The House Judiciary Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee passed a resolution, with a 6-4 vote, authorizing a subpoena to former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell for testimony about the 2004 election. On January 29, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) wrote a letter to Blackwell to "explore the state of voting rights and the allocation of resources to end voter suppression and voter fraud," but he has refused to appear voluntarily. The Associated Press quoted Conyers; "Mr. Ken Blackwell, wherever you are in North America today, please know that we are not sending the gendarme for you this moment," said Conyers. "I do not like to issue subpoenas. ... The only problem is we can never reach him."

Following this vote a hearing was held on voter suppression. Witnesses included Asheesh Agarwal, deputy assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice; Tom Emmer, deputy minority leader, Minnesota State House of Representatives; J. Gerald Hebert, executive director, The Campaign Legal Center; Lorraine C. Minnite, assistant professor, Barnard College; Hilary O. Shelton, director, Washington Bureau, NAACP.

And today (February 27), the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee held a hearing on election administration issues. Meanwhile, in the Senate, the Committee on Rules and Administration held a hearing to examine abusive robocalls and vote caging practices. A few of those testifying were to discuss experiences at the state level with implementing efforts to limit robocalls.

In Ohio, a federal judge has upheld a previous decision to ban certain restrictions on "third party" voter registration activities. A coalition of voter advocacy groups led by Project Vote sued the state challenging an Ohio law that required compensated voter registration workers register with the state after completing an on-line training course and had to turn in voter registration applications directly to the secretary of state or local board of elections. Any violation would result in criminal charges. The lawsuit charged that these regulations were intimidating and a disadvantage to registration drives, particularly in low-income and minority areas.

The Court's opinion in Project Vote v. Kenneth Blackwell can be read here.

Kay Guinane, director of nonprofit speech rights for OMB Watch and Laurette Edelmann, assistant director of the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits, discussed the 2008 election and its impact on philanthropy. Read the transcript of the online discussion here.

Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Arlen Specter, (R-PA) have introduced legislation to regulate "robocalls." Feinstein's press release states; "The measure introduced by Feinstein and Specter would not ban robocalls, but instead places sensible restrictions on how and when the calls can be made — including limiting the hours within which calls can be made, limiting the number of calls that can be made to each household, and requiring callers to identify themselves at the beginning of the call."

Similar measures have been introduced in the House. CQ ($$) reports that Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced H.R. 248 last year to "direct the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit politically oriented prerecorded calls to telephone numbers listed on the federal do-not-call registry. Democrats Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania and Zoe Lofgren of California have introduced similar measures (HR 372, HR 1383), but none has gained traction yet and prospects for action grow slimmer as the November elections approach."

An online tutorial has been created on how to engage with congressional level politics, leading a step by step tour through web sites. For example, the tutorial starts with the fundamentals; "Can I Vote?" directs the visitor to their state's Secretary of State's web site, and then if they need to register, another site is also provided. Subsequently the next web sites include biographical information on the candidates and members of Congress, candidate platforms, incumbent voting records, and campaign contributions.

This is a very valuable resource that exemplifies how the Internet can increase civic engagement. The companion article to the tutorial, "Tech Tools for the American Voter and the 2008 Congressional Elections", clearly states the purpose of such a tool; "All Americans have a civic responsibility to vote for the national, state, and local leaders who will make the decisions that affect us, our families, our community, and our nation now and well into the future. To vote responsibly requires that we learn about the candidates." The article points out resources and tools that can be used to make informed decisions on whom to elect to office. One resource mentioned is Fedspending.org launched in 2006 by OMB Watch. "OMBWatch.org believes that it is essential to know how the 'government spends money so that citizens can hold elected officials accountable for the national priorities they set."

Check out the tutorial here.

A blog posting titled "Bird-Dogging and Blogging the Primaries" observes that "until now, it would have seemed implausible that nonprofits and presidential politics would go hand-in hand. Activism is ubiquitous in communities; yet, on the whole the organizations that facilitate and conduct it are ignored by policy makers and politicians." The blog is promoting the new V3 campaign which shows candidates' responses to questions regarding the nonprofit sector created by Robert Egger. The campaign encourages nonprofit advocates around the country to ask candidates for local, state and federal office what their plans are to work with and support the nonprofit community. According to the V3 website; "The V3 Campaign will give you the tools you need to legally engage candidates in your city and state to determine their plans for the nonprofit sector. Learn how the candidates plan to support the causes and strengthen the organizations that are important to you."

The Chronicle of Philanthropy will be hosting an online discussion next Tuesday February 12, at noon, Eastern time on the election and what it means for nonprofits. Experts on philanthropy and politics will be answering questions and if a question is submitted in advance, there is a better chance that it will be answered during the discussion. To submit a question, click here. The discussion is open to everyone, not just subscribers, so go ahead and ask a question!

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold an oversight hearing on voter suppression this Friday, February 8. In preparation, last week Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) sent a letter to former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, requesting his testimony at the hearing. The letter stated;

The hearing will explore the current state of voting rights and the allocation of resources to end voter suppression and voter fraud. There were a number of election irregularities in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential Election. Cumulatively, these irregularities, affected hundreds of thousands of voters. As we look forward to the 2008 Presidential Election, the Committee seeks to explore policies that should be implemented to avoid future voting problems and ensure that every American can exercise their right to vote.