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</div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><b>SEE J. Christian Adams</b>'&nbsp; PILF </span>accusations that President Obama's Justice Department engaged in racially charged "corruption" in the New Black Panther Party&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">case do not stand up to the evidence.</span></div><div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>t<span style="text-align: initial;">hree of the most prominent rightwing groups which spread election denial lies and advocate for restrictions on voting rights in the US&nbsp;</span></b></font></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="text-align: initial;"><b>have joined forces in a secret attempt to woo top election officials in Republican-controlled states.</b></span></font></div><div dir="auto" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 26px; padding: 16px 0px 0px;"><div dir="auto" style="line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: initial; width: 550px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Led by the Washington-based conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation,</b>&nbsp;the groups have created an incubator of policies that would restrict access to the ballot box and amplify false claims that fraud is rampant in American elections. The unstated yet implicit goal is to dampen Democratic turnout and help Republican candidates to victory.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Details of the two-day “secretaries of state conference” held in Washington in February were obtained by the watchdog group&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/cd0e6719-59e8-4928-ac22-8d8f684e721e?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/cd0e6719-59e8-4928-ac22-8d8f684e721e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw2XTPqgFUFCGhvConqDNBgi">Documented</a>&nbsp;and shared with the Guardian.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Officials from 13 Republican-controlled states, including 10 top election administrators, participated in the event. Attendees discussed controversial “election integrity” ideas of the sort weaponized by Donald Trump.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Among the participants were nine secretaries of state and Virginia’s election commissioner,</b>&nbsp;all of whom preside over both statewide and federal elections in their states including next year’s presidential contest.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/8da196d9-f964-46ef-9dfe-772f0f992d0e?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/8da196d9-f964-46ef-9dfe-772f0f992d0e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw3yvrWmgkLCxSJFFbGMtPd9">list of attendees</a>&nbsp;namechecks the chief election officials of Indiana, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia</span>.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Documented also obtained the conference agenda w<b>hich lists a number of Trump associates among the speakers. They include Ken Cuccinelli who, as acting deputy secretary for homeland security, played a key role in setting elections policy for the Trump administration.</b></font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cuccinelli now runs the&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/0fc01c78-e7bd-4c19-abd2-20a048d83e10?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/0fc01c78-e7bd-4c19-abd2-20a048d83e10?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1PfYVliqFlN4FWxl1Dumpi">Election Transparency Initiative</a>&nbsp;which is fighting Democratic efforts in Congress to shore up voting rights, and has been active in pushing state-level vote restriction measures.</font></p><div style="line-height: 26px; margin: 32px auto;"><figure style="margin: 0px auto; width: 550px;"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" /><td align="left" width="348" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://documented.net/media/heritage-foundation-secretaries-of-state-conference-agenda" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://documented.net/media/heritage-foundation-secretaries-of-state-conference-agenda&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw11WxYO1Lybbfr7OgocLzb9" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: auto;"><img alt="" width="348" height="450.61538461538464" src="https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/5eTG5XJ9JEAl7Sz8a8rps_qgM2NwwW1Zzemn49mdgbwV3x8COqd_hV2PQQNB9cwIybpX6AzBvU1_YJFBvdHkEztKKVWXiUrn3WYbSjVvFJm9BSdrThS9PSNw2O2Yqi4Tm31ws7OyKFmU9nvF_iaVDHtBow57pfBmIwH9jY70bHhIzVd00IOYvy0hxaQR-7ozuB9AXAp6kkxux42d6HmzJXvLOTIEyyPaUx-GzNt_HjPPIK2_I-z92l3kFEChSMDQ208EDeDmMb3JCwJ9jdak-eHUr3rMwIhlzXCj0Os4qb3iWYucF0=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_348,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F55129308-3233-439e-8145-3eebc62297ea_1092x1414.png" class="CToWUd" data-bit="iit" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; border: none !important; width: auto !important;" /></a></td><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" /></tr></tbody></table><figcaption style="box-sizing: content-box; letter-spacing: -0.15px; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 8px; padding-left: 82.5px; padding-right: 82.5px; text-align: center; width: 385px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heritage Foundation Secretaries of State Conference Agenda, obtained by Documented.</font></figcaption></figure></div><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The keynote speech was given by Ken Blackwell,&nbsp;</b>former secretary of state in Ohio. He was an early adopter of Trump’s lie about rigged elections, championing the idea in the 2016 presidential race which Trump won.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Blackwell now chairs the Center for Election Integrity at the&nbsp;<b>America First Policy Institute,&nbsp;</b>a rightwing thinktank led by former Trump officials. The center has been touting election-related model legislation</span>.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heritage was careful to organize the conference amid tight secrecy. Among the records obtained by Documented is an email from&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/e4c288b0-922b-42a4-b608-b7644e23f255?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/e4c288b0-922b-42a4-b608-b7644e23f255?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1zxYSFsF9IekWgDM3Dc7ag">Hans von Spakovsky</a>, a lawyer at the foundation who leads their election work.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Responding to a query about the event from a Texas official, Von&nbsp;<b>Spakovsky said: “There is no livestream. This is not a public event. It is a private, confidential meeting of the secretaries. I would rather you not send out a press release about it</b>.”</font></p><div style="line-height: 26px; margin: 32px auto;"><figure style="margin: 0px auto; width: 550px;"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" /><td align="left" width="1456" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3483b257-fd29-4805-b40a-e1b54e57e0b5_1748x808.png" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%253A%252F%252Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fpublic%252Fimages%252F3483b257-fd29-4805-b40a-e1b54e57e0b5_1748x808.png&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1DD12kIwDKBgM1EAnM_UPt" style="border: none; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; width: auto;"><img alt="" width="550" height="254.2239010989011" src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/eYigQFiAv1FDBQUB5B5QZ53b_cz-r-3xlQy3m9Y4sNyOzZXnDA1sGZitYjXMn3SnYmYSRtAKC83pMQXCAgAQ2YmNoX3XAf4EOKDeKEXLaRm2mP9UzjTMwyN5nH7VZLJLGuc-JqF-juc_hxBFg178z6o6YhmwCNB7huJGYJ72nNPMp4CvNJJvxMl1eXy_UcMSBW3pGhSNmFk6H7FAu302Z4t8SzfU0Jup7csCcrlK_lqcoMCxWfidsqVVhfno1DGpWxH7d2c5CRpEq49322NenTUEeFGvThvMzRU9oKFegdi4PFttNIw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_2912,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3483b257-fd29-4805-b40a-e1b54e57e0b5_1748x808.png" class="CToWUd" data-bit="iit" style="display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; border: none !important; width: auto !important;" /></a></td><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" /></tr></tbody></table><figcaption style="box-sizing: content-box; letter-spacing: -0.15px; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 8px; padding-left: 82.5px; padding-right: 82.5px; text-align: center; width: 385px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Email to Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt's staff from Hans von Spakovsky, obtained by Documented</font></figcaption></figure></div><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Von Spakovsky has long been at the forefront of efforts to undermine US elections by claiming falsely that fraud is endemic. He helped spearhead the attack on voting by mail during the pandemic, holding&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/b9ca6d6a-96cd-4b1d-b327-ebf46dc3f0f7?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/b9ca6d6a-96cd-4b1d-b327-ebf46dc3f0f7?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw2teA5y8DyZu0Cz9vMYcqMN">private briefings</a>&nbsp;with Republican state election officials – a drive that became a core part of Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Heritage and its political arm, Heritage Action for America, have spent tens of millions of dollars&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/92d543a6-3f44-4151-a23b-48929cc1385d?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/92d543a6-3f44-4151-a23b-48929cc1385d?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw0r9Hh7m7punHFSUUgO2S38">promoting their own model bills</a>&nbsp;that impose strict restrictions on voting</b>.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">They have targeted the investment on key battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia and Michigan that could hold the balance of power in the 2024 presidential race.</span></font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Heritage began hosting annual gatherings of Republican secretaries of state at the start of the Trump presidency in 2017. February’s in-person conference was the first to be sponsored by three rightwing powerhouses of election denial and voter suppression – Heritage, together with the Public Interest Legal Foundation (Pilf), and the Honest Elections Project (HEP).</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pilf is a conservative legal group that sues election officials to force them to purge voter rolls, a process that&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/82977151-93d3-4e92-a8d2-1b42c1874eb3?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/82977151-93d3-4e92-a8d2-1b42c1874eb3?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw0IBi_QExzoVogSqdpsQY2u">has affected</a>&nbsp;eligible US voters. The group is led by&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/e4c288b0-922b-42a4-b608-b7644e23f255?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/e4c288b0-922b-42a4-b608-b7644e23f255?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1zxYSFsF9IekWgDM3Dc7ag">J Christian Adams</a>, a former justice department lawyer who tried to use the Voting Rights Act to claim voting discrimination against white people.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Trump’s former lawyer Cleta Mitchell also sits on the Pilf board.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">HEP is a conservative dark-money group closely tied to the Republican operative Leonard Leo</span>&nbsp;who was instrumental in engineering the current conservative supermajority on the US supreme court. Reporting by ProPublica and the New York Times last year revealed that Leo has&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/92ac7d31-2b0f-4540-a8fe-46b26c5713aa?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/92ac7d31-2b0f-4540-a8fe-46b26c5713aa?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw0esBPa4e_VpV0w0tKlg8bx">received</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/442fa4d6-51b5-476b-9b4e-784c3b67372e?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/442fa4d6-51b5-476b-9b4e-784c3b67372e?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw0olUNH0Glm1GDOjD78tU7p">control</a>&nbsp;of a staggering $1.6bn to advance rightwing causes.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Concern about the potential of top election officials to subvert democracy intensified during the 2022 midterm elections when a number of individuals committed to Trump’s stolen election lie also ran for office. They formed the&nbsp;<b>“America First Secretary of State Coalition</b>” which became a&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/f2f68b7b-0eb9-45fb-8e22-57d90d5d7408?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/f2f68b7b-0eb9-45fb-8e22-57d90d5d7408?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1C8M6gw0W4W4ZqSnl0-ujX">conduit of far-right conspiracy theories</a>&nbsp;linked to QAnon.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Most of those candidates&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/85d0e6e9-9eaf-497d-826d-22bdbd959e4c?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/85d0e6e9-9eaf-497d-826d-22bdbd959e4c?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw3Kdf8jN1EYhHSbRuPRa4zC">failed in their bid</a>&nbsp;to take over the reins of election administration in their states.&nbsp;<b>But the Heritage conference suggests that the desire to deploy Republican secretaries of state as channels of voter suppression and election misinformation remains very much alive.</b></font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Though chief election officials are tasked with ensuring that ballots are fair and impartial, the&nbsp;<b>Heritage conference was attended only by Republican secretaries of state.</b></font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Guardian asked Heritage to explain why its conference was held in secret and with only Republican attendees. The group did not answer those questions.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Von Spakovsky said that the event was an “educational summit</b>&nbsp;intended to provide information on current issues in elections and ensure that our election process protects the right to vote for American citizens by making it easy to vote and hard to cheat”.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He disputed the argument that security measures at the ballot box such as voter ID suppressed turnout. “The claim that secure elections somehow promote greater restrictions is outrageous and has been clearly disproven,” he said.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Von Spakovsky also pointed to Heritage’s election fraud database, which he said sampled “proven instances of election fraud from across the country”. The database records 1,422 “proven instances of voter fraud” stretching back to 1982 – a 41-year period during which billions of votes have been cast in the US.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Several of the participants at the conference have e<b>lection denial and voter suppression track records. They include Florida’s secretary of state, Cord Byrd,&nbsp;</b>who, soon after being<b>&nbsp;appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis last spring,&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/2fc9ac96-cf74-40b8-82f3-428c3a61448b?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/2fc9ac96-cf74-40b8-82f3-428c3a61448b?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw3U9MNRrKmQxysdXrsMtGRw">refused</a>&nbsp;to say whether Joe Biden had won&nbsp;</b>the 2020 presidential election.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Byrd runs Florida’s “<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/77a59d31-b149-410a-87e5-4692b04a9a39?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/77a59d31-b149-410a-87e5-4692b04a9a39?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw08eePSCQi-z72t1WnpBd9m">election integrity unit</a>” that was set up by DeSantis last year to investigate election crimes, even though there is scant evidence of substantial voter fraud. More than a dozen citizens accused of illegally voting have been&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/6eccfb5c-db32-4e7b-ac2f-12434a6c2afe?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/6eccfb5c-db32-4e7b-ac2f-12434a6c2afe?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw3ueScbgdPqlkNJs4WP6R_2">arrested at gunpoint&nbsp;</a>under DeSantis’s crackdown on supposed voter fraud.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Another attendee – Jay Ashcroft, secretary of state of Missouri – has been a&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/70ab2fb2-d6f4-470a-b746-913b4af326ca?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/70ab2fb2-d6f4-470a-b746-913b4af326ca?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw0Zjq73w5NLjVFgJPRe4HVo">leading proponent</a>&nbsp;of that state’s new restrictive voting law</b>. His office has been named in numerous lawsuits in the last year for&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/e8f01743-4e36-49e7-a723-811801eab4c9?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/e8f01743-4e36-49e7-a723-811801eab4c9?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw3f4pGgIqH4IDc9_84KZeii">imposing</a>&nbsp;extreme constraints on voter registration, including a recent lawsuit accusing Ashcroft of&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/b0f6931a-ab08-4dda-8f13-afe55fe5056b?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/b0f6931a-ab08-4dda-8f13-afe55fe5056b?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1eSDvE1PvW6vC5sci60AjO">illegally blocking a ballot measure</a>.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Tennessee’s secretary of state, Tre Hargett, another listed participant, has been&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/fa5651f2-ac2d-4706-906c-8518926536c8?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/fa5651f2-ac2d-4706-906c-8518926536c8?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw2Ld2D5Lx8cf45prwXHxVyK">accused by Democratic leaders</a>&nbsp;in Tennessee of purging thousands of voters from the official rolls.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Panel discussions laid out in the agenda were held on several of the core talking points of the current Republican party. The opening discussion, moderated by Von Spakovsky, was on “Auditing Expertise”.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The main speaker was&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/a5270728-c6f6-4ec1-a352-2d4b831b6be4?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/a5270728-c6f6-4ec1-a352-2d4b831b6be4?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw1ryqXkwiSwqdXN4GUnasrU">Paul Bettencourt</a>, a state senator in Texas who has sponsored several bills making it harder to vote including a measure that would deploy armed “election marshals” to oversee polling stations.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Before the conference-goers attended a cocktail reception and dinner held at an upscale restaurant in downtown Washington, day one ended with a session entitled: “<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Realistic Eric Fixes and Reforms”. Eric – the Electronic Registration Information Center – is a non-profit group run collectively by 28 states which is used to&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/b0e141d1-ff64-413f-9d26-0ee5de3e30ce?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/b0e141d1-ff64-413f-9d26-0ee5de3e30ce?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw2OlqxjKyxaslL1T_BDyk-2">finesse the accuracy</a>&nbsp;of state voter rolls.</span></font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In recent months it has become the target of rightwing conspiracy theories fueled by Trump who claimed falsely that it was rigged to benefit Democrats.</font></p><p style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ashcroft, the Missouri secretary of state, was one of the speakers in that session. Earlier this month&nbsp;<a href="https://substack.com/redirect/340da1e9-141b-4171-9d36-d42b4e2ff912?j=eyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM" rel="" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/redirect/340da1e9-141b-4171-9d36-d42b4e2ff912?j%3DeyJ1IjoiMW42ZTYifQ.vyvZ_z0oLghKX6Zag1WJ71bIfqAlxqUD_SD6A_ZPsUM&source=gmail&ust=1681227152363000&usg=AOvVaw2iGzMHPYA_yvBcmX-yXNsY">he announced</a>&nbsp;that he was pulling Missouri out of Eric, making it one of the first Republican-controlled states to quit the organization along with Alabama, Florida and West Virginia.</font></p></div></div><div style="font-size: medium; line-height: 26px; margin-top: 16px;"><div style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(224, 224, 224); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 26px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; width: 550px;"><div style="line-height: 26px; margin: 28px 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 550px;"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="margin: 0px; width: 52px;"><div style="line-height: 26px;"><div style="line-height: 26px;" /></div></td><td valign="top" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 26px; margin-left: 16px;"><div style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A guest post by</font></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-top: 0px; width: 482px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;"><a href="https://substack.com/profile/3500798-ed-pilkington?utm_campaign=guest_post_bio&utm_medium=email" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://substack.com/profile/3500798-ed-pilkington?utm_campaign%3Dguest_post_bio%26utm_medium%3Demail&source=gmail&ust=1681227152364000&usg=AOvVaw1dH8iJuuCpnBWXxMOhr1AG" style="display: block; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 7px; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Ed Pilkington</font></a><div style="line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ed Pilkington is chief reporter of the Guardian in the US</font></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div></div></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">----</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">hayes recs</font></p><h1 class="single-posttitle text--h1-super-sans" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-8); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-16); font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); line-height: var(--line-height-115);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Constellation of Anti-Voting Groups Threaten Democracy</font></h1><div class="single-postmeta" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex;"><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); line-height: 1.53; opacity: 0.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Marc Elias</font></p><span class="single-postmeta-spacer" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.53; opacity: 0.6;"><time datetime="2022-08-18" pubdate="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold);">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><b>August 18, 2022</b></font></time></p></span></div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/news/a-constellation-of-anti-voting-groups-threaten-democracy/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">https://www.democracydocket.com/news/a-constellation-of-anti-voting-groups-threaten-democracy/</a></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">r<span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">epublican leaders of the anti-voting movement recently</span><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/ItsDocumented/status/1547695910724874240?s=20&t=J2b67q5NmSmzbsbSHIepOg" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">held</a><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">a “gourmet dinner” at an “undisclosed location” to discuss my voting rights litigation. The event was billed as the inaugural leadership dinner for a group called the&nbsp;</span><b>Honest Elections Project. I was not invited to attend.</b></font></p><div class="single-postcontent-main" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-88);"><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There is a constellation of well-funded, right-wing groups that use the legal and political system to make voting more difficult and free and fair elections less likely. They range from mere vote suppressors to full-on election deniers. Most oppose expanding voting rights and support strict voting laws. Many seek to gut the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/explainers/the-voting-rights-act-how-we-got-here/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative;">Voting Rights Act</a>&nbsp;entirely; others want it interpreted so narrowly as to be ineffective. None of these organizations supported Congress’ efforts to enact new pro-voter legislation.</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><h2 id="h-these-right-wing-groups-work-closely-with-the-rnc-and-with-state-legislatures-to-advance-anti-voting-legislation" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); margin: var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-16); line-height: var(--line-height-12);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These right-wing groups work closely with the RNC and with state legislatures to advance anti-voting legislation.</font></span></h2><div><span style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></span></div><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The American Constitutional Rights Union, Foundation for Government Accountability, Judicial Watch, Lawyers Democracy Fund, Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) and Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections</b><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;are just a few of the groups fighting against voting rights in court.&nbsp;</span><b>America First Legal Foundation, Election Integrity Network, Heritage Foundation and True the Vote also support anti-democracy legal efforts. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council</b><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;advances model anti-voting legislation for state legislatures.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">We recently got a preview of how these groups will operationalize their legal efforts in court in the future. Earlier this year, a Florida federal judge&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/alerts/florida-judge-blocks-harmful-voter-suppression-law-in-win-for-voters/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative;">struck down</a><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;most of the state’s “Big Lie” voter suppression law. In doing so, the court found that Florida Republicans had intentionally discriminated against Black voters and had violated the constitutional rights of Floridians seeking to participate in the democratic process.&nbsp;</span><b>On appeal, six national anti-voting groups&nbsp;<a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/florida-voter-suppression-bill/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative;">filed</a>&nbsp;separate “friend of the court” briefs opposing the lower court’s decision</b><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;— in addition to the briefs by the state defendants and the Republican Party.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">For many years, the Republican National Committee (RNC) was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/court-cases/dnc-v-rnc-consent-decree" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">legally barred</a>&nbsp;from participating in election monitoring or voter suppression efforts as a consequence of the GOP’s ugly history of targeting minority voters in the 1980s. When that bar was lifted in 2017, the RNC picked up where it had left off and ran so-called “election integrity” programs with state parties.</font></p><figure class="wp-block-pullquote" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; border-left: none; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); line-height: var(--line-height-12);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These anti-voting legal groups offer a path for Republicans to wield majority political power without majority support.&nbsp;</font></p></blockquote></figure><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Now, in the post-Trump era, the RNC&nbsp;<a href="https://documented.net/investigations/recordings-reveal-whats-really-going-on-cleta-mitchell-election-integrity-network" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative;">directly partners</a>&nbsp;with voter suppression groups and efforts that two years ago would have been unthinkable. The party’s dismal court results following the 2020 election coupled with MAGA supporters’ distrust of the party establishment has left the GOP operating in the penumbra of the current stars of the election denier and voter suppression movement.</b></font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); margin: var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-16); line-height: var(--line-height-12);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s not just what these groups do, but who runs them.</font></span></h2><div><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>On PILF’s board of directors, for example, are Cleta Mitchell and John Eastman,&nbsp;</b><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">both of whom served as lawyers for former President Donald Trump. Mitchell participated in the infamous telephone call during which Trump demanded that the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) find 11,000 votes and declare Trump the winner. Eastman, who has been in the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/us/politics/john-eastman-jan-6.html" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative;">news</a><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">&nbsp;recently for having a search warrant executed against him, helped craft the January 2021 insurrection plan.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The Honest Elections Project — the host of the secret dinner — was formed in February 2020 and is connected to Federalist Society founder Leonard Leo.</b></font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">The newest of these groups,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ex-trump-ag-barr-others-launch-republican-backed-election-law-group-2022-07-21/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections</a><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">, was co-founded by former&nbsp;</span><b>U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr (R) and Karl Rove</b><span style="font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal);">, who served as former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush. Casino billionaire Steve Wynn provides the organization’s financial backing as its finance chair.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This group is notably more competent and well-resourced than the legal buffoonery who led Trump’s post-election antics. Though I am no fan of Barr, he is unlikely to hire lawyers who claim Hugo Chávez rigged elections from the grave or threaten to release the mythological Kraken. With Rove on its board as well, Barr is almost certainly not going to hold press conferences in a landscaping parking lot.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); margin: var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-16); line-height: var(--line-height-12);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Notably, the infrastructure on the right is eclipsing the organizations on the left.&nbsp;</font></span></h2><div><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Historically, most organizations and resources dedicated to protecting the right to vote were connected to the left. Today there are still many important civil rights and voting rights organizations that bring litigation to protect the right to vote. Their work is invaluable. But most of those groups have broader portfolios that extend beyond voting rights and have insufficient resources to meet their growing needs.</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What is notable about the right wing’s approach is the scope and interconnected nature of their legal efforts to undermine voting rights and free and fair elections.&nbsp;</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Right-wing legal groups&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/14/us-election-lawyers-voting-rights" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: var(--c-primary-dark); font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative;">work in tandem</a>&nbsp;with Republican legislatures dominated by election deniers. These organizations can help generate the most effective voter suppression policies that Republicans turn into laws. When those laws are challenged in court, the conservative legal groups then help defend them.</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This brings me back to the “gourmet dinner” at an “undisclosed location” that I was not invited to attend. The right wing holds these events and funds these groups because they know that they cannot win fair elections. These anti-voting legal groups offer a path for Republicans to wield majority political power without majority support. They know that they lost in 2020. They are embarrassed that Trump was routed in post-election litigation. Some are upset that his coup failed on Jan. 6.</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-32); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-168);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">They set up new groups, hold secret dinners and create new voter suppression laws hoping that we will give up. I’m not sure what gave them that impression. After Trump was defeated in 2020, his team fought dozens of times in court — and lost. We didn’t give up then, and we certainly aren’t giving up now.</font></p></div><footer class="single-postfooter" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="next-post" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-88);"><h3 class="next-postlabel section-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-24); line-height: var(--line-height-12); align-items: flex-end; border-bottom: 4px solid var(--c-primary-dark); display: flex; padding-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-14); letter-spacing: var(--letter-spacing-md); text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman">NEXT UP</font></font></h3><h4 class="next-posttitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); margin: var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-0) var(--spacing-unit-16); line-height: var(--line-height-12);"><a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/news/conservatives-have-been-packing-the-courts-for-years/" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: 2px; font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; position: relative; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-24); text-underline-offset: 3px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Conservatives Have Been Packing the Courts for Years</font></a></h4><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="margin-top: var(--spacing-unit-0); margin-bottom: var(--spacing-unit-16); box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: var(--font-weight-normal); line-height: var(--line-height-15);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">We deserve a forward-thinking judiciary filled with movement lawyers who want to see progress for our nation.</font></p></div></div></footer><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></p></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/trump-appoints-voting-rights-act-critic-and-voter-suppression-advocate-to-u-s-civil-rights-commission/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/trump-appoints-voting-rights-act-critic-and-voter-suppression-advocate-to-u-s-civil-rights-commission/</font></a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small;"><div class="mce-content-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; line-height: 1.5;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://publicinterestlegal.org/blog/j-christian-adams-appointed-to-u-s-commission-on-civil-rights/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">appointed</a>&nbsp;J. Christian Adams, an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/trumps-election-integrity-commission-gets-another-vote-suppression-superstar/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">advocate for voter suppression</a>&nbsp;who has mocked the idea that structural racism in the U.S. is a serious problem, to the<b>&nbsp;U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.</b>&nbsp;Commissioners serve six-year terms.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Adams is a former DOJ official who became a star of sorts on the right-wing talk circuit by trashing the Obama administration, Attorney General Eric Holder, and what Adams characterized as “race-obsessed” civil rights policies. In 2014, he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/j-christian-adams-doj-civil-rights-attorneys-are-rancid-rotted-corrupt-racialists/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">charged</a>&nbsp;that the Justice Department’s civil rights division was filled with “rancid, rotted, corrupt racialists.”</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">When Adams testified at a congressional hearing in 2013 after the Supreme Court’s conservatives gutted the Voting Rights Act, The Atlantic’s Andrew Cohen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/on-voting-rights-discouraging-signs-from-the-hill/277894/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">described</a>&nbsp;him as “a longtime conservative&nbsp;<a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/113th/hear_07182013/C%20Adams%207-18-2013.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">critic of many facets of the Voting Rights Act</a>, whose&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/12/23/the-black-panther-case-a-legacy-of-politicized-hiring/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">claim to fame</a>&nbsp;as a federal lawyer&nbsp;<a href="http://mediamatters.org/tags/j-christian-adams" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">seems to be his penchant</a>&nbsp;for accusing black people of discriminating against whites.”</b></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><b>When the Senate was considering the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be attorney general, Adams&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/j-christian-adams-attacks-loretta-lynch-for-acknowledging-that-structural-racism-exists/" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">attacked</a>&nbsp;her for recognizing structural racism in voting rights and law enforcement</b>. “I think that Lynch buys into this same grievance industry about structural racism in the United States, about how minorities cannot get a fair shake ever, that the system is stacked against them, that it’s a collectivist, anti-individual approach to things,” Adams said in an interview with a right-wing radio host.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Adams was a ringleader of a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/right-wing-smear-campaign-takes-down-civil-rights-nominee-debo-adegbile/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">smear campaign</a>&nbsp;that successfully killed the nomination of Debo Adegbile to lead the civil rights division. And he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/j-christian-adams/who-j-christian-adams#Panthers" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">led a right-wing propaganda campaign</a>&nbsp;about the DOJ’s handling of a voter-intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">In 2016, Adams&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/j-christian-adams-compares-obama-administration-to-dallas-police-assailant/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">charged</a>&nbsp;that the&nbsp;<b>Obama administration was “using the power of the federal government to engage in a despicable and calculated attack on law enforcement&nbsp;</b>for the last seven years.”</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Adams was a member of the Trump administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/trumps-voter-fraud-commission-has-a-deeply-embarrassing-week/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">embarrassing</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/goodbye-sort-of-to-trumps-voter-fraud-commission/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">short-lived</a>&nbsp;“Commission on Election Integrity,” which was seemingly designed to find evidence to back up Trump’s claim that illegal votes were the explanation for him losing the popular vote.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In April, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins used a&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/a-conservative-legal-group-significantly-miscalculated-data-in-a-report-on-mail-in-voting#950306" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">bogus statistic</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;from Adams’&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><b style="">Public Interest Legal Foundation</b>&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/family-research-councils-tony-perkins-portrays-mail-in-voting-as-sinister-democratic-plot/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">portray</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;calls for increased&nbsp;</span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">mail-in voting</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic as a sinister Democratic plot.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/cpac-election-fraud-panel-new-battle-space-is-alien-registration/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">a Conservative Political Action Conference panel</a>&nbsp;in 2019, Adams called “alien registration” the next “battle space”—and he repeated claims that Texas officials made about tens of thousands of noncitizens on the voter rolls even though&nbsp;<b>Texas Secretary of State David Whitley had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/02/14/david-whitley-delivered-texas-lawmakers-apology-forcitizenship-review/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR1qy5C1JzkNfCjwTXIm4u05Mf24GeTqH3D-FXqgSUSL0qxmYR6Uz3MUux4" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">apologized</a>&nbsp;for sending out bogus numbers&nbsp;</b>that the Texas Tribune wrote “mistakenly threw into question the eligibility of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens.”</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">In its report on Adams’ nomination, the progressive digital media outlet American Independent reviewed Adams’&nbsp;<a href="https://americanindependent.com/j-christian-adams-civil-rights-commission-donald-trump-lgbtq-voter-suppression/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">record of&nbsp;<b>anti-LGBTQ rhetoric</b></a><b>,&nbsp;</b>which included a denunciation of then Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Chai Feldblum as “the ideological architect of all the most radical LGBTWHATEVER agenda items of the Obama presidency:<b>&nbsp;transvestites in girls locker rooms, lawless expansion of federal employment oversight, you name it.”</b></font></p><div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/trump-appoints-voting-rights-act-critic-and-voter-suppression-advocate-to-u-s-civil-rights-commission/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em;"><div class="tags" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; border-top: 5px solid rgb(239, 243, 243); margin-bottom: 2em; padding-top: 1em;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-weight: 700;">Tags:</span>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/j-christian-adams/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">J Christian Adams</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/civil-rights/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Civil Rights</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/voting-rights/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Voting Rights</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/trump-administration/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em;">Trump Administration</a></font></p></div></div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div></div></div></div>