Not Just a Minnesota Problem

Minnesota Majority has been calling for an investigation into violations of federal election law in Minnesota for nearly two years. That call has gone unanswered by the US Department of Justice. Now we are finding out why.

Former Justice Department attorney J. Christian Adams testified before the US Commission on Civil Rights that the current administration of the United States Department of Justice has a policy of not enforcing anti-fraud provisions of federal election law. Because Minnesota allows Election Day registration, we are exempt from certain provisions of the National Voter Rights Act (NVRA), but the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) contains similar provisions. Specifically, Section 303(a) of HAVA requires that the states perform voter registration list maintenance to remove deceased and ineligible voters (including felons and those who’ve moved out of state). This is an anti-voter-fraud measure that, according to Adams, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes refuses to enforce.

Adams quoted Ferndandes as saying, “We're not interested in those kind of cases. What do they have to do with helping increase minority access and turnout? We want to increase access to the ballot, not limit it.”

Minnesota Majority has experienced the DOJ’s refusal to investigate these kind of cases first-hand. On November 17^th of 2008 (immediately following the 2008 General Election and while the Coleman-Franken recount battle was getting underway), Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis sent a certified letter to then Voting Section chief of the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ, Christopher Coates, requesting an investigation into apparent failures to comply with HAVA by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. No response was forthcoming.

 

Since the DOJ in Washington DC failed to follow up on Davis’ complaint, Minnesota Majority contacted the local FBI office and lodged the same complaint. Special Agent Brian Kinney responded and visited the Minnesota Majority office to examine Minnesota Majority’s findings. At that time, he said, “based on what I see here there is more than enough evidence to initiate an internal complaint.” He gave his assurances that he would bring the matter to the attention of his supervisors. There was no further follow-up. 

By October of 2009, Minnesota Majority had compiled evidence of further violations of HAVA in Minnesota, including a finding that ineligible felons were not being detected and flagged for challenge or removal from the voter rolls. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent votes by ineligible felons being counted in Minnesota’s 2008 election. Davis sent another certified letter to Voting Section Chief Christopher Coates. Like the first complaint from nearly a year prior, the second letter went unanswered.

Minnesota Majority’s experience supports J. Christopher Adams’ claims that the DOJ’s policy is not to pursue violations of HAVA’s anti-fraud provisions. The dismissal of the voter intimidation charges against members of the New Black Panther Party who brandished nightsticks outside a Philadelphia polling place during the 2008 General Election was the last straw for Adams, who resigned in protest. He claimed that his superiors also ordered himself and other attorneys not to comply with subpoenas issued by the US Civil Rights commission, placing them in what Adams called, “legal limbo.”

 

Voting Section Chief Christopher Coates, who worked with Adams on the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case was demoted and transferred to a post in South Carolina earlier this year.

The Civil Rights Commission has subpoenaed Coates to testify on the matter but his DOJ employers are currently blocking his testimony. 

We’ve witnessed reluctance on the part of Minnesota law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute election crimes and now there’s evidence that indicates the federal government is deliberately fostering an environment favorable to voter fraud, nationwide, by refusing to enforce the anti-fraud provisions of the Help America Vote Act. It's become apparent that Minnesota's 2008 election problems are not isolated. 

• Letter to DOJ, November 17th 2008
• Letter to DOJ, October 5th, 2009
• Report on Felon Voters in Minnsota
• The Case for Investigation and Reform
• KTLK 100.3 FM: J. Christian Adams on the Chris Baker Program
• Wall Street Journal: Who Will Investigate the Investigators?
• J. Christian Adams' Blog: Election Law Center
• Pajamas Media: Lawlessness at the DOJ
• Fox News: Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota