Aug 13, 2008 -- Election Day Voter Protection Initiative Launched

— The Campaign Legal Center today launched the Voters' Rights Protection Project, to provide generic drafts of potential court filings to individuals, organizations, and political parties who must resort to the courts to protect the fundamental rights of citizens to vote. In a letter today to both major parties and copies to the respective presidential campaigns (full text below), the Legal Center announced the project and said it would make the legal templates publicly available. Information announcing the project is also being sent to national, state, and local party committees, as well as third party organizations and numerous community and grassroots organizations from coast to coast.

"The legal documents being drafted by the Legal Center will facilitate and expedite the process of securing court orders against those state or local election officials or others who take actions harmful to the electorate," said J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director and Director of Litigation for the Campaign Legal Center

The use of such legal templates, will allow individuals, as well as advocacy groups, political parties, and candidates to obtain pre-election or Election Day relief for a host of problems, including extension of polling hours, insufficient ballots, and prevention of voter harassment or intimidation.

"With unprecedented new voter registrations and record turnout expected at the polls, voters across the country are likely to face ballot shortages, faulty equipment, voter disqualification schemes, and other obstacles which may violate federal and state election laws," said Hebert. "Our Constitution leaves the selection of our leaders to the people, but there are occasions when judicial authority must be invoked to address constitutional and federal problems faced by voters."

"When things go wrong on Election Day, as they sometimes do, citizens deserve legal recourse to ensure their voting rights are protected and their votes are counted," Hebert added. "This project was conceived and executed to ensure that there is a "plan B" to protect the right to vote when the system breaks down, for whatever reason, on Election Day." Hebert noted that the stakes in the upcoming election are high and the opportunities for systemic breakdown and foul play will be heightened, adding "these legal templates are designed and are being distributed to ensure that all persons who are eligible to vote are able to do so without hindrance."

In 2004, voting-machine shortages plagued many jurisdictions, and the concomitant long lines that some voters had to endure were a result of poor planning and the failure to provide paper ballots as an alternative when machines failed or there were too few of them. The legal templates are designed to resolve this problem as well, such that voters or groups can go into court and seek appropriate relief, such as the provision of adequate paper ballots at the polls.

The legal template documents will be accessible on the Legal Center's website next month, and they will also be distributed via email to persons and groups across the country upon request. The Legal Center's work on this project is a direct result of the generous financial assistance from the JEHT Foundation.

Below is the full text of the letter sent to the chief attorneys for the two major political parties, as well as to counsel for the presidential campaigns of Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama:

August 12, 2008

Sean Cairncross

Republican National Committee Counsel

310 First Street, SE

Washington, DC 20003

Joseph Sandler

Democratic National Committee Counsel
430 S. Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

Dear Mr. Cairncross and Mr. Sandler:

This Election Day, with some projecting voter turnout to reach an all-time high, voters across the country may well face ballot shortages, voter disqualification schemes, lack of access to voting machines, and an array of other obstacles which may violate federal election laws. A recent article also reported that challenges to recent-voting registrants may be underway. See Voter Registration Is the New Battleground, Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2008.

Anticipating that the surge in voter registration may lead to an even greater number of problems in the weeks leading up to Election Day, or on the day of the election itself, the Campaign Legal Center has decided to make legal papers available to those who find it necessary to seek judicial relief in order to protect the right to vote. Specifically, the Legal Center is drafting templates of court documents that can be used by individuals, organizations, and political parties. The templates will be sent out next month and will then be made public and distributed nationwide.

In 2004, partisan election officials in some states (e.g., Ohio) attempted to change voting rules and regulations in the weeks leading up to the fall elections. These changes not only had an adverse impact on voters, but they also often had a designed partisan impact. Voters had to resort to the courts for protecting their voting rights.

The templates will facilitate the process of securing court orders against those local election officials or others who take actions harmful to the electorate. With use of such legal templates, individuals, advocacy groups, and political parties or candidates will be able to obtain pre-election or Election Day relief for a host of problems, including extension of polling hours, ensuring sufficient supply of ballots, and prevention of voter harassment or intimidation. In 2004, voting-machine shortages plagued many jurisdictions, and the concomitant long lines that some voters had to endure were a result of poor planning and the failure to provide paper ballots as an alternative when machines failed or there were too few of them. The legal templates are designed to resolve this problem as well, such that voters or groups can go into court and seek a court order to compel paper ballots at the polls.

The legal template documents will not only be accessible on the Legal Center's website, but they will also be distributed via email to persons and groups across the country. The Legal Center's work on this project is a direct result of the generous financial assistance from the JEHT Foundation.

We are also compiling a contact list of individuals and organizations who might be interested in receiving notification when our Election Day templates are online and available for download. If you are interested in learning more about the project or would be interested in having your organization's website linked with our online legal templates, please send me the contact information for the appropriate staff member who we can contact as we near completion of this project.

Sincerely,J. Gerald Hebert

Executive Director and Director of Litigation

CC: Trevor Potter, Counsel to the presidential campaign of

Senator John McCain

Robert Bauer, Counsel to the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama