Sunday, March 30, 2014

NY 2014-2015 Budget and Restoring Public Trust


In the New York Budget for 2014-2015, there is a section called Restoring Public Trust.

It contains:

- Tougher new anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws.

- A test for public financing of campaigns and elections using the 2014 Comptroller's race.

- The establishment of an independent enforcement counsel at the Board of Elections.

- Increase transparency of political contributors to independent expenditure committees.

- Disclose the outside clients or customers of State Legislators who had been referred by registered lobbyists.

Under the proposed system, the candidates will have to raise funds on their own—and report every contribution of $1,000 or more within two days. The contribution limit per person is $6,000.  Before becoming eligible, the candidates will need to raise $200,000, and $2,000 of that will need to come from contributions between $10 and $75 from New York residents.

The campaign finance deal for just the comptroller's race got a raw review from current Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.  DiNapoli, a Democrat, would face big pressure to opt into the system, doing so would cost him 73% of the $2.1 million war chest he's amassed.  He has no GOP opponent, so that could actually help fuel a challenger.

The final vote needs to be done by the end of the month, Mar. 31, 2014.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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NYC and Participatory Budgeting


During the run-up to the 2013 general elections, I met a candidate from my old neighborhood, running for their City Council District Five (CD5) seat. He is a progressive Democrat and won his seat.

Ben Kallos now represents: Upper East Side, Midtown East, El Barrio and Roosevelt Island.

From his bio: A third generation Upper East Sider, whose grandparents fled anti-Semitism in Russia and Hungary to build a better life in New York City, Ben Kallos has been the Executive Director of a leading good government group, lawyer, software development entrepreneur and former Chief of Staff to a local Assembly Member.  As a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, SUNYs Albany and Buffalo, he has used his public education for public service in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

Ben promotes transparency to ensure every dollar gets spent to improve qulaity of life, from affordable housing to senior services to better schools.  He fought corruption by making voting records easily accessible online and in our conversation, is looking at how to improve the voting process and restoring the Voting Rights Act in an equitable way.

Participatory Budgeting
Participatory budgeting empowers citizens to decide how money gets spent in their neighborhood.  Whether you’re passionate about green space, improving housing conditions or senior services, participatory budgeting allows you to champion your causes for the good of the community.  In the next cycle over the summer, the community will propose projects and bring them to fruition.  This time, the community will vote on pre-approved city projects that are awaiting funding.  Ben has set aside $1,000,000 for the community to vote on.

So starting this week, 16 year olds and up will be able to vote on 25 projects including how much money should go into a rainy-day fund.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Florida Non-Citizen Voter Purge Postponed


Florida Governor Rick Scott's administration is abandoning its renewed effort to remove non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls, the state's top elections official announced on Thursday.

Secretary of State Ken Detzner, in a memo to county election supervisors, said the latest attempt at a purge, which two years ago set off a number of legal challenges from voting rights groups, would be postponed until next year.  He said the state planned to wait until a new federal database, which helps track potential ineligible voters, is up and running.

Advocacy groups have called the review of non-citizens a thinly veiled attempt to disqualify Hispanic and African-American voters who tend to vote for Democractic candidates.  The state's effort in 2012 sparked lawsuits from five voter protection groups, including the League of Women Voters of Florida and one by the U.S. Justice Department, which claimed the purge violated federal law since it was conducted less than 90 days before the election.

In identifying potential non-citizens two years ago, Florida officials sent their information to county election supervisors who then mailed letters to voters requesting proof of citizenship.  If no response was received, the voter was dropped from the rolls.

Deirdre Macnab, the League of Women Voters of Florida's president, praised the state's decision to put off the purge, which Scott's administration calls "Project Integrity."

"Programs like 'Project Integrity' have proven, time and time again, to disproportionately impact minority voters and erroneously disenfranchise those that are eligible." she said.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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The PAC to End PACs


This blog post is from an article by David Freedlander, senior political correspondent with The Daily Beast, from the latest issue of POLITICO Magazine.

Jonathan Soros, the son of the financier George Soros, who, like his father, has given prodigiously to Democratic interests, more than $2 million in the last few years to various candidates and causes, now is hoping his cash can buy him something more: He’s quietly bankrolling an effort to limit the very influence of rich donors like him.

From his 40th floor midtown Manhattan office tower that houses the private investment firm he runs, Soros is aware of the irony, as well as the skepticism, that surrounds such an idea.  But he has sketched out an ambitious plan to support candidates in congressional and state-level elections across the country who can help push the most sweeping campaign finance reforms in a generation, reforms that would include a national clean elections bill, which would mandate a robust public financing system for all federal elections.  If all goes according to his ambitious plan, Soros see this happening by 2021.  “The path will not be straight, we know that,” he says. “But there is real momentum. We are serious about winning.”

Soros began his mission to solve the problem of money in politics in 2012 when he founded Friends of Democracy PAC, a hybrid political action committee and super PAC with a staff of three.  The group, which has an office in Washington, D.C, jumped into eight competitive congressional elections that year and spent more than $1.7 million backing candidates who pledged to support a series of campaign-finance principles, including proposals to strengthen election law enforcement and institute publicly financed elections.  Seven of their candidates won office.

This year, the organization wants to ensure those seven stay in office, while getting behind another eight candidates yet to be determined.  The group is also taking aim at lawmakers in state legislatures around the country who have been attempting to loosen regulations on campaign financing.  This effort has involved a rather un-Soros-like strategy: Friends of Democracy has found a couple of Republican candidates in close contests willing to buck their party establishment and support clean elections.  “The new McCains,” Soros calls them, and the hope is that they are willing to take a dollop of Soros cash in exchange for pledging to limit the role of the rest of the big money funders.  The outfit is still scouting possible beneficiaries of its handouts, but Soros mentioned Rep. Walter Jones, the maverick North Carolina Republican, as a possibility and he said the group is eyeing other candidates who hail from deep blue states.  “We might be able to get away with it in Massachusetts,” he says.

But first, he has to take Albany.

The Empire State has been designated the initial domino in the Soros mission not because the place is uniquely corrupted by cash, but rather because that’s where campaign reform efforts have gained the most traction already.  Talk of reform in New York caught Soros’s attention in 2011, just as he was preparing to leave his father’s hedge fund and strike out on his own.  In 2012, Soros poured $250,000 into the campaign of Cecilia Tkaczyk, an upstate state Senate candidate who made campaign finance reform a key part of her come-from-behind victory, and helped lobby Gov. Andrew Cuomo to keep a campaign promise to push for campaign finance reform.

Now, Cuomo has included a fair elections proposal in his state budget that would create a public financing system and lower contribution limits for donors, to nudge New York away from its pay-to-play political culture.  But supporters of the measure are not hopeful.  “There are members who say they support us, but they don’t really,” said one Albany political operative who requested anonymity.  “They perceive it as not in their self-interest.”

Soros is holding out hope that Cuomo will make good on the promise to enact reform.  “If you look at the things he campaigned on, this is the last one he hasn’t gotten done,” Soros says.  “For a guy who likes to check the box, this is a big deal as he heads into his re-election campaign.”  And for Soros, a guy trying to check some boxes of his own, New York’s reform measure could provide an invaluable example of what might be possible nationwide.

This will be hard.  Campaign finance reform is widely perceived as a Democratic issue.  Or at least, despite the non-partisan sheen, something that is often a front for one political party or another.

This is true in the fight in New York, where Soros hopes that Cuomo keeps the reform measure in his budget despite pressure from Republican opponents in the legislature and pessimism about its chances of creating real change.  “A lot of what we are facing is an obstacle of conventional wisdom,” Soros says. “It is one of the reasons that New York is so essential in this time frame.  The sooner we have a win the better.  We are trying to demonstration that this affects candidates’ ability to get elected.”

Cuomo, he says, seems to be pushing the issue without fully embracing it: “He is at the very last place he can possibly go.”  And now he can push no further.  The deadline for a budget deal is April 1st.

CLICK HERE to read the two page article.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Wisconsin Signs Limiting Early Voting Bills


With Gov. Scott Walker's signature, Wisconsin has a new law on the books prohibiting early voting in the state on the weekends and weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., otherwise known as when most people aren't at work.

The measure was opposed by Democratic legislators in the state, especially because turnout for early voting is high in cities like Milwaukee and Madison and these cities tend to vote for Democrats.

The new law goes against the recent recommendations of the Commission on Election Administration, a bipartisan panel that released a lengthy report on voter access in January.  The panel recommended that states expand, not restrict "alternative ways of voting, such as mail balloting and in-person early voting" in order to avoid hours-long lines at the polls on election day.  A majority of states allow for some form of early voting — either by mail or in person — and the commission noted that voters want more, not fewer, early voting options available to them.

Walker's administration cited the need to create "uniform" hours across the state for early voting as his reason for signing the bill.  Previously, Wisconsin allowed clerks to set their own hours, including on the weekends.

In the early-voting measure, Walker used his partial veto powers — the most powerful in the nation — to nix language restricting early voting hours in Milwaukee and other cities to 45 hours a week while leaving in place a provision to prohibit early voting on weekends.  He also vetoed a part of the bill that would have let the state reimburse jurisdictions for early voting costs.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

NY Passed National Popular Vote Bill




Thanks to Ballot Access News for this post.

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire United States.  The bill preserves the Electoral College, while ensuring that every vote in every state will matter in every presidential election.

The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes-that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538).

On March 25, both houses of the New York legislature passed S3149, the National Popular Vote Plan bill.  The vote in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, was 57-4.  The vote in the Assembly controlled by Democrats was 100-32.  This is the first state legislature to pass the plan since 2012, although the New York bill hasn’t been signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo yet.

Assuming the bill is signed, the plan will have passed in 7 eastern jurisdictions (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont, and D.C.); 3 western states (California, Washington, Hawaii); and one midwestern state, Illinois.

It will have received 60% of the electoral votes it needs to go into effect.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Montana Removes Top-Two Ballot Measure from 2014 Ballot


Thanks to Ballot Access News for this post.

On March 25, the Montana Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the top-two ballot measure the legislature put on the 2014 ballot has technical flaws, MEA-MFT v State of Montana - OP 13-0789.  Therefore, it cannot appear on the 2014 November ballot.

Montana law says the title of a ballot measure put on the ballot by the legislature can’t exceed 100 words.  The legislature had written a ballot title of almost 200 words, including all the election code sections being amended.  The legislature had then defended itself in this lawsuit by saying that code section references, which are numbers, aren’t words.  But the majority on the Supreme Court disagreed with five of the justices also sayingf the title is confusing.

The 2013 session of the legislature had put the measure on the ballot because the majority of legislators are Republicans, and were upset that in 2012, the Libertarian Party nominees for Governor and U.S. Senator prevented either major party nominee from receiving a majority of the vote, with Democrats wining both elections.

The Republican majority in the legislature in 2013 then determined that if Montana had a top-two system, there would be no more minor party candidates in the general election.  The majority didn’t simply pass a bill for a top-two system because if it had passed an ordinary bill, the Democratic Governor would have vetoed it.  But by putting a ballot measure on the ballot, the legislature was able to bypass the Governor.

Here is a case where the use of Top-Two was used by a party to try to remove minor party or independent candidates from the November ballot.

CLICK HERE to read the court's opinion.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

State Parties Still Talking About Closing Their Primary


Thanks to Ballot Access News for these updates.

Utah Republican Party May Sue to Regain Closed Primary

Leaders of the Utah Republican Party may bring a lawsuit to regain their closed primary.  SB 54, signed into law March 10, says that if a party doesn’t agree to let independents vote in its primary, it can’t have its name next to its nominees on the November ballot.  Utah Republican Party leaders tell UtahPolicy that they are considering suing the state over SB54, the Count My Vote citizen initiative petition compromise that provides a dual-track process to candidate nominations.

The Republican state party chair James Evans finds it is the requirement in SB54 that political parties have an open primary, that's illegal.  The state GOP has a closed primary today.

A compromise law, sponsored by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, would forced all political parties to have open primaries.  But Bramble and attorneys for the Legislature came up with a alternative in SB54 that has not been widely discussed in all of the media hype about the compromise.  The state GOP can CHOSE to keep their single-track, caucus/delegate/convention system exactly as it is today.

But if GOP leaders do chose to opt out of the dual-track, open primary system, then their candidates, on the November general election ballot, CANNOT come under a banner that says Utah Republican Party.  This, of course, is a pretty big hammer.  Utah is overwhelmingly Republican.

So, if you have a Democratic Utah House or Senate candidate on the November ballot, and then some other guys in the race, maybe a small “I” independent or a 3rd party, like Constitutional, and then a guy with no party affiliation next to his name, how do you know who the Republican is in the race?

If many Utahns are used to just voting for the GOP candidate in the final election, and there is no GOP candidate listed, that could be real trouble for the Republican Party.

Dual track allows a candidate to go through the normal caucus/delegate/convention party system.  Or a candidate can decide (by Jan. 1, of the election year) to gather a set number of voter signatures in his district (or statewide for offices like U.S. Senate and governor) and go directly to the party primary ballot.  And part of that process is a required open primary.

SB54 says that by Sept. 30 in the year preceding the next general election – in other words, Sept. 30, 2015 for the 2016 election cycle – each party in Utah that wants to be a “qualified” party must in writing agree to the dual-track process and an open primary.  You don’t have to be a “qualified” party. But if you are not, then on the following general election ballot no candidate will be listed under your party name.

State lawyers believe that the “opt-in,” “opt-out” provisions in SB54 will legally satisfy the open primary part of the bill.

Finally, there are a few quirks in SB54 of note:

-- Under current law, after voter signatures are handed in to county clerks for a citizen initiative petition, opponents of that petition can try to get people who signed it to take their names off.

But signees of the candidate petition process can’t take their names off once they’ve signed – so no shenanigans with a candidate’s opponents trying to decertify his race by getting signees to take their names off.

-- If you don’t follow the dual-track process, your party convention may “endorse” candidates, but those endorsements can’t be on the general election ballot.

-- If you take the candidate petition route to the party primary, you can’t pay petition-gathers.  They have to be volunteers.  That will make it a lot more difficult for a statewide candidate, for example, to gather the 28,000 required signatures to make his party’s primary ballot.

-- The dual-track process applies to county elected positions. The petition only applied to federal and state candidates.

-- Political parties who take the dual-track process must also allow for absentee delegate voting in the March neighborhood caucuses and provide a way for a delegate who will miss the convention to be replaced with a delegate who can attend.

Hawaii Democratic Party Files Opening Brief in Ninth Circuit, in its Lawsuit to Close its Primary

On December 12, the Hawaii Democratic Party filed a notice of appeal in Democratic Party of Hawaii v Nago, the case over whether the party can close its primary so that only party members can vote in its primary.  The U.S. District Court had upheld the open primary on the grounds that the party had not proved that the open primary results in non-members voting in its primary, or that if non-members do vote in its primary, that the party hasn’t showed this harms the party.

On March 24, the Hawaii Democratic Party filed its opening brief in the Ninth Circuit in Democratic Party of Hawaii v Nago, 13-17545.

The party vigorously contests the finding of the U.S. District Court, which was that an open primary law is not subject to a facial attack, because theoretically, there might be some political party in Hawaii that wants to keep an open primary for itself.

The Democratic Party’s brief lists many cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court entertained a facial challenge in a First Amendment case, even though there were individuals or groups in the same category as the plaintiffs who liked the status quo.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Childhood Hunger in the United States




Hunger hurts our nation's kids, which is why the mission of No Kid Hungry is to put an end to childhood hunger in the US for good.  The believe that No Kid Hungry starts with breakfast and their vision is coming to life in schools all over the country.  But more need to join to help grow the momentum of this movement connecting hungry kids to meals, especially school breakfast, in every state.

With your help, we can advocate for breakthrough policy changes that have increased the number of kids starting the day with school breakfast.  Across the nation, we're seeing results, and other states and cities are following their lead.

Just look at these recent wins in the movement to end childhood hunger:

•More than 900 schools took part in the North Carolina's first breakfast challenge to encourage schools to serve more kids breakfast.

•In New Mexico, recently passed legislation will ensure that kids of all ages across the state can count on a free, healthy breakfast as part of the school day.

•New Orleans has become one of an elite group of U.S. cities to reach the ambitious goals for breakfast participation.

•Recently introduced legislation in Nebraska could make a healthy breakfast after the bell a reality for children across the state.

•Vermont will become the first state to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students.

There is more work to be done, which is why it's a great time to join the monthly giving club, The Hunger Core, with a gift of $10 per month.

Every dollar you give can provide up to 10 meals — so $10 a month means up to 1,200 meals a year.

Monthly giving is safe, easy and economical.  Your credit card will be automatically debited for any amount you choose — and you can change the amount or cancel at any time.

CLICK HERE to become a Hunger Core member today and help us feed even more kids in the year ahead. I'm grateful for your support of No Kid Hungry.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Free&Equal WANTS YOU to Run for Congress!‏




Free and Equal Elections Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization, whose mission is to shift the power back to the individual voter through education.

They focus their efforts at Universities, getting the students thinking and talking about the issues of the day, inviting them to mobilize, and inspiring honest leaders among them to run for Congress in 2014 as independents.

Bigger than just the Universities, inspiring all people, We The People, to run for Congress as independents in 2014, 2016, and beyond.

CLICK HERE for state by state filing deadlines and primary dates.


On May 10th at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, the United We Stand Festival will take place.  Attendees' will be inspired by the musicians and the speakers to get out and vote for new honest leaders.

CLICK HERE for more information about the event.



In the desire to eliminate the “wasted voter syndrome” created by the mainstream media.  Free and Equal will soon launch a one-stop information source that will help voters learn about candidates at the local, state and Federal levels.  The electorate will be empowered through an “election assistant” app that will provide side-by-side candidate comparisons in a simple user interface.

Voters will have easy access to fact-based information, candidate voting records, and campaign finance records so that they will be able make informed decisions.  The Free and Equal Election Assistant will provide a level playing field for all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, background, and campaign finances, so that all candidates have a chance to reach the voters.

CLICK HERE for more information about the tool.

Even if your district has a well-entrenched Representative in office, you can change the conversation by challenging him or her.

SO GET INVOLVED!










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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