Versus Trump: Versus Kobach
On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, we discuss the litigation against the newly-created Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, that has Kansas Secretary of State—and repeat defendant in voting rights litigation—Kris Kobach as its now-infamous Vice Chair. As usual, you can listen online below, and subscribe here with any podcast player or here in iTunes.
We begin by explaining the creation of the Commission, which has a stated goal of “reviewing the integrity of elections in order to protect and preserve the principle of one person, one vote.” But, as we note, many people think the Commission is little more than a front to deliver a report detailing potentially exaggerated risks of voter fraud, and that report could then provide a basis to enact legislation that could make it substantially more difficult for many Americans to register and vote. We then [at 8:00] discuss a major lawsuit claiming that the Commission’s request for information from states about hundreds of millions of voters violates privacy laws, and we wonder where the litigation might go. Next [at 22:00], we discuss a variety of other lawsuits against the Commission, including those claiming it violates transparency laws, that its entire existence is suffused with racial discrimination, and that Kobach violated a federal prohibition on using his office to promote his candidacy for governor of Kansas.
The episode closes [at 34:00] with a quick reflection on one of Jason’s favorite passages from the Declaration of Independence.
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Links
- EPIC has a comprehensive website about its lawsuit against the Commission here. EPIC's Complaint is here.
- The latest developments in the ACLU's case against the Commission can be found here. The ACLU's Complaint is here.
- The Hatch Act complaint by the Laywers' Committee for Civil Rights is here.
- The NAACP Legal Defense Fund's recent complaint is here.
- The Washington Post lists still more lawsuits here.
- Materials posted by the Commission itself can be found here.
- The Commission held its first meeting on July 19. NPR's report on what happened is here.
- Finally, in his Trump Nugget, Jason mentioned the HBO documentary "The Words That Built America." The entire film is available for free here, on YouTube.
Tags:
Rule of Law Checks & Balances Executive Branch Federalism Democracy Voting & Elections Civil Rights Racial Equality Versus Trump Podcast