Today, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bipartisan bill into law that helps ensure Arizona’s election deadlines comply with the federal Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 – a move that helps secure Arizona’s elections and enables Arizona’s presidential election results to be properly transmitted to Congress, reflecting the will of Arizona’s voters.

Catherine Hinckley Kelley, senior director for policy and strategic partnerships at Campaign Legal Center, issued the following statement:  

“Campaign Legal Center commends Arizona lawmakers for their bipartisan effort to update the state’s election laws. 

The bill signed today by Governor Hobbs is a robust bipartisan compromise that aligns Arizona’s post-election timelines with new federal deadlines – a necessary improvement ahead of the 2024 presidential election. This is a step forward for democracy, for Arizona’s voters, and for trust in Arizona’s elections.

Campaign Legal Center hopes other states will follow Arizona’s example and make necessary legislative updates in advance of this election.”

Background: 

In December 2022, the U.S. Congress passed the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform Act (the ECRA), a law that updated the archaic Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887. 

Among other changes that address vulnerabilities in the process of casting and counting electoral votes revealed in the 2020 presidential election, the ECRA mandates that each state’s executive must certify the state’s slate of electors six days before the date on which the electors meet to officially cast their votes; for the 2024 presidential election states must certify their presidential election results by December 11. A number of other states have updated their laws to align with the new federal deadlines.

Today’s bipartisan bill signed by Governor Hobbs aligns Arizona’s post-election process to comply with the deadlines set in the ECRA by:

• Requiring county boards to meet and canvass the election results on the third Thursday after the election, shortening the timeline for this post-election process;
• Requiring the Secretary of State to perform the state canvass no later than the third Monday after the election; 
• Specifying a timeline for initiation of a recount by requiring the Secretary to certify facts to the Maricopa County Superior Court within 24 hours of the last county canvass or the last day allowed for county canvass, whichever is earlier;
• Requiring that “logic and accuracy” testing on the tabulators to be used in the recount to take place within two calendar days after the court orders the recount;
• Requiring the use of electronic transmission for canvass results to the Secretary of State, thus speeding up the process;
• In the case of a recount, allowing a hand recount and machine tabulation recounts to be conducted simultaneously, saving valuable time in the recount timeline. 

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Trump v. Anderson, a case determining whether the Colorado Supreme Court erred in excluding Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballot under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Ahead of today’s oral argument, Paul Smith, senior vice president at Campaign Legal Center, released the following statement:  

“Today, the Supreme Court will hear a case of extraordinary importance to our democracy. It is vital that, one way or another, the Court returns a clear ruling as quickly as possible to avoid any potential confusion in the upcoming presidential election. However the Court decides, election officials deserve time to properly prepare for the upcoming election, and voters deserve time to make an informed decision.”

Background: On January 18, 2024, CLC, alongside the Brennan Center for Justice, Protect Democracy, and the League of Women Voters, filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. Anderson urging the Court to reject Donald Trump’s plea to review the Colorado Supreme Court’s interpretation of its own state’s election laws. The amicus brief takes no position on whether Donald Trump is ineligible for the Colorado ballot under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment and backs neither party in the case.    

Washington, D.C. - Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed two separate complaints with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics (Senate Ethics Committee) focused on eight U.S. Senate candidates in Michigan. The complaints call on the Committee to investigate these candidates for failing to adequately disclose legally required information about their personal finances. 

One complaint concerns Senate candidate Hill Harper for his blatant omission of details regarding his personal income, while the other complaint calls for the investigation of seven other Michigan Senate candidates: Nasser Beydoun, Zack Burns, Michael Hoover, Peter Meijer, Sherrell Ann O'Donnell, Sharon Maureen Savage, and Alexandria J. Taylor – all of whom failed to file any personal financial disclosures whatsoever. Ignoring these rules is a violation of the Ethics in Government Act. Intentional violations could prompt further investigation by the U.S. attorney general.

“Voters have a right to know the financial interests of the people hoping to represent them in electoral office,” said Kedric Payne, CLC’s Vice President, General Counsel and Senior Director of Ethics. “Failure to timely file financial disclosure reports or omitting the required details altogether not only deprives voters of this critical information, but in some cases may conceal a campaign’s true sources of funding from law enforcement and the Senate Ethics Committee itself.”  

Senate candidates are required to file and submit personal financial disclosure forms to the Senate Ethics Committee after declaring their candidacy and raising or spending at least $5,000 for their campaigns. While Mr. Harper received an initial extension to submit these forms, his disclosures omit details about his income despite his personal loans and contributions totaling more than $460,000 to his own campaign, and a public record of paid employment during this filing period. Meanwhile, the other seven Michigan Senate candidates (listed above) have no personal financial disclosures on file with the Senate Ethics Committee.  

The Senate Ethics Committee has a history of referring knowing and willful failures to file personal financial disclosure forms to the U.S. Justice Department, whether or not candidates win their elections. Given the recent expulsion of former Representative George Santos of New York for filing fraudulent disclosure forms, the Senate Ethics Committee needs to transparently communicate and enforce current financial disclosure rules with candidates.  

Timely and truthful completion of these materials by candidates helps the electoral and governance process remain transparent and helps build public confidence in candidates seeking to represent their constituents in Congress. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against “Head East LLC” and any unknown person(s) that made a $150,000 contribution to the super PAC Best of America, which was supporting the 2024 presidential candidacy of Doug Burgum, North Dakota’s governor.  

The complaint alleges that Head East, registered in the state of North Dakota on July 24, 2023, was used to conceal the true sources of a $150,000 contribution made to the super PAC just 15 days later on August 8, 2023. Under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), “straw donor” contributions of this nature are clearly prohibited and only serve to conceal the true source of money used to influence elections.

“Straw donor schemes like the one behind Head East LLC are harmful because they deprive voters of their right to know who is spending to try and influence their votes and our government. To reduce political corruption, we need real transparency about who is spending this money so that politicians can no longer receive unlimited, secret money from wealthy special interests to support their campaigns,” said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at Campaign Legal Center. “With super PACs primed to spend millions of dollars on this year’s presidential election, it is critical that the public has more transparency on who is behind this kind of secretive, and illegal, spending.”  

“Head East LLC” appears to have been made for the sole purpose of providing an anonymous donation to the Best of America super PAC. The LLC has no publicly available information on public databases or resources, and there is no evidence that it conducted any other activity besides making this six-figure contribution since its inception.  

Even though we expect to see a record amount of election spending from super PACs and other outside groups throughout the 2024 election cycle, federal campaign finance laws require all donors to be transparent about who they are. Those who have violated these laws in recent years have faced both civil fines and criminal indictments after their straw donor schemes came to light. The FEC needs to fully investigate this matter and enforce the law. 

Today, in a victory for North Dakota voters, a federal judge dismissed a challenge to North Dakota’s mail-in voting process.

"The fundamental right to cast your ballot and have it counted is key to our democracy,” said Barbara Headrick, president of the League of Women Voters of North Dakota. "The League will always stand up for every voter's right to cast their ballot in the way that works for them. North Dakotans deserve to have their voices heard and respected, and we’re pleased the court ruled to ensure that every validly cast mail ballot will be counted."

“In our democracy, every vote counts, and that means we must count every vote — including mail-in ballots,” said Molly Danahy, senior legal counsel for litigation at Campaign Legal Center. “We are glad a federal judge dismissed this challenge to North Dakota’s clearly lawful requirement that counties count mail-in ballots postmarked before election day, which ensures North Dakotans who vote by mail in the lead up to election day are not denied a voice in our elections.”

"Every voter deserves confidence that their voice will be heard, regardless of how they choose to submit their ballot, said Celina Stewart, chief counsel and senior director of advocacy and litigation at the League of Women Voters of the US. "We're proud that today’s decision ensures trust in the electoral process for the people of North Dakota. The League remains committed to advocating for increased access to the ballot, including voting by mail, for all voters across the country. 

North Dakota is one of several states that set uniform deadlines for the counting of mail-in ballots to help ensure postal issues don’t prevent voters from having their timely ballots counted. Under current North Dakota law, otherwise valid mail-in ballots postmarked up to the day before Election Day must be counted so long as they are received prior to the vote canvassing deadline, 13 days after the Election Day. 

In July, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed suit on behalf of Burleigh County Auditor Mark Splonskowski seeking to prevent election officials from counting mail-in ballots that are mailed before, but received after, Election Day – a move that would have needlessly upended North Dakota’s election process. Today, a federal judge dismissed this suit because Splonskowski could not demonstrate he was personally harmed by the law. As a result, North Dakotans who timely cast their mail-in ballots will continue to have their voices heard at the ballot box.  

The League of Women Voters (LWVND), represented by Campaign Legal Center, moved to intervene in the suit last August, and simultaneously asked the judge to dismiss the case.

More information about the case can be found here.

On Monday, January 29, the League of Women Voters (LWV) announced that Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, president of the organization, has passed away. The following is a statement from Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC):  

“Campaign Legal Center (CLC) stands with the League of Women Voters (LWV) and pro-democracy advocates in mourning the loss of League president Dr. Deborah Ann Turner.

“Dr. Turner will be remembered as a champion for equal access to the ballot. Serving as president of the League since 2020, Dr. Turner’s fearless advocacy for a fairer and representative democracy has impacted the lives of countless voters across the nation.

“I believe the example provided by Dr. Turner’s life and leadership will inspire the League’s many dedicated advocates to continue the fight for a stronger, more inclusive electoral process.

“As we send our sincere condolences to Dr. Turner’s family, friends and colleagues, we honor her devotion to safeguarding our democracy.”