May 7, 2008 -- Wrong Victim at the FEC: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert, Campaign Legal Center Executive Director

The White House has thrown the wrong FEC nominee under the bus. Chairman David Mason has been cast aside by the White House for insufficient party fealty while the nomination of an unqualified but loyal partisan remains pending. It is a move sadly reminiscent of the U.S. Attorney purges.

If the White House is sincere in agreeing to up or down votes on each of the nominees, then the announcement represents some progress, because at least five Commissioners will likely be confirmed. The continued push for the confirmation of Hans von Spakovsky, however, is both tone deaf and an insult to the American people. The nominee's shameful record of vote suppression at the Department of Justice (DOJ) leaves him unfit to enforce our nation's election laws. Assuming the nominee is voted down by the Senate, we hope the White House will be quick to nominate another candidate in order to seat a full complement of six commissioners.

Despite the claims of both von Spakovsky and Josh Bolten of the White House, the recent Supreme Court decision upholding Indiana's voter ID law does not vindicate any part of his scandalous tenure at DOJ. The Indiana law was not a challenge brought under the Voting Rights Act. It was a facial challenge to the constitutionality of a voter ID law. The two things have nothing to do with each other. Moreover, the Georgia voter ID law that he approved for partisan reasons over the advice of career staff was harmful to minority voters and violated the Voting Rights Act. Furthermore, the Georgia voter ID law that von Spakovsky approved was later struck down by a federal judge as a "modern day poll tax," and is not the law on the books in Georgia today. Given his shameful record of putting the interests of the Republican Party over the interests of minority voters that he was duty bound to protect, one thing is clear: a vote for von Spakovsky is tantamount to a vote for vote suppression. We are hopeful the Senate will reject any deal to confirm a nominee who put party loyalty above the Constitution.

The failure to renominate current Chairman David Mason reeks of blatant political interference. Twice in recent years, President Bush deemed Mr. Mason fully qualified for the FEC and put his name forward for that post. Nothing has changed except, of course, Mr. Mason's legitimate questions about the circumstances that must be addressed when a candidate seeks to opt out of presidential public financing system. This move by President Bush simply smacks of more political interference—much like the recent U.S. Attorneys purges—and too little concern about faithfully implementing and enforcing the laws of the land.