KANSAS CITY, KS - On Nov. 19, 2021, a federal court temporarily blocked certain anti-voter provisions in the Kansas law H.B. 2332. The court ruled that the challenged parts of H.B. 2332 likely violate the First Amendment rights of nonpartisan organizations to engage in political speech by restricting their ability to distribute mail ballot applications to voters to promote higher levels of voting. 

In June 2021, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Kansas attorney Mark Johnson filed the suit on behalf of VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center to protect voter access to mail ballot applications in the state. The two nonprofit charitable organizations, VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center, engage with voters to facilitate voting by mail as a safe and secure option to exercise the right to vote.  

“By stopping this anti-voter law in its tracks, this decision protects the freedom to vote and the free speech rights of our clients,” said Paul Smith, vice president for litigation and strategy at CLC. “We will continue to protect the critical role nonpartisan, public interest organizations play in our democracy by helping voters navigate confusing systems and encouraging people to exercise their right to vote. It is vital that these organizations can continue to serve as a resource to voters.” 

“The decision by the court to pause enforcement of H.B. 2332 is an important win for Kansans and our democracy," said Tom Lopach, president and CEO of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Voter Participation Center (VPC). "H.B. 2332 would silence VPC’s civic engagement efforts and make voting more difficult for voters by threatening Kansans’ ability to vote-by-mail. We are proud to fight back against this dangerous anti-voter law and will keep working to ensure Americans across the country can make their voice heard.”

“As a former Kansas voter myself, I am ecstatic with the judge’s ruling, which recognizes and reinforces our standing as an essential NGO which offers Kansans tools and programs that facilitate access to their path to vote,” said Daniel McCarthy, Vice President of Finance and Operations at VoteAmerica. “In the 2020 general election, a record 70.9% of eligible Kansans cast a ballot. Our programs undoubtedly contributed to that record turnout and is something to be celebrated, not obstructed by Secretary of State, Scott Schwab, and the Kansas state legislature’s attempts to suppress voter access to the polls. VoteAmerica will continue the fight to protect our right to free unlimited communication of a pro-voter message and our right to associate with and empower voters to cast their ballot by any means available to them.”

Earlier this year, H.B. 2332 was passed in the Kansas legislature, and the governor vetoed the bill. The legislature overrode the governor’s veto and passed H.B. 2332, prohibiting voter engagement efforts that constitute core political speech under the First Amendment. The law banned distribution of mail ballot applications entirely by out-of-state groups and criminalized the mailing of advance mail ballot applications personalized with the voter’s name, address and other information, even if the voter provided that information and specifically requested an advance mail ballot application. 

Protections of nonpartisan organizations engaging with the political process and providing voters with necessary voting resources are vital. VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center served this important function in Kansas during the 2020 election, helping achieve historic turnout in the Sunflower State by encouraging and helping tens of thousands of Kansans to vote.

A poll by Strategies 360 found that Americans nationwide emphatically endorse efforts over the past year to give voters more options for voting safely like expanding early voting and voting-by-mail. 

At Campaign Legal Center, we are advancing democracy through law. Learn more about our work.

The lawsuit alleges the NRA illegally coordinated expenditures with several federal candidates, funneling about $35 million in illegal campaign contributions to Senate and presidential races

Washington, D.C. — Today, Giffords filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against the National Rifle Association (NRA) for violations of campaign finance laws dating back to 2014. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Giffords by Campaign Legal Center Action, alleges that the NRA engaged in a broad pattern of activity that violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. Since 2014, the NRA has made as much as $35 million in unlawful, excessive, and unreported in-kind campaign contributions to seven federal candidates, including candidates for U.S. Senate in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“Campaign finance law prohibits groups like the NRA from buying influence over elected officials by coordinating spending with those candidates’ campaigns. When special interests like the NRA secretly collude with candidates, this illegal coordination corrupts our election process and deprives voters of their right to know who is spending to influence their vote,” said Molly Danahy, Senior Legal Counsel for Litigation at Campaign Legal Center Action. “The FEC had the chance to do its job by taking action against the NRA for this massive coordination scheme, but as usual, the FEC failed to enforce the law. Therefore, we are compelled to take legal action to crack down on secret spending.”

“The NRA has long acted like it is above the law, and it has done so flagrantly in the last several election cycles. This lawsuit demonstrates that the NRA broke the law by illegally coordinating with federal campaigns and funneling millions of dollars to candidates who supported their extremist, deadly agenda,” said David Pucino, Giffords Law Center Senior Staff Attorney. “We are suing the NRA to finally hold them accountable for actions that corrupted politicians who were supposed to protect Americans from gun violence, illegally influenced critical elections and undermined our democracy.”

Giffords filed a series of complaints in 2018 to alert the Federal Election Commission that the NRA was engaged in an unlawful scheme that violated federal election law. When the FEC did nothing, Giffords, represented by Campaign Legal Center Action, took the Commission to court. On September 30, the U.S. District Court in Washington issued an order compelling the FEC to act on the complaints within 30 days. The FEC once again failed to do its job, and after 30 days elapsed, the Court ruled that Giffords could sue the NRA directly for violations of federal campaign finance law.

The lawsuit seeks several forms of relief, including an order preventing the NRA from violating the law in future elections, and a penalty equal to the amount of money unlawfully spent, which the NRA would pay to the US treasury — potentially as much as $35 million. A copy of the suit is available here.

The races at the heart of the lawsuit include the following (with the candidate receiving the NRA’s support in here): 

• 2014: Thom Tillis in the race for Senate in North Carolina (vs. Kay Hagan); Tom Cotton in the race for Senate in Arkansas (vs. Mark Pryor); Cory Gardner in the race for Senate in Colorado (vs. Mark Udall)
• 2016: Ron Johnson in the race for Senate in Wisconsin (vs. Russ Feingold); Donald Trump in the presidential race (vs. Hillary Clinton)
• 2018: Josh Hawley in the race for Senate in Missouri (vs. Claire McCaskill); Matt Rosendale in the race for Senate in Montana (vs. Jon Tester)

At Campaign Legal Center, we are advancing democracy through law. Learn more about our work.