Election 2008

North Carolina AG Opens Investigation of Robo Calls

Paul Kiel | April 30, 2008, 6:22PM

And yet another development on those calls by Women's Voices Women Vote.

North Carolina's attorney general has just put out a press release (pdf) saying that he's investigating the calls and taking credit for having them stopped. "Regardless of the motivation, the robo-calls violated the law and they needed to stop," Roy Cooper said. He also includes a correspondence with the group's lawyer. In the letter, Cooper requests a variety of information about the calls.

Sarah Johnson, the group's spokeswoman declined to comment on the correspondence, referring questions to the group's lawyer. But she did say that the calls occurred last Thursday and Friday in North Carolina as they did in all the other 24 states (pdf) targeted by the group this April.

Election 2008

Group Missed Oregon Primary Deadline, Too

Paul Kiel | April 30, 2008, 4:15PM

As an update to my earlier post on the Women's Vote Women's Voices calls, we can show you an example of the voter registration packet the group has been sending out.

Thanks to TPM Reader PC, here is a mailer received by a reader in Oregon, one of the 24 states (pdf) where the group has sent mailers.

The mailer was addressed to PC's wife, and he says she received not one but two copies. He also notes that the mailer arrived just as the deadline to register in Oregon's presidential primary passed. That's been a persistent problem for the group, not only in North Carolina, but also in Virginia and Wisconsin. Wisconsin officials even issued a press release lecturing the group on its methods, saying that the forms would create more confusion and that voters who needlessly registered twice would have to re-register at the polling place because they'd registered past the primary deadline (Wisconsin allows same-day registration). "It's unfortunate that such groups do not inform voters of our deadlines," said Kevin Kennedy, director of the state Government Accountability Board.

So while the spokeswoman for the group told me that the North Carolina calls and mailers were a mix up, it seems that the group has gotten mixed up a number of times before.

Update: As Facing South notes, the mailers originally had language saying that recipients were "required" to mail back the form. That language was dropped after complaints in a number of states and from a number of state officials.

Election 2008

Nonprofit Women's Voices Women Vote Stops Suspicious N.C. Robo Calls

Paul Kiel | April 30, 2008, 1:39PM

Yesterday we posted about suspicious calls being made in North Carolina. The calls purported to be from a man who identified himself only as "Lamont Williams" and told people to wait for a vote registration packet in the mail and said, "All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard."

Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog, cried foul, saying that the calls went out to "black neighborhoods" and was evidently a vote suppression tactic since the registration deadline for the presidential primary has already passed. The North Carolina state elections board got involved and asked for the public's help in determining the source of the calls, which apparently blocked caller ID from showing the number. You can listen to the call here (wav).

Now Facing South reports that a Washington nonprofit called Women's Voices Women Vote is behind the calls.

The group's spokeswoman Sarah Johnson confirmed to me that those were the group's calls and said that they were part of an effort to register three million women voters in 24 states. The fact that the calls came shortly before the North Carolina primary, potentially confusing voters, was unfortunate mistake, she said. We're "incredibly apologetic about the timing of this." The group was simply working at such a "high volume" that it was "extremely difficult to tailor the mailing to every single state's schedule," she said. The calls precede the mailers, she said, because it increases the rate of response.

The group had also let the state board of elections know prior to sending out the mailings that they would be doing so, but the letter to the board did not mention the calls. You can read that letter, provided by the group, here.

The group is currently in the process of halting the mailed packets, she said, at the request of the Democracy North Carolina and the state board of elections. The calls have also stopped.

As for why the group's calls had used an apparently fictitious persona named "Lamont Williams," Johnson first said, "as far as I know, it is a recorded message." But when I asked why the group had used that name when there is no such person working with the group, she said she did not know why the name had been used.

The group also used a female caller named "Julie," Johnson said (although she was not sure of the name). She told me that she would check to see if there was any particular reason why certain calls were made by Julie and others by Lamont.

But that practice would stop, she said. "This not identifying ourselves on the call, that's not something that is going to continue as we move forward. Our phone calls in the future will correct any confusion about the calls." When I asked if there had been any particular strategy behind not identifying the group as making the calls, she said no.

A statement released by the group's executive director is below.

Update: As Facing South notes in detail, this is not the first time that there have been complaints about WVWV's activities. There have been complaints in several states.

And in Virginia this February, the state police there even investigated the calls as a possible identity theft scam, only to find that WVWV was behind them. The calls had gone out shortly before the Virginia presidential primary.

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Election 2008

Reid Offers Deal on FEC Deadlock

Paul Kiel | April 29, 2008, 5:55PM

From Roll Call (sub. req.):

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) shipped to the White House on Tuesday a compromise plan on Federal Election Commission nominees, a deal that is likely dead on arrival because it does not meet GOP demands on Hans von Spakovsky.

"You are aware that Mr. von Spakovsky does not have majority support to win confirmation," Reid wrote Tuesday in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. "It is my understanding that you have two additional Republican FEC candidates cleared for nomination.

"One would fill Mr. von Spakovsky's seat should he be defeated or withdrawn, and the other would fill the vacant Republican seat," Reid continued. "You already have the non-controversial re-nomination of sitting commissioner David Mason pending."

You can read Reid's letter to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten here. But as Roll Call says, Republicans have thus far refused to budge on any deal that doesn't include Spakovsky getting packaged in a vote with the other less controversial nominees. And so the FEC remains officially dormant and the complaints against allegedly outlaw campaign activity continue to pile up.

Election 2008

Robo Call Gives False Voting Info to North Carolina Voters

Paul Kiel | April 29, 2008, 3:48PM

Here's another for the annals of vote suppression. Calls have gone out to an untold number of North Carolina voters telling them that they need to fill out a registration form before they vote. Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog that has posted audio (wav) of the call, says that the calls went out to "black neighborhoods."

It seems not to be a scheme limited to North Carolina. As Facing South reports, the same call evidently went out to some voters in Columbus, Ohio two days before municipal elections there last November, and also in Virginia the week before the Democratic primary there this February.

Here's how one reader of the Buckeye State Blog described the Ohio call back in November:

From memory, a stentorian voice reminiscent of James Earl Jones says: "Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In a few days you should be getting a voter registration form in the mail. Please fill it out and return promptly and you will be able to vote. Thank you."

Since the election is Tuesday, the message is nonsensical. Also, I can't find any information on this Lamont Williams. The caller ID was blocked ("unknown caller").

A transcript of the call released by the North Carolina State Board of Elections matches that description:

"Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

And in Virginia, the Washington, DC NPR affiliate WAMU reported in February that "at least a dozen people in central and southern Virginia have received automated phone calls this week telling them to expect a voter registration packet in the mail." Facing South reports that the a state elections board spokeswoman said the matter had been referred to state police, and that it wasn't clear whether the calls also claimed to come from a Lamont Williams. But certainly the parallels are suspicious.

If Lamont has popped up anywhere else or pops up anywhere else, let us know.

Must Read

Today's Must Read

Paul Kiel | April 21, 2008, 9:55AM

They've got the bark part down pat.

You heard about Freedom's Watch, the billionaire-backed, uber-connected attack group that was going to put a $250 million hurt on the Democratic nominee and a number of Congressional candidates to boot. Well, that hasn't turned out too well.

And now there seems to be no shortage of self-doubt amongst conservative insiders about their prospects for a good bite come the fall. The left has its act together, but a Swift Boat 2.0 has yet to emerge for the right.

From The Washington Post:

With Sen. John McCain facing the prospect of being dramatically outspent in the race for the White House, a collection of major Republican donors and party leaders that includes former Bush strategist Karl Rove is scrambling to catch up with the efforts of liberal groups aiming to influence the outcome in November....

This year, allies of President Bush such as Rove, billionaire T. Boone Pickens, New York financier Paul Singer and Florida developer Mel Sembler, who helped harness and direct millions of dollars to the 2004 campaign, are working to rekindle those efforts. But they are finding the 2008 landscape to be more challenging, according to Republican sources familiar with the ongoing talks....

"I hear rumblings," said Brad Freeman, a Bush donor in California. "People keep asking the question, 'What are we going to do this time?' "

Sembler, a big Bush donor and former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, confirmed that he and others are working to identify a group that could help shape the agenda for the presidential campaign and steer major donors to it. A motivating factor, he said, is the sense that Democrats are much further along in their efforts.

"They are very organized. They started a whole lot earlier," Sembler said. "We are not quite as organized. But our efforts are still going forward."

Now, maybe this is just a bunch of premature talk. After all, this is not a group that is just going to sit on its thumbs. But it does seem possible that rather than one prominent conservative attack group emerging this election, there will be a cluster who emerge at different times.

Another interesting dynamic this election will be whether Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticizes outside attack groups as he has in the past, and as he did speaking to Chris Matthews last week, and whether those groups respond. The Post's reporting suggests that McCain's criticism actually has had an impact, making conservative donors more skittish about taking the plunge. On the other hand, the McCain camp seems to be puzzled by the response:

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Friday that he understands the cause and effect and is not bothered by it. He conceded that he has been surprised that no one group has emerged on the Republican side, in spite of the candidate's comments. "I would have thought by now someone would occupy that space," Davis said.

Freedom's Watch

Dems Accuse Freedom's Watch of Working with GOP

Paul Kiel | April 16, 2008, 11:13AM

Everybody knows what Freedom's Watch is looking to do this election: get Republicans elected. But there's a line that can't be crossed and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says that they crossed it. From The Washington Post:

Democratic Party officials said they will file a complaint today with the Federal Election Commission alleging that a conservative political group has illegally coordinated its advertising with a Republican Party campaign committee in advance of a May 3 special election in Louisiana.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fundraising and campaign arm for House Democrats, alleges that the script for a television ad purchased by Freedom's Watch, an independent conservative political committee, can be traced to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

You can see details of the DCCC's complaint here, including a side by side comparison of an ad run by the National Republican Congressional Committee and Freedom's Watch's ad, which according to the DCCC started running immediately after the NRCC's ad ceased. There are indeed some remarkable similarities.

But Patrick McCarthy, the media consultant who put together Freedom's Watch's ad, tells the Post that there's an innocent explanation.

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Election 2008

IRS to Big-Spending Attack Groups: Ahem

Paul Kiel | April 15, 2008, 12:17PM

As we reported last week, millionaire-funded and operative-helmed attack groups looking to make a splash in the elections this year are choosing nonprofits as their preferred vehicle. Acting as 501(c)(4) organizations, the groups are allowed to attack all they want and keep their donors secret.

There's a catch, of course. The groups are nominally "social welfare" organizations, groups that are allowed to engage in political activity as long as that is not its primary purpose. That's why you see all the groups claim that they are focused on issues, not candidates, even when it's apparent that's not the case.

It's a hazy line, and one that the groups hope that the IRS doesn't explore. But as Roll Call reported yesterday, the IRS says it's taking a "close look" at whether the groups go too far.

But don't expect the IRS to step in any time soon. The IRS official tells the paper that the IRS likely wouldn't act until after the groups filed their taxes next year (by which time, of course, a president might be in the White House due in large part to a campaign by a lawbreaking group). And what happens then? Well, it's unclear:

The IRS director also agreed that -- perhaps unlike the FEC -- a broad IRS sweep of wayward nonprofits may yield better results than the recent high-profile fining of 527s by election regulators. And although the IRS is likely to just revoke a group's tax status and slap it with a fine, another source within the IRS said that serious violators could "go through our criminal investigations area ... and it could end up at the Justice Department."

Civil Rights Division

Dem FEC Nominee Withdraws, Leading to Further Delay

Paul Kiel | April 14, 2008, 3:04PM

Things were already looking pretty hopeless for the FEC, but they just got bleaker. In a letter to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says that Robert Lenhard, one of the Democratic nominees for the commission, has withdrawn his name because of the ongoing stalemate.

It will most likely take "several months" to replace Lenhard, Reid writes, meaning that it's sure to be awhile before Democrats and Republicans can agree on a batch of nominees. Not that there have been any signs of hope anyway: Democrats continue to insist that the Senate vote on vote-suppression guru Hans von Spakovsky separately from the other three nominees, and Republicans refuse to allow that.

Meanwhile, the fracas over John McCain's withdrawal from public financing goes unresolved and outside groups are mounting up without worry of any imminent harassment from the FEC.

Update: By way of explanation, Lenhard has landed a gig (sub. req.) at the mega firm Covington & Burling.

Election 2008

Nonprofits Are The New 527s

Paul Kiel | April 7, 2008, 6:09PM

Underlying that Boston Globe story I just noted is a salient fact: outside groups are increasingly taking the form of 501(c)(4) groups this year.

What does it mean? Well, for the groups it means they can take any amount of contributions from virtually any source, including corporations, provided that their ads never cross the line into explicit advocacy -- i.e. "vote for candidate X this election." And the groups never have to disclose their donors, which makes everyone involved happy. That's much more freedom than 527 organizations, like the Swift Boat Vets for Truth, had in the last election.

As David Corn reported earlier this year, the Supreme Court loosened the restrictions on 501(c)(4)s at the same time that the FEC was cracking down on 527s, making them an irresistible model.

Recently, a new 501(c)(4) demonstrated how free the groups are to operate. As we reported last week, a group called the American Future Fund has been running ads supporting Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN). The ads have the look and feel of a campaign ad, so much so that the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party filed a complaint with the FEC charging that the American Future Fund is breaking the law by claiming that it is not a political committee.

Dave Kochel, a spokesperson for the group, said that AFF is not worried: "The law is pretty clear. As long as you're not advocating the election or defeat of a particular candidate, and the ad is crafted in a way that's informative on the issues, you're on solid ground."

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Election 2008

Conservatives Planning New Attack Group for Election

Paul Kiel | April 7, 2008, 4:00PM

It's only April, but we've already begun to see a flowering of outside groups. The hyper-conservative Common Sense Issues unleashed robo-voiced push polls on more than 11 million households on Mike Huckabee's behalf. A liberal group called Campaign To Defend America has already unloaded a $1 million ad buy tying John McCain to George Bush. And the casino mogul backed conservative group Freedom's Watch is still revving its engines.

But there is much, much, much more to come. And The Boston Globe reports that Republican insiders appear to be favoring a separate vehicle to go after Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). As one Republican strategist tells the Globe, "They're beginning to put the book together on Obama."

What this new group will be called isn't clear. But it will probably be quarterbacked and funded by some of the likely suspects. Some of the bigger Swift Boat Vets for Truth funders are sure to chip in, the Globe reports. And "the chairman and founding partner of DCI Group, Tom Synhorst, is helping lead the new third-party effort this year, according to GOP strategists familiar with the plans."

As Josh pointed out last week, Doug Davenport, a partner at DCI Group, has joined Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) campaign as a regional campaign manager.

As the Globe reports, Republicans know they have lots of catching up to do:

Part of what's driving Republicans' interest in independent groups this year is the tremendous fund-raising advantage the Democratic presidential candidates have. Obama and Clinton raised nearly as much in March as McCain had overall through February.

Now, what might this group end up doing? Well, the new group is likely to closely resemble Progress for America, a DCI-run effort that ran a spate of negative ads against John Kerry, along with one memorable "positive" ad, "Ashley's Story," which showed George Bush comforting a teenager whose mother had been killed on 9/11 (“He’s the most powerful man in the world and all he wants to do is make sure I’m safe.”). The group spent over $14 million airing the ad in the last weeks of the election.

Election 2008

Appeals Court Reverses Ruling on Florida Vote Suppression Measure

Paul Kiel | April 4, 2008, 5:54PM

Hans von Spakovsky's legacy is still being felt down in Florida. From the AP:

Florida can temporarily enforce a law that disqualifies any voter registration where the Social Security or driver license numbers on the application can't be matched with government databases, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said a lower court shouldn't have ordered a temporary injunction in December that prevented Florida from enforcing an anti-fraud law that dismissed applications when matches couldn't be made.

As we reported last year, one of Spakovsky's achievements while at the Justice Department was promoting this interpretation of the law: that states ought to reject voter applications if the data did not match driver's license or Social Security records. Civil rights groups, calling the measure "disenfranchisement-by-bureaucracy," sued to halt the law in an attempt to minimize the effect on the 2008 election. A newspaper investigation found that the measure resulted in tens of thousands of voters being rejected, the overwhelming majority of them minorities.

Back in December, a district court agreed with the argument by the groups -- the NAACP, the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, and Southwest Voter Registration Education Project -- that the law ought to be halted from going into effect while the lawsuit was decided. That decision was overturned yesterday.

"Yesterday's ruling by the appellate court represents a setback for all eligible Floridians, particularly voters of color, who wish to register to vote and participate in the upcoming presidential elections," said Elizabeth Westfall of Advancement Project, one of the attorneys for the groups. But Justin Levitt, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that the suit would go on and that "the trial court must now consider whether disenfranchising thousands of eligible citizens because of typos, is consistent with the U.S. Constitution."

Election 2008

New Well-Connected Conservative Group Runs Pro-Coleman Ad

Paul Kiel | April 1, 2008, 6:28PM

There are already indications that the 2008 election will be remarkable for the number of outside groups weighing in with major ad buys supporting or attacking candidates. The latest: a group called the American Future Fund that's hit Minnesota with a TV ad singing the praises of Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), who's locked in an already tight reelection battle with Al Franken.

You can see the ad, which began running March 19th and will last for approximately three weeks, below. With the feel-good synthesized music characteristic of positive ads playing soothingly in the background, it lauds Coleman's legislative accomplishments ("Coleman has worked with Republicans and Democrats to make college more affordable" etc.), adds, "An independent voice for Minnesota: Norm Coleman," and ends by urging viewers to call Coleman and "thank him." The ad buy cost "well into six figures," according to Larry McCarthy, the media consultant who produced it.

Because the group has established itself as a non-profit -- the popular choice this election for outside groups wanting to spend money without restraint while disclosing little to nothing about their activities -- details on the new group are sketchy.

The Rothenberg Political Report reported last month that a number of notable conservatives are associated with the group (no one seems to head the group, exactly, as you'll see below). McCarthy, the media consultant, runs a major firm that also recently produced ads attacking House Democrats run by another outside group called Defense of Democracies.

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