Congress needs to enact federal legislation securing every American’s right to vote
Start with uniform standards for state voter registration, including online registration systems, longer periods for voter registration, same-day registration and automatic voter registration
We need criminal penalties for interfering with someone's voter registration
We need prohibitions on deceptive practices aimed at discouraging voting or suppressing voter registration
Ban the disenfranchisement of citizens convicted of a felony
Prohibit states from imposing any costs on a voter, including the costs of mailing a ballot or the payment of any form of fine, restitution or back tax
We need to require states to offer vote by mail to eligible voters without additional conditions or requirements except for signature verification
We’re assuming it’s been as much of a blur for you as it has for us, so here's a quick review of the year in corruption.
As hard as it may be to believe, 2020 started with Trump’s impeachment trial in January. CREW dug into Library of Congress records and found that Trump’s was the first completed trial in US history in which the Senate called no witnesses. citizensforethics.org/reports-invest…
In March, the pandemic changed everything...but nothing about corruption.
We saw members of Congress dumping stocks after getting classified briefings about the pandemic, so we filed a complaint and called for members to be banned from trading stocks. citizensforethics.org/news/press-rel…
We reviewed the Dominion voting machines in PA and the results may shock you! In counties using Dominion machines, Trump won 52.2%-46.7%. In counties not using Dominion machines, Biden won 50.8%-48.0%. So does this mean Dominion was really rigging the vote for Trump?
No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous. But it does show just how absurd the lies being peddled by Trump and his supporters really are. If you say Dominion was rigged and throw those votes out, Trump actually loses PA even worse than he really did.
The great thing is that all this info is public, and has been public this whole time. See votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/P… for a county breakdown on which machines were used and electionreturns.pa.gov for a county breakdown of results.
One of the people asking for legal immunity in the final weeks of the Trump administration is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. President Trump has been a supporter of MBS, even after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. washingtonpost.com/local/public-s…
MBS' visit to New York drove a spike in quarterly profits at the Trump hotel in Manhattan during 2018. Though he didn’t stay there, his entourage did, and they spent enough to put the hotel in the black. citizensforethics.org/reports-invest…
Our government is facing a legitimacy crisis. People are taking note of widespread, race-based disenfranchisement, the disproportionate power of certain voters in certain states, and the broken process of Supreme Court nominations.
Something’s got to change, and soon.
1. Guarantee every American’s right to vote.
2. Grant statehood to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, ensuring that their citizens have real representation.
3. Twice in the last twenty years, the presidential candidate who won the support of the most Americans did not win the most electoral votes. States should consider assigning electors based on the national popular vote instead.
At least the executive branch and the legislative branch have *some* binding ethics requirements, even if they need serious reforms. The federal judiciary has none. It’s time to change that.
Here's how:
1. The single most important step to a more accountable judicial system is to create an independent ethics commission to create an ethics regime, publicize potential conflicts, police violations and enforce consequences. It’s wild this doesn’t already exist.
2. Federal judges must be required to disclose potential conflicts of interest.
Judges don’t have great track records on this. Look at Justice Thomas, who failed to disclose that his wife worked for the Heritage Foundation. Or Justice Sotamayor, who didn't disclose major gifts.