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Paul Smith

Updates

Updates

 

 

In response to a lawsuit brought by Campaign Legal Center (CLC) challenging the state’s election procedures, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar issued guidance to establish uniform processes across counties for counting mail-in ballots.

This resolves the case. The plaintiffs have filed a notice of dismissal this afternoon, ending the...

On Sept. 11, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a motion to intervene in Trump v. Bullock on behalf of its client, the League of Women Voters of Montana, to defend Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s August 6 directive allowing counties to conduct the general election primarily by mail at their discretion. CLC filed a similar motion in New Jersey...

On Sept. 11, 2020, an appeals court ruled that the state of Florida can condition voting rights on an individual’s ability to pay, reversing a lower court’s decision and prohibiting otherwise eligible citizens who owe fines and fees associated with a past felony conviction from voting this fall.

This is a deeply disappointing decision. While the...

Adav Noti, senior director, trial litigation at Campaign Legal Center (CLC), recently appeared on “The PBS Newshour” to highlight why record-breaking campaign spending is a result of wealthy special interests using unlimited, secret spending to rig the political system in their favor.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling to allow for corporate...

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.

Resources...

Louis DeJoy seemed to have few qualifications for the position of U.S. Postmaster General besides being a major political donor. But evidence indicates that at least some of the donations that fueled his political rise over the years were illegal.

Five employees of DeJoy’s former company, New Breed Logistics, told the Washington Post that DeJoy or...

Americans remain concerned about the ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic and rightly so. These concerns can play a role in deciding whether voting absentee or mailing in your ballot is a viable, safe, and secure alternative to voting in person.

The only voters who can vote by absentee or mail ballots are eligible citizens who provided...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a lawsuit on September 2, 2020 seeking to reinstate an Arkansas ballot initiative calling for a fair, citizen-led redistricting process that would allow state voters to approve an overhaul of the way voting maps are redrawn.

CLC is representing the League of Women Voters of Arkansas as a client, and the local...

Issues

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) joined its voting rights partners in celebrating National Poll Worker Recruitment Day on September 1, 2020 to help address the shortage of poll workers in this country.

In the spring of 2020, many poll workers chose not to work because of the risk of contracting COVID-19. The pandemic has only exacerbated the problem...

On August 31, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by President Trump, which challenges New Jersey’s plan to send all active registered voters a vote-by-mail ballot during the pandemic.

CLC is joined by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and will be representing two clients, NAACP-New Jersey...

Voters should rest assured that there are systems in place to ensure that all votes are counted.

Due to the on-going health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that Americans from every race and ethnicity, particularly those concerned about their health, are able to vote by absentee or mail ballot to ensure their participation...

The District of Columbia Circuit Court affirmed that a Federal Election Commission (FEC) rule impermissibly allowed groups to spend big money in federal elections without disclosing key information about their funders.

This decision is a win for transparency, and it underscores an important but often-overlooked reality of our current campaign...

A week ago, we wrote about ensuring that the U.S. Postal Service will be able to support a fair election. Sadly, even after two Congressional hearings, there seem to be more questions than answers. 

First, we don’t really know what changes in mail service the Postal Service may still make, even after its promise to “suspend” changes that impacted...

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the world to rethink many aspects of our day to day interactions and our civic duties – like casting a ballot.

Now, more than ever, voters need alternatives to in-person voting. Vote-by-mail and absentee voting are safe and secure alternatives for eligible voters to exercise their right to vote and stay safe...

The arrest of Ohio Rep. Larry Householder, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, on federal corruption and racketeering charges has rocked Ohio politics.

The underlying scheme leading to his arrest has, unfortunately, provided the people of Ohio a stark illustration of how wealthy special interests can use particular types of...

Q: What is the Hatch Act, and who is covered under it?

A: The Hatch Act is a law that tries to ensure federal employees can do their jobs in a nonpartisan manner that is free of coercion. It has requirements for keeping political activities separate from activities that federal officials do on behalf of the public.

Under this law, most federal...

Issues

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, executives in the meatpacking industry have poured millions of dollars into our political system to curry favor with powerful politicians in an effort to protect their own interests at the expense of their employees.

A dangerous workplace even before the pandemic, meatpacking...

President Donald Trump is reportedly scheduled to use the White House South Lawn on Thursday to accept his nomination for the presidency to culminate this week’s Republican National Convention (RNC).

If Trump were to deliver his speech there, he would violate ethics laws and norms meant to keep the work that federal employees do on behalf of the...

Issues

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...

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and its partners were back in court on August 18, 2020 to seek voting rights restoration for people that have been victimized by Florida’s pay-to-vote scheme. A victory in Jones v. DeSantis may enable hundreds of thousands of people to register to vote in time for the November election.

CLC’s Vice President, Ligitation...

I’m sure I had vaguely understood what feminism was in high school. But it wasn’t until I got to college that I started hearing murmurs that women could do anything. What a strange thing to say, I thought.

I attended an all-girls high school, so whenever someone won an award for being the best at something, it was a girl—fastest runner, highest...