ACORN

GOP Lawyers Group Warns Newsmax Of 'Epidemic' Voter Fraud (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 25, 2010, 4:30PM

Chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association David Norcross

The community-organizing group ACORN has "absolutely" re-emerged since it was disbanded in the spring and there could be an "epidemic" of voter fraud problems this year to change the outcome of the midterm elections, David Norcross, the chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association, told Newsmax.

Newsmax, a conservative website, compared ACORN to "the mythological hydra that grew two heads for every one cut off."

Norcross -- whose group hosted a panel on ACORN at the Conservative Political Action Conference entitled "Saving Freedom From Vote Fraud" -- lamented that Democrats were using the anti-voter fraud initiatives launched by conservatives to rally their base.

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Republican National Lawyers Association

How A GOP Group Trains Republican Lawyers For Election Day

Rachel Slajda | October 22, 2010, 8:20AM

Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott (R) and Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi (R)

We've been telling you a lot about the Republican National Lawyers Association and the election law seminars they hold throughout the country. We had an idea of what the seminars were about, pieced together from who the featured speakers were. But now we have a much, much better idea.

Thanks to the Florida Bar, TPMMuckraker took a look at the agenda for an election law seminar put on by the RNLA on Sept. 10 at a Disney resort. The agenda, which is part of the RNLA's application to have the seminar count for Continuing Legal Education credit for attending lawyers, includes bios of all the speakers, and a list of the lessons given.

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RNLA

FLASHBACK: Karl Rove Thanked RNLA For Protecting Ballot 'Integrity' In 2006

Ryan J. Reilly | October 21, 2010, 4:07PM

Karl Rove at a 2006 Republican National Lawyers Association Event

Karl Rove, in a speech to the Republican National Lawyers Association in 2006, thanked the group for their work in previous elections and called for voter I.D. laws.

"We have in some parts of the country, I'm afraid to say, beginning to look like we have elections like the ones run in countries where the guys in charge are colonels in mirrored sunglasses, it's a real problem," Rove said. "And I appreciate all that you're doing in those hotspots of the country to ensure that the ballot is -- the integrity of the ballot is protected because it is important to our democracy."

He then went on to list as problematic many of the states where the George W. Bush Administration would soon fire U.S. Attorneys for failing to bring indictments against Democrats for voter fraud, amongst other reasons.

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RNLA

RNLA 2008 Efforts Featured Lineup Of GOP And Anti-Voter Fraud Stars

Ryan J. Reilly | October 21, 2010, 1:48PM

The Republican National Lawyers Association -- which received an influx of money ahead of the 2010 elections and calls their efforts ahead of the midterms "unprecedented" -- is holding events this year in states across the country where lawyers can receive Continuing Legal Education credits for attending seminars on election law led by their experts, at least some of whom are professional politicians.

Back in 2008, the RNLA was also doing anti-voter-fraud seminars featuring a mix of politicians and legal experts. Their National Summer Election Law Seminar that year featured some big headline political speakers from the right of the aisle at an event where lawyers were also able to get CLE credits.

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voter fraud

Illinois GOP Chair: We're Working With RNLA On 'Voter Integrity' Program

Ryan J. Reilly | October 19, 2010, 2:26PM

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady

Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady told TPMMuckraker on Tuesday that the state Republican Party does not have a prominent birther on the payroll, but confirmed that his organization is working with the Republican National Lawyers Association to train volunteers on election day as part of a "voter integrity" initiative.

Brady -- who previously posted a notice on the GOP website about the "voter integrity" program that was later scrubbed -- said that the program is not unusual.

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Republican National Lawyers Association

Illinois GOP Worked With 'Birther' On 'Voter Integrity' Plan

Ryan J. Reilly | October 19, 2010, 9:45AM

The voter integrity program that has come to be associated with the campaign of GOP Senate nominee Mark Kirk was launched by the Illinois Republican Party, working with a conservative political action committee and an anti-Obama birther, Mother Jones reported.

Sharon Meroni -- who according to Mother Jones blogs under the pseudonym "Chalice Jackson" -- launched a petition demanding Obama's resignation for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Reached on Monday, Meroni wouldn't answer TPMMuckraker's questions, referring any inquiries to another representative. "My role is to recruit, and that's it," she said.

She did, however, say that the proper person to speak with was Curt Conrad, who is listed online as the Executive Director, IL Republican State Committee. Conrad didn't return a message left for him on Monday.

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RNLA

RNLA Received Influx Of Money Ahead of 2010 Elections

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2010, 4:29PM

Richard DeVos Sr.

The Republican National Lawyers Association, the GOP-affiliated group which has focused on the issue of voter fraud and is offering election training around the country, received a large influx in donations in the third quarter of 2010 -- mostly from two contributors.

The RNLA took in $150,000 from Richard DeVos -- the Amway co-founder and Orlando Magics owner who Forbes named the 176th richest person in the world -- in September and $50,000 from Paul E. Singer in July.

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John Fund

Republican Lawyers Group Panel Featured ACORN 'Whistleblower,' John Fund

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2010, 3:03PM

Anita Moncrief and John Fund

The Republican National Lawyers Association hosted a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year which featured John Fund, a conservative Wall Street Journal columnist who focuses on voter fraud allegations, and Anita MonCrief, the ACORN "whistleblower," who was actually reportedly fired by the organization over the misuse of a company credit card.

Cleta Mitchell, the co-chair of the RNLA, introduced the February panel, titled "Saving Freedom From Vote Fraud," but, she said, "We might have entitled it saving freedom from those who would steal it whose name is ACORN."

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RNLA

Republican Lawyers Group Calls Their Election Education Efforts 'Unprecedented'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2010, 2:05PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele and former Attorney General Ed Meese with RNLA Leadership

Many of this year's anti-voter fraud efforts -- which critics say can suppress minority turnout -- come from disjointed, independent groups like Tea Party organizations and conservative websites.

But there's one establishment organization that appears to be putting forth a major anti-voter fraud effort this year -- the Republican National Lawyers Association. To be clear, there's no evidence thus far that what is being said in RNLA training sessions is improper.

But RNLA leadership has clearly been involved in the exaggeration of the threat that voter fraud poses to the election process, raising fears over an issue that most voting rights experts say has been overblown. In 2002, for instance, the RNLA was running "ballot integrity programs in select locations around the country" in "targeted districts and areas where voter fraud is a concern or has historically been a problem," according to their newsletter at the time (and quoted in a story in the Baltimore Sun). They had 1,500 members of their organization ready for cases of voter fraud, the Christian Science Monitor reported in 2002.

Fast forward to 2010, when "RNLA's election education efforts this year have been unprecedented," Charles Bell, Jr. wrote in a message to members of the organization, "These election education efforts aid the recruitment of volunteer lawyers to assist the more than twenty governorships, ten U.S. Senate seats and seventy U.S. House seats that are up for grabs in November."

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Republican National Lawyers Association

CU Lawyer Used To Work For RNLA On ACORN, Other Issues

Rachel Slajda | October 18, 2010, 12:27PM

Chris Berg

A lawyer -- who now works for Citizens United and has a blog on Big Government -- last year earned $36,000 from the Republican National Lawyers Association for "research and investigation."

The lawyer, Chris Berg, wrote dozens of blog posts for the RNLA, on ACORN and other issues unrelated to election law, including EFCA and the Patriot Act.

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Republican National Lawyers Association

Lawyers Group With Close Ties To RNC Features Parade Of Vote Fraud Fearmongers

Rachel Slajda | October 15, 2010, 6:43PM

Civil Rights Commission member Ashley Taylor

The list of speakers who have appeared at seminars of the Republican National Lawyers Association, a group with close ties to the RNC that has been "very dominant" in ginning up voter fraud fears in the past several elections, reads like a who's who of voter fraud fearmongers.

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RNC

Outside Groups Have A Leg Up On RNC In 'Ballot Security' Efforts

Ryan J. Reilly | October 15, 2010, 5:31PM

GOP Chairman Michael Steele at the Republican National Lawyers Association

Tea Party groups, the Republican National Lawyers Association, conservative organizations and websites like Pajamas Media have at least one major advantage over the Republican National Committee when it comes to anti-voter fraud programs. Unlike the RNC, such groups aren't subject to a consent decree that requires the RNC to inform both the Democratic National Committee and a federal judge when they are operating "ballot security" programs.

First reached nearly three decades ago, a federal judge in New Jersey rejected a request by the RNC to vacate the consent decree last December. Instead, he modified the decree by setting up an eight year sunset clause -- which would no longer be valid if the DNC can prove a violation before the decree expired -- and said that only the DNC could bring violations to the court's attention.

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Republican National Lawyers Association

FL Political Candidates Rick Scott, Pam Bondi Spoke At GOP Lawyers' Meeting

Rachel Slajda | October 15, 2010, 3:47PM

Florida Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi (R) and gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott (R)

Every election year, the Republican National Lawyers' Association spends months training lawyers across the country on poll-watching, focusing largely on stemming "voter fraud" that would benefit Democrats. This year is no different, and many of the seminars count as Continuing Legal Education, a requirement for attorneys under most state bars.

In addition to their role as educational seminars, some of the meetings have a political bent. Take an event in Florida this September, billed as a "Florida Election Law Seminar" and held at a Disney World resort. According to a listing for the event, attendees could expect to hear from "noted Florida election law experts" on such topics as election law, campaign finance law, poll watching and electioneering.

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RNLA

New Black Panther Case Served As Cash Cow For GOP Lawyers Group

Ryan J. Reilly | October 15, 2010, 2:55PM

DOJ Whistleblower J. Christian Adams

The Republican National Lawyers Association is running election training events in several states around the country. So where did they get their money?

Well, for one, by fundraising from Newsmax readers off the controversy over the Justice Department's handling of the voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party.

And who brought that case? J. Christian Adams, the former Justice Department lawyer who was hired by Bradley Schlozman, a former top official in the Bush administration's Civil Rights Division who was found to have politicized the hiring process.

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RNLA

GOP Lawyers Group That Gins Up Voter Fraud Claims Hosting Training Events Across Country

Ryan J. Reilly | October 15, 2010, 2:47PM

Ed Gillespie

Election law seminars that a Republican lawyers group held in Illinois -- which happened to coincide with GOP senate candidate Mark Kirk being secretly recorded saying his campaign would be running voter integrity squads in predominately black neighborhoods of Chicago -- are actually part of a series of seminars the group is holding for Republican lawyers in several states around the country

According to the Republican National Lawyers Association's Facebook page, they have held events in Illinois, Nevada, Wisconsin, California, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida. Earlier this month, the Washington D.C. Chapter held a lunch with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

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Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk's 'Voter Integrity' Program Connected To IL GOP, National Efforts

Ryan J. Reilly | October 14, 2010, 11:00AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (IL)

So just who are the "lawyers and other people" that Rep. Mark Kirk, the Republican nominee for the Illinois' Senate seat, planned to deploy to two predominately African-American neighborhoods in Chicago and two other areas of Illinois on Election Day?

Republicans are being publicly mum in the wake of the Kirk revelations, and many GOP Illinois officials didn't return messages left for them Wednesday. But a week ago the state Republican Party posted on its website a request for volunteers for a "ballot integrity" program -- and just this week the Republican National Lawyers Association was conducting training on this issue in Chicago.

According to an Oct. 6 posting on the Illinois GOP website by Chairman Pat Brady, the Republicans were seeking volunteers for their "ballot integrity" program. Brady noted that "ballot integrity will be a key ingredient to our success, and we need your help."

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