The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from Virginia’s House of Delegates which sought to reinstate the state’s election maps after they had been struck down for racial gerrymandering. Campaign Legal Center submitted a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court in support of the Virginia citizens and voters who challenged Virginia’s racial gerrymander in September 2016.

CLC filed this comment opposing the Census Bureau’s attempt to collect state administrative records, such as Department of Motor Vehicles data, for the purpose of producing data on citizen voting-age population (CVAP). President Trump has suggested that by producing statistics on the CVAP of each census block in the United States, the Census Bureau will enable states to draw voting districts that deny representation to non-U.S. citizens and minors. However, CLC argues that even if this type of redistricting were acceptable in the abstract (which it is not), it could not be accomplished using the data the Census Bureau plans to produce. The Bureau’s CVAP estimates will be too unreliable for redistricting, in part because state administrative records on citizenship are notoriously outdated and riddled with errors. Moreover, the Bureau’s collection of state citizenship records puts the 2020 Census at risk by stoking fear of the Bureau among non-U.S. citizens and their communities.

Campaign Legal Center requests that the Interior Inspector General review emails between Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and members of the agency ethics staff. The emails raise questions about whether Mr. Bernhardt used his authority and influence to interfere with ethics advice.

The office of Inspector General (IG) wrote a letter back to CLC to announce that it is opening an investigation into potential ethics violations committed by multiple Department of the Interior senior executives, after CLC flagged this for the IG in a complaint filed on February 20.

CLC filed an ethics complaint with Mary Kendall, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to call to her attention the troubling conduct of Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. CLC is urging Kendall to conduct a full investigation to determine whether Bernhardt violated his ethics pledge, and whether he violated his ethical obligation to avoid the appearance of favoritism in government decision-making.

See also CLC’s March 28, 2019 supplement to the complaint.

The Office of Inspector General at the Department of the Interior responded to CLC's request for an investigation into potential ethics violations committed by several senior members of Interior including Acting Secretary Bernhardt.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of the Interior (DOI) responded to the complaints submitted by CLC and other groups about various conflicts of interest by David Bernhardt and announced on April 15, 2019 that it is opening an investigation.

CLC sent a letter to Interior’s Inspector General in response to the February 19, 2019 memo from Interior ethics officials seeking to retroactively clear Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s participation in California water matters. CLC filed a complaint in February alleging that Bernhardt violated his ethics pledge by participating in these matters.

See also CLC’s original February 28, 2019 complaint.

The conduct of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has shown a concerning pattern with respect to his compliance with the legal requirements of public service and his stewardship of public funds. CLC is urging the Inspector General to open a full investigation into these matters and take appropriate action.

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) requests that the State Department’s Inspector General investigate whether president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, should have complied with ethics laws due to his diplomatic responsibilities on Ukraine matters.

CLC filed this comment in response to disturbing evidence that the U.S. Census Bureau might provide less transparency about the accuracy and fairness of the 2020 Census than it did for past censuses. In recent decades, the Bureau has used data from its post-enumeration survey to calculate and publish estimated undercounts and overcounts for the U.S., for each state, and for large cities and counties within states. But according to documents disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, the Bureau might not publish these coverage estimates for counties and cities after the 2020 Census.

These sub-state coverage estimates are critically important. When different parts of the same state are undercounted at different rates, the disproportionately undercounted communities lose their fair share of state funding and representation in statewide politics. Without sub-state coverage estimates, these communities may not know that they have suffered these injuries, and therefore will have less opportunity to advocate for policies that level the playing field. Suppressing sub-state coverage estimates also limits the ability of census advocates to engage in get-out-the-count efforts targeting historically undercounted areas. The Census Bureau therefore should publish sub-state coverage estimates, and should make sure it collects sufficient data to do so.

On October 10, 2019, CLC President Trevor Potter joined a group of conservative and libertarian lawyers in an open letter to stand firm against foreign interference in American elections. 

CLC’s founder and president Trevor Potter delivered remarks reflecting on the state of redistricting reform in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2019 decision in Rucho v. Common Cause.

On September 19, 2019, Voters Not Politicians filed a brief in opposition to the motion for preliminary injunction. 

On September 19, 2019, Voters Not Politicians filed a brief in opposition to the motion for preliminary injunction. 

On September 19, 2019, Voters Not Politicians filed a brief in support of the motion to dismiss.

On September 19, 2019, Voters Not Politicians filed a brief in support of the motion to dismiss.

"Constitutional Challenges Facing Our Democracy: The Roberts Court’s Wrong Turns on Campaign Finance, Gerrymandering, and Voting Rights," a speech given by Trevor Potter at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana.

CLC filed this exhibit to be considered with the Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. The exhibit contains a redacted email from Earl Comstock to Secretary Ross discussing the census citizenship question. 

CLC filed this exhibit to be considered with the Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. It contains a memo to Sec. Ross concerning reinstatement of the citizenship question on the 2020 census questionnaire.