A Clean, Fair Fight

by Jonah Goldman

In the aftermath of the March 4^th primaries, The New York Times looked ahead to November and urged Congress to pass important election reforms - including the Caging Prohibition Act, a bill the National Campaign helped Senator Sheldon Whitehouse develop. 

During a Senate hearing on the bill on February 27, 2008, Senator Whitehouse eloquently addressed the urgency of passing the bill when he said:

It is an unfortunate reality that, with so much at stake in the ballot box, organized efforts to suppress the vote go nearly as far back as the right to vote itself.  These efforts have cast a shadow over what Chief Justice Earl Warren called the essence of a Democratic Society: the right to vote freely for the candidate of one’s choice.

In his remarks he also thanked the groups that worked closely with him on the bill:

I was also proud to work closely with the Brennan Center for Justice and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to develop this bill.  

Throughout the primary season Election Protection - with legal leadership from the National Campaign for Fair Elections - has helped thousand of voters cast a ballot that counts.  However, many more voters have been disenfranchised through problems with election administration.  We will work hard over the coming months to help fix many of these problems and work to ensure voters have the information they need to vote.  Unfortunately, educating voters and working with election officials can’t stop independent actors from disenfranchising voters through nefarious actions.  Congress can take a major step towards protecting the right to vote by passing the Caging Prohibition Act. 

In its editorial, The New York Times wrote:

Vote caging is a little-known but pernicious technique. Political operatives mail letters to voters, targeting areas where the opposing party is strong. If a letter is returned as undeliverable, the voter’s name is put on a list to be challenged at the polls. The challengers try to persuade election officials not to let the person vote, or only to let them cast a provisional ballot. Some voters end up disenfranchised. No matter how the challenges turn out, they often create confusion and long lines, reducing turnout in the targeted precincts.

Minority voters have been especially victimized. In an infamous case in Louisiana, a Republican political operative boasted that a vote-caging program "could keep the black vote down considerably." Vote caging is sometimes defended as a way of removing ineligible voters from the rolls. But there are many reasons letters are returned, including errors in names and addresses, which are common on direct-mail lists.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, has sponsored a good bill that would require operatives to present better evidence when they challenge a voter’s eligibility, such as verifiable proof that a prospective voter has moved or died. The bill would not deter legitimate efforts to keep ineligible people from voting, but it should greatly reduce the use of voter challenges as an Election Day dirty trick.

The editorial concluded by stating:

Almost invariably on Election Day, there are reports of skulduggery followed by cries for reform. Once the election is over, however, the damage has been done. This year, Congress should take strong action to prevent the dirty tricks before they occur.

We couldn’t agree more.