Voter Identification

Conservative Group With Abramoff Scandal Ties Picks Up Voter ID Issue Where ALEC Left Off

Ryan J. Reilly | April 20, 2012, 11:32AM

Shortly after the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) announced it was dropping voter identification laws from its agenda, another conservative group is stepping in to fill the void.

The National Center for Public Policy Research announced this week it had formed a "Voter Identification Task Force" to continue ALEC's "excellent work" in "promoting measures to enhance integrity in voting." Describing itself as a "conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank," the group was established in 1982.

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Topics: ALEC, Jack Abramoff, National Center for Public Policy Research, Voter Identification, voter fraud

Trayvon Martin

ALEC, NRA Pushed 'Stand Your Ground' Legislation At Center Of Trayvon Martin Killing

Ryan J. Reilly | March 22, 2012, 6:00AM

Trayvon Martin was just 10 years old when politicians in Florida passed legislation that, seven years later, is being blamed for letting his killer walk free.

Martin's Feb. 26 death in a gated suburban neighborhood at the hands of a 28-year-old man is calling attention to Florida's 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows the use of deadly force if a person feels threatened. Gunman George Zimmerman was pursuing Martin because he thought the 17-year-old African-American teenager was suspicious and told police he was acting in self defense, though Martin had only a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea on him when he was shot and killed a short distance from the home of his father's girlfriend.

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Topics: ALEC, George Zimmerman, NRA, Trayvon Martin

ALEC

Report Says ALEC Wields 'Disturbing Level of Influence' In Virginia

Nick R. Martin | January 4, 2012, 2:18PM

Updated: January 4, 2012, 3:39PM

An investigation released this week says that Virginia lawmakers take a "disturbing" number of cues from a conservative group that pushes model bills on state legislatures nationwide.

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Topics: ALEC, Virginia

ALEC

Water-Regulation-As-Federalism Bill Passes House, Looks A Lot Like ALEC

Zoe Schlanger | July 21, 2011, 9:15AM

After being fast tracked by a House panel and passing the House last week, a bill that would strip fundamental powers of the EPA to regulate water toxins crept closer to a Senate vote.

It bears a striking resemblance to several pieces of "model legislation" recently leaked from The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and might be the newest testament to the organization's potency.

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Topics: ALEC, EPA, Environment