Judge rejects RNC bid to end minority voter protections

Tuesday, 01 December 2009 20:07

By Kenneth P. Vogel of Politico

A federal judge in New Jersey on Tuesday rejected an attempt by the Republican National Committee to end nearly three-decade-old restrictions on GOP "ballot security" programs that historically discriminated against minority voters.

In a ruling that extended the restrictions for at least another eight years, but also slightly narrowed the consent decree containing them, U.S. District Court Judge Dickinson Debevoise of Newark asserted that

“voter intimidation presents an ongoing threat to the participation of minority individuals in the political process.”

The consent decree stems from a lawsuit brought in the early 1980s in New Jersey by the Democratic National Committee, which accused the Republican National Committee of suppressing minority voters under the guise of guarding against voter fraud, partly by challenging their registrations if mail sent to their residences was returned as undeliverable, and by stationing off-duty police around polling places in minority neighborhoods.

The resulting consent decree, which barred the RNC from launching any ballot security programs without prior court approval, was expanded in 1987 to cover the entire country.

But the RNC, in a motion filed with little fanfare the day before Barack Obama’s historic presidential election victory, argued that since the 1980s, the risk of fraud has increased, while the need for minority voter protection measures has decreased.

The DNC countered that the RNC was exaggerating the danger of voter fraud and said the potential for such fraud is outweighed by the risk of voter intimidation efforts by Republican groups, pointing to a recent decision by the New Jersey court that the RNC had engaged in illegal voter challenges as recently as the 2004 presidential election.

The RNC contended that the consent decree had been interpreted too broadly and made it tougher for Republicans to ensure an even electoral playing field. Plus, it said it had no incentive to intimidate minority voters, pointing to its own election of Michael Steele, who is African-American, as chairman, and asserting that Obama’s election meant existing voting rights laws would be adequate to protect minority voters without the decree.

“I find it very difficult to believe that with an African-American president, and an African-American attorney general, that the laws that are already on the books regarding voter fraud, voter intimidation, and voter suppression are[n’t] going to be actively pursued by this Justice Department,”

the RNC’s voting rights expert Tom Josefiak told the court.

Josefiak, a former Federal Election Commission chairman who served as general counsel for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, declined to comment.

But Debevoise rejected his assertions out of hand, pointing out “the appointment of minority officials within the RNC has not coincided with an end to racially polarized voting. Rather, minority voters continue to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates. As long as that is the case, the RNC and other Republican groups may be tempted to keep qualified minority voters from casting their ballots, especially in light of the razor-thin margin of victory by which many elections have been decided in recent years.”

The judge contended

“it is less likely that voter suppression is motivated by racial animus than by a simple calculation of who is voting for whom.”

Nonetheless, the judge set an eight-year sunset clause (unless the DNC can prove a violation before the sunset) and narrowed the decree by clarifying that only the DNC could bring violations to the court’s attention. He also said that the term “ballot security” would include only efforts aimed at preventing potentially unqualified voters from casting a ballot, as opposed to programs meant to ensure the smooth functioning of the electoral process or increase the number of people participating in it.

RNC spokeswoman Katie Wright called the modifications

“a step in the right direction,” but added “the RNC will continue to work to ensure that we are able to compete on a level playing field.”

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, in a statement, shot back that

“Republicans would be better served trying to engage minority and under-represented voters rather than trying to intimidate them.”

He called the ruling

“a victory for all Americans who believe that every citizen should have the right to vote and have their vote counted. It also represents a resounding repudiation of the Republican Party's trumped up claims of voter fraud.”

Full ruling

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