Articles by Corey Goldstone
Giffords v. FEC
In 2018, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Giffords filed four separate administrative complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the National Rifle Association (NRA) violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by using a series of shell corporations to make millions of dollars of unreported contributions to at least seven federal candidates since 2014. The political and media consulting firm OnMessage set up a shell corporation called Starboard.
CLC Files Redistricting Challenge on Behalf of Wisconsin Groups Seeking Fair Maps
Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Law Forward, Inc. and Stafford Rosenbaum LLP filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on Aug. 23, 2021 on behalf of nonpartisan groups and individual voters challenging Wisconsin’s state legislative map, which the 2020 census has revealed to have unequally populated districts.
Senate Must Follow House in Approving John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, otherwise known as H.R. 4 or the VRAA, on Aug. 24, 2021, taking a critical step to prevent states from passing voting laws that discriminate against racial minorities. Now the Senate should follow the House’s lead and pass this bill to protect Americans’ freedom to vote.
Victory! Early Voting Site Will Be Established on Arizona Tribe’s Reservation
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Pima County Recorder’s Office announced a settlement agreement has been reached inPascua Yaqui Tribe v. Rodriguez on Aug. 16, 2021. This settlement represents a significant victory for the reservation’s 4,000 residents, ending a long-running dispute stemming from a controversial decision in 2018 by former Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez to remove an early voting location on the reservation.
What Does the Census Data Drop Mean?
How does the U.S. Census data release impact the map drawing process that occurs once every 10 years? How do I know if my state is drawing a gerrymandered map? These are all questions being asked this week. On Aug. 12, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau released the data from the 2020 census which will be used to redraw voting districts across the country. The maps that are drawn this year will shape our lives and our communities for the next decade.
After Brnovich, Can We Still Protect Voters in the Courts?
The Supreme Court of the United States. Photo by Casey Atkins/Campaign Legal Center. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld two Arizona policies that a lower court had found discriminated against voters of color. This decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee is the latest effort by the Court’s majority to weaken the Voting Rights Act.
CLC Files Suit To Block Kansas’ Anti-Voter Law
A voter fills out an absentee ballot. Photo by Ted Pink / Alamy Stock Photo. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed suit in federal court against the state of Kansas and a local District Attorney to block anti-voter provisions in H.B. 2332.
Ten Years After Potter’s Interview on Colbert’s Show, Illegal Coordination Still Pervades
Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), first appeared on the “Colbert Report” to educate the public about political action committees (PAC) on March 30, 2011. The interview highlighted how easy it is for candidates and super PACs to illegally coordinate campaign spending. A decade later, not much has changed. Across the political spectrum, campaigns and super PACs are still going unpunished when they deliberately work together to spend money on behalf of their preferred candidate.
Arizona Officials Lack Transparency in Jail Voting Procedures
Campaign Legal Center (CLC), as part of the Arizona Coalition to End Jail Based Disenfranchisement, has sent a total of 90 records requests to understand how many people in Arizona jails are being denied their constitutional right to vote across the state. As of Jan. 28, 2021, 49 requests remain unanswered.
Lessons From 2020: Strengthening Elections To Protect Our Democracy
A record 160 million Americans voted in the 2020 general election and made their voices heard, a remarkable achievement during a year defined by overlapping challenges. President Trump used his megaphone to try and delegitimize election results while a viral pandemic spread like wildfire through the country.
Education and outreach can beat voter intimidation
A poll worker (right) helps an elderly voter fill out her ballot outside a polling place in Washington D.C. on June 2, 2020. Photo by Casey Atkins/Campaign Legal Center. This article originally ran in The Fulcrum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization exclusively focused on efforts to reverse the dysfunctions plaguing American democracy. Millions of Americans are already voting, and concerns about possible voter intimidation have been on the rise.
Court Declines to Reinstate Early Voting Site for Arizona Tribe
A sign points voters to a voting center for the Democratic primary in Sun City, Arizona, U.S., March 17, 2020. Photo by REUTERS/Cheney Orr. On Oct. 22, 2020, a federal court ruled that Pima County, Arizona does not have to reinstate an early voting site during the period of Oct. 26-30 for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. The Reservation will also have no ballot dropbox on the premises.
Newly Published Cambridge Analytica Documents Show Unlawful Support for Trump in 2016
A newly published trove of Cambridge Analytica emails and other documents from the 2016 election demonstrate how the data firm operated as a tool for a billionaire family to unlawfully influence U.S. politics and help elect President Trump. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has supplemented its 2016 complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) with the newly available evidence.
CLC Files Complaint Against Sen. Graham for Illegal Campaign Solicitation
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to the press during a break in the third day of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings considering the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to become Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on October 14, 2020. Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA/Alamy Live News The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint against Sen. Lindsey Graham for solicitating campaign donations while in a Senate building Wednesday evening. Sen.
CLC Files Suit To Reinstate Early Voting Site on Arizona Tribal Land
A sign points voters to a voting center for the Democratic primary in Sun City, Arizona, U.S., March 17, 2020. Photo by REUTERS/Cheney Orr. On Oct. 12, 2020, also known as Indigenous People’s Day, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed suit against Pima County (AZ) Recorder Ann Rodriguez for her failure to reinstate an in-person early voting site on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation during the period of Oct. 26-30.
Getting On The Wall: A Review of Edward Foley’s Voters as Fiduciaries
Yale Law School’s Jack Balkin once wrote in The Atlantic that ideas are either “off the wall” or “on the wall.” Constitutional litigation, he explained, is all about the reasonableness of your ideas. A decade ago, the notion that Obamacare’s individual mandate provision was unconstitutional was “simply crazy.” But after conservative lawyers, academics and social movements pushed the theory, the idea quickly gained legitimacy and was almost adopted by the Supreme Court.
What To Do if You Encounter Voter Intimidation
You have a right to vote. Whenever you go to vote in-person or submit a mail-in ballot (including via an election dropbox), you shouldn’t be made to feel unsafe or intimidated while exercising your fundamental rights. Your voice and your vote matter. Voter intimidation is against the law. It's important to know that you shouldn't hesitate to speak up and seek help if something doesn’t feel right. Voting should be stress-free. If something feels off, trust your gut.
CLC Will Represent Arizona Tribe to Expand Early Voting Access
States should offer and expand early voting options, especially during a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing voters into some difficult choices. By spreading out in-person voting across many days – rather than a single day – we can space out voters and alleviate long lines and crowded polling locations.
Signature Matching and Absentee Ballots: Safeguards to Ensure That Every Vote Counts
Updated: Oct. 13, 2020 Many states rely on signature matching as part of ballot counting and verification procedures. Indeed, at least 31 states will use signature matching to verify all absentee ballots in the upcoming November 2020 election. Signature matching laws require election officials to compare the signatures voters provide on their ballots to the signatures on their voter registration or absentee ballot request forms.
State and Locally Focused Resources for Supporting Voting Rights
Voting rules and processes vary widely in states across the country, often making it difficult to know how to support on-the-ground efforts to ensure every eligible voter can cast a ballot. To assist, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has compiled a list of resources to help voters in states and localities across the country be able to vote.
What Does the U.S. Postal Service Need to Support a Fair Election?
Postal workers and voting rights advocates around the country have raised concerns this summer about changes to United States Postal Service (USPS) policies announced in August 2020 by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The changes included cutting overtime, reducing delivery trips, and limiting post office hours, which workers said were causing massive delivery delays. This couldn’t come at a worse time. We should not have to choose between public health and a functioning democracy.
Victory! New York Passes Law to Protect Absentee Voters from Ballot Rejection
Photo by Bill Oxford As New York voters increasingly rely on the state’s absentee voting system to cast their ballots during COVID-19, more New York voters will be at risk of disenfranchisement because the state erroneously rejects their ballot for issues that have nothing to do with their eligibility. In the 2018 general election, state election officials discarded more than 34,000 absentee ballots – or about 14% of all absentee ballots cast.
CLC Challenges Requirement that Puts Rhode Island Voters at Risk of Contracting COVID-19
States need to make reasonable accommodations so voters can cast a ballot without unnecessary risk of contracting COVID-19. But far too often, they don’t make these changes voluntarily, so advocacy groups have to take states to court. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a federal lawsuit on July 23, 2020 challenging Rhode Island’s witness/notary requirements for voting by mail throughout the 2020 elections.
Nobody Can Be Excluded from 2020 Census Count
President Trump signing a memorandum. Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum calling for undocumented people to be excluded from being counted toward congressional representation after the 2020 Census on July 21, 2020. This move is a deliberate attempt at political gain at the expense of the accuracy and legitimacy of the census.
CLC's Senior Director of Voting Rights and Redistricting Remembers Rep. John Lewis
I am writing this piece to pay tribute to John Lewis, a man I first met nearly 40 years ago. Much has already been eloquently written about this great American hero. How he was a strong symbol of what it means to be an American, and how he taught us to march on toward a more just country, even when the struggle seemed too hard and we felt too tired to go on. How he lived his life in a way that inspired us to live up to his example.
Supreme Court Leaves in Place Florida’s Pay-to-Vote Scheme
The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington D.C. Photo by Casey Atkins/Campaign Legal Center. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn an appeals court order that will prevent nearly a million Floridians from registering and voting in the August 2020 primary election. The Supreme Court stood by and let a lower court prevent otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they can’t afford to pay fines and fees.
Coronavirus: Expanding Voter Access and Ensuring Emergency Election Preparedness
As public health precautions around the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause disruptions and delays to the ongoing primary elections, states must take steps now to ensure that the general election in November runs smoothly. Voters should not have to choose between public health and a functioning democracy. The date of the general election is mandated by federal law, and the start and end dates of congressional and presidential terms are set by the Constitution.
CLC Successfully Defends Michigan’s IRC from Legal Challenge
Lija Hogan (left), Nancy Wang (center) and Kelly Schalter (right) are slaying the gerrymander together. Lija and Kelly drafted the amendment language and collected signatures. Together they served on the board of Voters Not Politicians.
It’s Time to Pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act to Make the District of Columbia the 51st State
Congress should pass H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, to make the District of Columbia the 51st state. Citizens of the District deserve the same rights and voice in government as the current 50 states. With a population of 705,749 citizens, the District has a larger population than Vermont or Wyoming and a comparable population to South Dakota, North Dakota, and Alaska.
Self Advocacy Solutions v. Jaeger
Background Under current North Dakota law, when an absentee ballot is submitted, local election officials must compare the signature the voter provided on their ballot envelope to the one on their absentee ballot application form. If the officials – who are untrained in signature analysis and provided with no meaningful guidance as to how to make these comparisons – determine the signatures do not “correspond,” the ballot is rejected and not counted.
Voting is Essential: People Must Be Able to Safely Exercise Their Rights During Emergencies
On Saturday, May 30, in Washington, DC, protesters took to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd, and African American man who was killed by a white police officer in Minnesota. The protests eventually led to clashes between police and people. The windows of nearby buildings were broken, and a car was set on fire. Photo by Ardavan Roozbeh/ZUMA Wire.
CLC Seeks to Extend Expansion of Voting Rights from Florida to Alabama
Treva Thompson, a disenfranchised Alabama citizen who is the named plaintiff in CLC’s lawsuit. A federal court struck down a Florida law on Sunday that would have denied voters the ability to participate in the 2020 election because they are unable to pay legal financial obligations imposed by the criminal justice system. That order follows an appeals court ruling holding that it is unconstitutional to deny the right to vote solely because of unpaid legal debt for those who cannot pay.
Victory for Native American Voting Rights in North Dakota!
Dion Jackson (center) and Kara Longie (right) pose for a photo with CLC's Molly Danahy after voting in November, 2018. After a yearslong battle in court, Native Americans in North Dakota will finally face fewer obstacles to accessing the ballot. The Spirit Lake Nation and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe recently filed a binding agreement, which once approved by the court, will be enforceable by court order and provide essential voting rights safeguards.
COVID-19 Should Not Stop Us from Advancing Arkansas Fair Maps Initiative
The author, Bonnie Miller, is president of The League of Women Voters – Washington County, and resides in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Arkansas is one of the 10 most gerrymandered states in the U.S. Lobbyists in Little Rock strike backroom deals with Arkansas politicians to draw voting districts so their chosen candidates win.
Volunteer State Removes Restrictions on Voter Registration Groups
Gicola Lane, Ashley Caldwell and Gayle Schwarzberg with Restore Your Vote Tennessee In a victory for voting rights, Tennessee lawmakers have repealed burdensome restrictions enacted after the 2018 election that imposed harsh penalties on community voter registration efforts.
Victory for Fair Maps In Virginia! Bipartisan Gerrymandering Solution Will Go On November Ballot
On March 6, 2020, the Virginia House of Delegates passed legislation to amend the state’s constitution and reform how new congressional and legislative election maps are drawn, limiting the ability of lawmakers to redraw maps for their own political advantage. It will now go before voters on the November General Election ballot. Virginia has long been plagued by gerrymandering.
What Is Next in Florida’s Amendment 4 Case?
A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a decision by a federal district court in Jones v. DeSantis, which found that it was unconstitutional for Florida to deny people with past felony convictions the right to vote based on their inability to pay legal financial obligations (LFOs) – the fines, fees, and restitution imposed by the court.
Rep. Nunes’ Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuits Against Media Potentially Violate House Ethics Rule
Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., (left) leaves the House Intelligence Committee Impeachment Hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Thursday, November 21, 2019. Photo by UPI/Alamy Live News. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is calling for an investigation into whether U.S. Representative Devin Nunes is receiving legal services in violation of House ethics rules.
Don’t Turn Back Now: Pass Virginia’s Bipartisan Gerrymandering Solution
In a strong display of bipartisan support, a proposed constitutional amendment to create the Virginia Redistricting Commission passed out of the House of Delegates by a wide margin of 83-15 and by the State Senate unanimously in February 2019. At the time, Republicans maintained a slim majority in both houses of the General Assembly. Together with strong enabling legislation, the constitutional amendment route is the best option to removing partisanship in the redistricting process.
I Thought It Was Going to Be a Breeze to Get My Voting Rights Back
Milton Thomas in the Martha O'Bryan Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Casey Atkins/Campaign Legal Center. My name is Milton Thomas, and I’m from Nashville, Tennessee and I’m a maintenance worker at Martha O’Bryan Center. I’ve been here, born and raised, all my life. I lost both my parents at an early age to cancer, so I was forced to grow up real quick. I got in some trouble in '97-'98, and I didn’t know that they would take your voting rights for catching a felony, but I got a felony.
Court Rules that Florida Cannot Deny the Right to Vote Based on Inability to Pay Fines and Fees
Judge Robert Hinkle for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued an opinion ruling that it is unconstitutional to deny individuals with past convictions the right to vote based on their inability to pay fines and fees. The decision restores the right to vote to plaintiffs who are otherwise eligible to vote but are unable to pay off their outstanding fines, fees and restitution.
CLC Launches RecupereSuVoto.org to Help Millions of Citizens Vote
Nearly 18 million of the 23 million Americans with felony convictions should be able to vote right now, if they just understood their rights. On National Voter Registration Day, Campaign Legal Center launched RecupereSuVoto.org, the Spanish language version of RestoreYourVote.org: an online toolkit to help citizens with past felony convictions understand their options for exercising the right to vote in all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
North Carolina Legislature Fails to Follow Court’s Guidelines During Redistricting
On September 3, 2019, the Wake County Superior Court struck down North Carolina’s state House and Senate maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders, and assigned a deadline of two weeks (September 18, 2019) for the legislature to have new maps redrawn and enacted. The Court stated that it would also appoint a referee to review and assess the remedial maps submitted by the General Assembly, or to draw remedial maps if the General Assembly is unable to or if the proposed maps are unacceptable.
Yang Campaign Can’t Just Give Away Cash to Voters
Andrew Yang speaking with attendees at the 2019 Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Creative Commons. At the third Democratic debate in Houston, Tex. on ABC, candidate for President of the United States Andrew Yang promised to give away free money. He announced that his campaign – through a raffle – would give 10 families $1,000 per month for a year as part of a case study on his universal basic income policy.
Fake Political Group Exploits Facebook Rules and Hides Spending from the FEC
In the final weeks of the 2018 elections, a Facebook page called America Progress Now was created and quickly reached hundreds of thousands of Facebook users with paid ads urging voters to cast ballots for third-party candidates in five competitive U.S. Senate and House races. Shortly after Election Day, the page went silent.
FEC’s Creation of “List-Swap Loophole” Allows Backroom Deals to go Unreported
In advance of the 2016 presidential elections, a super PAC called Ready for Hillary used six-figure and corporate contributions to create a valuable list of an estimated 4 million potential Clinton supporters. Then, the super PAC passed this list to another super PAC, which in turn passed the list directly to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Clinton’s campaign never disclosed receiving the super PAC’s list on its Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports.
Kellyanne Conway Violates the Hatch Act Again
CLC filed a complaint against White House counselor Kellyanne Conway with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for again abusing her official authority to influence an election. This is Conway’s third brazen violation of the law. Conway recently gave two interviews from the White House lawn where she pivoted, unprompted, to attack a presidential candidate, Joe Biden.
Florida is Trying to Silence Me With a Poll Tax
The author, pictured below, is Bonnie Raysor, age 58. Bonnie has lived in Florida since age 17 and currently resides in Boynton Beach. When my father-in-law took ill, I used to get headaches and ended up addicted to opioids. I got caught selling and served 15 months behind bars. This was the first time I had been in trouble. I had nothing on my record, not even a speeding ticket. When I was released from prison, I came out clean and had kicked my addiction.
Arizona Moves Towards Eliminating its Modern Day Poll Tax
This week, Arizona passed a new law that will restore the right to vote to many people with past convictions who were unable to vote simply because they could not pay off fines. Arizona has one of the most complicated and harsh felony disenfranchisement laws in the country, stripping the right to vote from approximately 221,000 citizens. Upon a felony conviction, everyone loses the right to vote in the state. But some have the right to vote automatically restored when they complete their sentence.
Ahead of Trump’s Address Before NRA Convention, CLC Action and Giffords File Suit to Compel FEC to Act on Illegal Campaign Coordination
NRA Executive Director Chris Cox (L) and Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre (R) welcome U.S. President Donald Trump (C) onstage to deliver remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., April 28, 2017.
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