Americans should ignore the anxiety-inducing rhetoric of this evening’s news conference and remember President Trump lacks legal authority to circumvent our nation’s election procedures

WASHINGTON – Trevor Potter, President of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and former General Counsel to John McCain’s presidential campaigns, released the following statement in response to attempts by the president to undermine the integrity of the U.S. election:

“Trump’s remarks were clearly designed to weaken confidence in our election system. We can’t let them. An ongoing and transparent vote count means that democracy is working because every vote needs to be counted. The most important outcome of the election is not who wins or loses, but that votes are counted accurately, and the candidate chosen by the voters is elected.

Trump’s remarks tonight are the exact opposite of the message the White House should be sending to voters across the country about their power to determine America’s future. Braving a pandemic, hardworking election officials have stood shoulder to shoulder to finish the vote count. Putting political differences aside, they are making sure democracy is delivered for the American people. Instead of impugning the integrity of election officials and calling them and the process they oversee “corrupt”, the president should be saying thank you. Thank you for making sure voters are heard, even at personal risk during this nationwide pandemic.

Americans should ignore the anxiety-inducing rhetoric of this evening’s news conference and remember President Trump lacks legal authority to circumvent our nation’s election procedures. Votes are still being counted across the country and will be until every vote has been accounted for. We have a resilient system of safeguards in place – outside the president’s control – in which ballots are validated and counted.

Our elections are highly decentralized, and our system is resilient. They include 50 separate counts across the states and Washington DC. Each is administered by qualified officials who take their job of counting eligible votes seriously. In Nevada and Georgia, there are Republican Secretaries of State and in Arizona and Pennsylvania there are Democratic Secretaries of State. All have uniformly committed to a fair, accurate and transparent count. That won’t change now.

Every elected Republican must stand up for our democracy and speak out against any attempts to undermine the integrity of our election system and undermine public confidence in whoever is declared the winner. The American people choose their leaders. Politicians don’t decide the results of elections, voters do.”

Amendment passed on bipartisan basis under both Republican and Democratic control; this will create the first redistricting commission in the South 

RICHMOND, VA – As votes for the 2020 General Election continue to get counted, it is clear that Virginia’s amendment to reform gerrymandering has passed. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has been a leading national advocate for the passage of this amendment, supporting local partner OneVirginia 2021 throughout the process. 

“Voters have said loud and clear that they are ready to move past Virginia’s long history of gerrymandering,” said Paul Smith, vice president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC). “After a sustained effort by a diverse coalition of national and in-state groups, legislators and the electorate have both proven that bipartisan solutions are possible when democratic principles are placed over partisanship. Paired with strong enabling legislation, the amendment will help Virginia adopt fair maps and a more inclusive process.” 

Virginia will have a new 16-member commission, made up of eight legislators and eight citizens, divided evenly between the two parties. There will be measures in place to ensure public feedback and transparency. 

National Support for Redistricting Reform 

The views of Virginia voters are in line with national support for gerrymandering reform. A poll of likely 2020 General Election voters commissioned by CLC found strong opposition to gerrymandering. In fact, 65% of voters surveyed would prefer congressional districts with no partisan bias, even if it meant fewer seats for their own party. 

Background 

State efforts to fight back against gerrymandering have taken on added urgency after the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal in 2019 to use the U.S. Constitution to stop even the most extreme examples of partisan gerrymandering. The structure of redistricting commissions vary from state to state, but are a valuable citizen tool designed to make the redistricting process fairer by establishing standards for who can serve on the commission and through criteria to improve fairness when drawing district maps. 

Learn more about the issue by visiting CLC’s DemocracyU resources on redistricting commissions. 

Washington, DC – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Louisiana U.S. Congressional candidate Lance Harris violated the law by using his state campaign committee to fund a federal super PAC supporting his run for Congress and illegally coordinated with that same super PAC.  

Harris is a Louisiana state legislator and a candidate in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. On Sept. 4, 2020, Harris’ state campaign committee transferred $120,000 to the Stand for Truth super PAC. Within days of receiving those funds, the once-dormant super PAC spent over $100,000 supporting Harris. Before receiving the transfer, Stand for Truth had less than $6,000 in cash-on-hand, so the infusion of funds from Harris almost entirely financed the super PAC’s pro-Harris spending.

“Lance Harris illegally funded a federal super PAC using his state campaign funds, and the super PAC then illegally spent that money supporting Harris’ run for Congress,” said Brendan Fischer, federal reform director for CLC. “State campaign funds cannot be used in federal elections, and super PACs must operate independently of candidates, but Harris engineered a scheme to violate both of those laws.”

Federal law prohibits Congressional candidates like Harris from using state campaign funds to support their federal run for office. State-level contributions are subject to different rules than federal-level contributions. When a candidate uses funds raised under state rules, they can evade federal laws designed to guard against corruption 

In addition, the evidence indicates that the Harris campaign illegally coordinated with the super PAC that received the funds. Stand for Truth ran its pro-Harris ads just days after receiving the money from Harris and hired the same vendor as the Harris campaign to research and create the pro-Harris ads. The timing and circumstances of these transfers and expenditures strongly indicate that the super PAC ran the pro-Harris ads at the request or suggestion of Harris’ campaign, and in coordination with the campaign.

Campaign finance law allows super PACs to raise unlimited amounts of money, but only if they operate independently of the candidates they support. The FEC has rules prohibiting coordination between super PACs and campaigns, which include restrictions on how a vendor may work for both a candidate and an outside group supporting that candidate. If super PACs and campaigns coordinate, then big-money contributions to the super PAC function like direct contributions to the candidate and greatly increase opportunities for corruption. Voters should know who is trying to influence their vote and our government.

The FEC must investigate and hold all parties accountable for their blatant disregard for campaign finance laws.