) designed to challenge a 1954 amendment to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that prohibits churches from supporting or opposing candidates for political office from the pulpit.

Churches, which are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRC, can lose their tax-exempt status if they engage in prohibited electioneering. The ban against electioneering applies to all 501(c)(3) organizations.

ADF, an alliance of conservative attorneys, encouraged dozens of pastors to intentionally violate federal tax law by endorsing a political candidate from the pulpit, in hopes that the IRS will investigate the churches. ADF is hoping to challenge the IRS' ban on pulpit electioneering in federal court. Three former high level IRS officials filed an ethical complaint against ADF with the IRS.

According to an ADF Press Release, it will fight any attempt the IRS makes "to remove a church's tax-exempt status because a pastor exercised his constitutional right to engage in religious speech from the pulpit. The goal is to have the Johnson Amendment declared unconstitutional."

ADF released a list of the pastors who participated in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" earlier today.

Rabbi Jack Moline, chairman of the Interfaith Alliance board, a group that believes religion and politics should remain separate, told the Washington Post that "a sanctuary should not be a place of political agitation on behalf of a candidate. On behalf of issues, yes. Of candidates, no."

Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed IRS complaints against six churches whose pastors endorsed candidates from the pulpit yesterday. Five of the six pastors in question openly endorsed Senator John McCain from the pulpit. The sixth pastor did not mention McCain, but he did criticize Senator Barack Obama stating, "according to my Bible and in my opinion, there is no way in the world a Christian can vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Mr. Obama is not standing up for anything that is tradition in America."

"Church leaders are supposed to tend to Americans' spiritual needs, not behave like partisan political hacks. I urge the IRS to act swiftly in these cases," said Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, in a Press Release.



Posted by Lateefah Williams, 06:09:09 PM



Friday, September 26, 2008

ACLU Launches Constitution Voter Campaign

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) began the "I'm a Constitution Voter" campaign, to get Americans to pledge to consider civil liberty concerns when they go to vote in November. The ACLU is asking voters to sign a petition opposing warrantless surveillance and opposing torture. The petition also states;

  • "I believe that government officials, no matter how high-ranking, should be held accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
  • I reject the notion that we have to tolerate violations of our most fundamental rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
  • I am deeply committed to the Constitution and expect our country's leaders to share and act on that commitment—every day, without fail."

The ACLU also has a number of "activist tools" available, such as information on canvassing, how to write a letter to the editor, and how to ask questions at a candidate event.

Sign the Constitution Voter pledge here.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 04:27:00 PM



Alabama Halts Prison Voter Registration Drive

Alabama Prison Commissioner Richard Allen halted voter registration drives inside state prisons after receiving complaints from Alabama Republican Party officials.

According to the Associated Press, Alabama Republican Chairman Mike Hubbard told Commissioner Allen in a September 26 letter that "the party supports the idea of registering more people to vote. But he says that doesn't extend to prisoners."

Various groups began registering prisoners inside Alabama state prisons earlier this week, so that the prisoners could cast absentee ballots in the November elections.

Close to 80 prisoners filled out registration forms during the two days that organizations conducted registration drives inside Alabama state prisons.



Posted by Lateefah Williams, 03:59:44 PM



Thursday, September 25, 2008

Survey Finds Support for Law Banning Religious Leaders from Endorsing Candidates

The First Amendment Center conducts a survey every year on adults' opinions about free expression, a free press and religious liberty. A press release states; "Americans traditionally support the general concepts of free expression and religious liberty, but when asked about specific situations, many appear willing to accept a measure of government involvement or even control,' said Gene Policinski, vice president and executive director of the First Amendment Center."

The survey found that "54% would continue IRS regulations that bar religious leaders from openly endorsing political candidates from the pulpit without endangering the tax-exempt status of their organizations."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 06:15:02 PM



527 or Issue Advocacy

A New York Times editorial praised a court's decision denying the Real Truth About Obama's (RTAO) request to block Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign finance rules. The editorial states; "The wholesale descent into Swift Boat campaigning has been blocked - for now - by a federal judge in Virginia."

If the group were to win on appeal, it would signal open season for countless stealth groups to flood the remaining weeks of the campaign with underhanded attack ads. [. . . ] Posing as a mere 'issue advocacy' operation, the group's ad attacks Mr. Obama's character and accuses him of 'lying' about his abortion record. In truth, it trashes the candidate's nuanced position.

In response the Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) states; "the RTAO issue offers a good example as to why we should not fear the advocacy efforts of outside groups. While RTAO believes that Obama's position on abortion is wrong, many other groups and the Obama campaign itself thinks that Obama's abortion position is correct."

The question of issue advocacy, as the New York Times brings up, should be left alone because the court had to decide whether or not to grant the group protection in case the FEC were to consider the group a political committee. The issues are a bit muddled, and each of these reactions, a bit zealous.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:56:59 PM



Criminal Prosecutors Will Not Be Stationed at Polls on Election Day

Following complaints from civil rights groups, the Justice Department announced on September 23 that it will not station criminal prosecutors at polls on Election Day. The civil rights groups fear that the presence of criminal prosecutors may intimidate minority voters.

According to the Associated Press, "[t]he move reverses a decades-long practice that put prosecutors on the lookout for voter fraud, ballot access violations and other polling problems."

Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said in a statement that "[t]his decision was made as a precaution and is not the result of any instance of intimidation or complaint regarding any specific incident."

Even though this effort was focused on voter fraud, the Justice Department is pledging to place hundreds of federal monitors at polls around the nation to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised. The federal monitors will not be prosecutors, either.

Some civil rights groups are worried about intimidation by the federal monitors, as well.



Posted by Lateefah Williams, 10:26:14 AM



Wednesday, September 24, 2008

YouTube, Now a Permissible Way for Senate Offices to Increase Transparency

RollCall ($$) reports that Senators can now legally post YouTube videos on their Web sites. "Until now, any Senator who embedded a YouTube video or linked to a Flickr album was in violation of outdated rules that required them to keep within the senate.gov domain. Some posted such links anyway, and few were reprimanded."

"The House is still struggling with the issue. Democrats and Republicans agree that the current restrictions are unrealistic; with everyone violating the rules, true enforcement is impossible. The House servers can't keep up with the demand for online multimedia, and Members are forced to find free outside sites that can."



Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:35:17 PM



Church Electioneering Debate in LA Times

In a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and Erik Stanley, head of the Pulpit Initiative for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) debate federal tax laws that prohibit clergy members from publicly endorsing political candidates.

Stanley defends ADF's Pulpit Initiative, meant "to restore the right of pastors to speak freely to their congregations. The goal is not to turn churches into political action committees. Rather, the Pulpit Initiative is designed to restore freedom to the pulpit." He goes on to assert that tax exemption is a right, and clergy are being censored. "The point is not whether pastors actually will speak on the issues of candidates and elections (and no one is forcing or telling them to speak about candidates or elections), but whether the government has the right to tell them they cannot under threat of losing their tax-exempt status."

While Lynn reminds us that the prohibition "does not say that pastors, priests, rabbis or imams cannot applaud or denounce policies of the government at any level; it doesn't prohibit clergy specifically arguing that parishioners should support a named and numbered piece of legislation or an upcoming ballot initiative. It just says no help for candidates on the campaign trail with the resources or imprimatur of your church."

See below for an update on the Pulpit Initiative.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 04:11:47 PM



"Just Click Send"

A New York Times editorial puts the situation bluntly; "there is no excuse - except a desire to slow the public's right to know - for their ongoing efforts to block electronic filing of their reports on campaign donations."

The editorial is referencing the stalled Senate bill S.223 to require senators to file their contribution reports electronically. OMB Watch has supported this measure for a long time. Presidential candidates and candidates running for the House of Representatives file their campaign contributions in electronic form, allowing citizens quick access to such information. However, the in the Senate, filers do not have to file electronically. This delays disclosure by weeks and possibly till after the election.

As the New York Times observes; "the Senate is still cynically mired in the dark age of paper filings. Candidates submit required reports on political money and donors via paper sheaves that wend through slow-mo typing, re-typing and mailing, ensuring that full disclosure only occurs sometime after Election Day."

In August Pass223.com was launched to find out which senators are willing to officially support the bill. Visit Pass223.com and call your senators!



Posted by Amanda Adams, 12:41:13 PM



Voter Intimidation Bill Stalled

According to electionline.org the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act (S. 453) is stalled in the Senate. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said they are working with the Senate on the bill and encouraged advocates to get in touch when they identify cases of deceptive practices and voter intimidation. "Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said he agreed with the need to combat deceptive practices but expressed his disappointment that the deceptive practices bill has languished in the Senate since October 2007."

Sabin said that preventing deceptive practices and voter suppression is a DOJ priority and said the deceptive practices bill would make it explicit that such acts are illegal, though he warned that policing political rhetoric may conflict with the First Amendment. Cardin said deceptive practices aren't covered by the First Amendment and reiterated his support for the bill.



Posted by Amanda Adams, 12:33:53 PM




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Most Recent Entries for Advocacy Blog

New 501(c)(4) Group Files A Familiar Lawsuit

New GAO Report on Lobbyist Compliance with Disclosure Reporting

U.S. Government Stops International Charity's Family Planning Work

Early Voting is Changing the Meaning of Election Day

EU Court Says Charity Listed as Terrorist Has Due Process Rights

Dozens of Pastors Violate Federal Tax Law by Endorsing Political Candidates from the Pulpit

ACLU Launches Constitution Voter Campaign

Alabama Halts Prison Voter Registration Drive

Survey Finds Support for Law Banning Religious Leaders from Endorsing Candidates

527 or Issue Advocacy

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