American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey
ACLU-MN finds fraud with election integrity group
May 09, 2012
Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a complaint against Minnesota Voters Alliance with the Minnesota Attorney General for violations of state disclosure laws. The complaint asks the Attorney General to investigate Minnesota Voters Alliance for violating Minnesota Statutes by raising over $25,000 without registering as a charitable organization with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
“It is ironic that Minnesota Voters Alliance portrays itself as an advocacy organization for voter integrity, yet it appears to lack integrity in its fundraising efforts by failing to follow the law and register as a charitable organization,” said Chuck Samuelson, Executive Director of the ACLU-MN.
Minnesota Voters Alliance, a voter suppression proponent and alleged 501 (c4) charitable organization began fundraising in 2011. On November 10, 2011, MVA told supporters in an emailed solicitation that it had raised $27,000 and asked for additional donor help to reach $45,000 for an elections lawsuit. Over a year later, MVA again solicited potential donors on January 19, 2012. On February 28, 2012, MVA’s attorneys filed a case against the State to end Election Day Registration. There is no record of MVA’s registration with the Minnesota Attorney’s General Office during this period of revenue solicitation.
Minnesota’s charitable organization laws contain safeguards to ensure clean, honest charitable fundraising activity. Central to these protections is the requirement that charities which raise $25,000 or more must file with the Minnesota Attorney General to protect against fundraising scams. If the organization does not file prior to raising money, they must file within 30 days after $25,000 has been raised. To date, MVA has still not filed any paperwork with the Minnesota Attorney General.
Because they have not filed, very little information is publicly available about the Minnesota Voter Alliance, including if they have a formal board of directors, who sits on the board of directors and how MVA uses its fundraising donations. To properly follow Minnesota statutes, every group that files with the Attorney General’s Office must include information on its Board, group or individuals having final discretion as to the distribution and use of contributions received.
“The secrecy around Minnesota Voters Alliance is troubling and our hope is that the Attorney General’s Office will fast track this complaint,” said Samuelson.
No eligible evidence submitted: ACLU will not pay $1000 bounty
April 02, 2012
In February the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota issued this challenge: "If you can bring us evidence of a voter impersonation conviction that would have been prevented by this new law...we will give you $1,000". The ACLU-MN announced today that it did not receive any evidence that met these criteria so they will be keeping their $1,000 and spending it to defeat the voter ID amendment.
We received several responses, but only one had the information necessary to determine if it was a valid case. Minnesota Majority held a press conference in March where they submitted a case involving a woman who filled out an absentee ballot on behalf of her daughter, submitted it and then her daughter ended up voting in person as well. This case, while an example of an adjudicated case, would not have been impeded in any way by the proposed amendment.
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, the former Secretary of State and current author of the voter ID bill, unwittingly nullified this claim when she testified in the House Local Government and Elections Committee that, "You can see already, that this absentee ballot in its current form is already complaint with this constitutional amendment."
Since the voter ID amendment would not change how absentee balloting is done, this case would still have occurred even if the voter ID amendment were to pass. Furthermore, the daughter used a photo ID to register on Election Day. Ironically, the alternative to voter ID, electronic pollbooks, would have prevented this case.
"The very fact that the proponents of the bill are unclear on how it will affect voting, should be enough to give us all pause as the debate continues," stated Charles Samuelson, Executive Director of the ACLU-MN. "We have said all along that this proposed amendment will not prevent any problems, and, indeed, it will serve to aggravate the only real problem in Minnesota elections: the almost three quarters of a million people that will be ineligible to vote if this amendment passes."
The ACLU-MN will continue its work to defeat voter ID, working with a broad coalition of groups to defeat this ballot initiative.
ACLU-MN files First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of activist
March 26, 2012
St. Paul, Minn. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota today announced the filing of a lawsuit against the Federal Protective Services, unknown and unnamed agents of the Federal Protective Services, the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis on behalf of anti-war activist Melissa Hill for violating her First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights. After writing on a public sidewalk with erasable sidewalk chalk, Hill was detained by agents and had a tresspass order issued against her by the Federal Protective Services and law enforcement officials.
On the morning of June 9, 2011, Hill was walking in Minneapolis when she observed that a message that had been previously written in chalk on the public sidewalk in front of the Federal Building Building located at 212 S. Third Ave., reading "Don't Enlist Resist," had been erased so that it now read simply "Enlist". Hill was in the process of re-chalking "Don't Enlist, Resist" when she was handcuffed, detained, searched and questioned by security guards, FPS Agents and a Minneapolis Police Department officer. The MPD issued Hill a trespass notice that prohibits her from entering the property of the Federal Building for a period of one year. If Hill decides to exercise her First Amendment rights in public in the vicinity of the Federal Building she would be arrested and face a fine and/or imprisonment.
The complaint states that the Defendants acted unlawfully by detaining Hill without probable cause and by issuing a trespass notice against her without legal justification. In the complaint Hill asks for damages and a declaration that the trespass ordinances under which the trespass notice was issued are unconstitutional on their face and as applied.
"This is a classic example of overreach of law enforcement, Ms. Hill was simply exercising her freedom of speech when she was subject to harassment and punishment by the law enforcement agencies involved in this matter," stated ACLU Executive Director Charles Samuelson. "We hope for a speedy resolution to this matter and that Ms. Hill's rights are fully restored."
Cooperating attorneys in the case include William Pentelovitch, Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand LLP
ACLU-MN asks St. Anthony Village to lift illegal, discriminatory moratorium
March 22, 2012
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota sent a letter to St. Anthony Village on Wednesday asking them to lift the moratorium on the consideration of issuing conditional use permits. St. Anthony Village had adopted this moratorium after a group applied for a permit to establish an Islamic Center in the basement of the former Medtronic headquarters.
This moratorium effectively violates the Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act which strictly limits the ability of local governments to burden religious exercise by imposing land use regulation. Courts have ruled in a number of cases similar to this one that the impact and delay caused by the moratorium would likely be considered a substantial burden on the group's free exercise of religion. Because the moratorium will impose a substantial burden, the city must justify it as being the least restrictive means of serving a compelling interest. It is unclear what the city's interest is in imposing the moratorium other than to appease members of the public who have vocally opposed the Islamic Center; however taking time to "study the impact on the community" as reported in the Star Tribune, is likely not a compelling interest.
In their letter the ACLU-MN requests that they immediately lift the moratorium and allow that religious uses be placed on equal footing or grant the Abu-Huraira Islamic Center's application for a conditional use permit.
"Religious freedom is not granted to only one class of people, it is a fundamental American right", stated Charles Samuelson. "We hope that St. Anthony Village does the right thing and allow Abu-Huraira to establish an Islamic Center."
ACLU-MN files lawsuit against Minnewaska Area Schools
March 06, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charles Samuelson, Executive Director for the ACLU-MN, 651.645.4097 x121 or
Teresa Nelson, Legal Counsel for the ACLU-MN, 651-645-4097 x122
ACLU-MN files lawsuit against Minnewaska Area Schools
St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court against Minnewaska Area Schools and the Pope County Sheriff's office for violating the constitutional rights of a minor student. R.S's free speech and privacy rights were violated by the school district in two separate instances involving Facebook. (To protect the privacy of the minor defendant, she will be referred to as R.S.)
In early 2011 R.S. posted a comment, while at home, on her Facebook page about her dislike of a school staff member. The school learned about the comment, and R.S. received a detention and was forced to write an apology to the staff member. She was disciplined again when she cursed on her Facebook page, complaining that someone reported her to the school. This time she was given an in-school suspension and was prohibited from attending a school field trip. The ACLU-MN contends that these sanctions violate her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
In a second incident R.S. was brought into a school administrator's office where she was coerced to turn over (against her will) login information to her Facebook and email accounts because of allegations that she had online conversations about sex with another student off-campus. Present at the search was a local deputy along with two school officials. During this process, R.S. was called a liar and told she would be given detentions if she did not give the adults access to her accounts. R.S.'s mother was not informed about the search until after it happened. The Deputy and school officials did not have a warrant to search R.S.'s private accounts. The ACLU-MN alleges in their suit that this violated R.S.'s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
The lawsuit seeks damages, declaratory and injunctive relief for the violations of R.S.'s constitutional rights.
"The trauma that these incidents have put R.S. through is completely uncalled for: She was intimidated, frightened, humiliated and sobbing while school administrators were scouring her private communications," stated cooperating attorney Wally Hilke. "These adults traumatized this minor without any regard for her rights."
"Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the school house gate," stated Charles Samuelson, Executive Director for the ACLU-MN. "The Supreme Court ruled on that in the 1970s, yet schools like Minnewaska seem to have no regard for the standard."
Cooperating attorneys working on the case are: Wallace Hilke and Bryan Freeman of Lindquist & Vennum PLLP and Professor Raleigh Hannah Levine, William Mitchell College of Law.
To coincide with the lawsuit the ACLU-MN produced a handout for students outlining their privacy rights when using social netoworking sites.
Free speech is not necessarily pretty
February 21, 2012
Contributed by Charles Samuelson, ED of the ACLU-MN
Recently, We Want Voter ID, an organization that is a collection of groups supporting voter id (including Minnesota Majority), published a cartoon illustrating their position on voter ID by depicting a line of people waiting to vote. The people standing in line included: 2 characters in Halloween Costumes, an African American prison inmate, and 1 Hispanic (demarcated by a sombrero). The alleged purpose of the cartoon is to show how easy it is committ voter fraud in Minnesota. The group We want Voter ID's real goal is to make it more difficult for Minnesotans to vote and to immediately reduce the number of registered voters by 200,000+.
The cartoon clearly reveals that their rationale for voter id as racially motivated. Other groups, who are our allies in the Voter ID fight, have condemned this cartoon as clearly racist and have demanded it be taken down. This morning they changed the cartoon by taking out the Latino & African American, but added the caption "politically correct version for the hypersensitive," despite earlier statements that they did not believe it to be racist and that this was merely "race baiting".
The American Civil Liberties Union believes in the marketplace of ideas and we believe that the antidote to bad speech is more speech. For more than 90 years we have backed up this principle by defending the rights of people to promote ideas we find despicable (Nazi's, KKK, etc). So it is with this group.
They should be allowed to keep this drivel in the public eye because everyone should be able to see their ideas for what they are. And everyone should keep talking about it because that is the only way that the truth will ever be made clear.
Read more about what we are doing to oppose voter ID.
(Taken from the opening screen of We Want Voter ID's webpage before they changed it)
ACLU-MN issues $1,000 bounty on election fraud
February 13, 2012
St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota launched its new Vote No 2012 political fund with a challenge: prove a case of voter fraud that would have been prevented by this new law, and collect $1,000 from the Vote No 2012 Fund.
Allegedly in the name of fraud, the Minnesota Legislature is considering a constitutional amendment that would limit the right to vote by requiring registered voter to show a valid photo ID with a current address in order to vote. As written, the only fraud this requirement would prevent is voter impersonation.
"There is no voter impersonation fraud in Minnesota," said ACLU-MN Executive Director Charles Samuelson, "and we are willing to bet on it."
The ACLU of Minnesota's Vote No 2012 political fund is offering a challenge to all Minnesotans. The first person to provide documented evidence of a case of voter impersonation that would have been prevented by this new law will collect a $1,000 bounty.
"This bill is just an attempt to stop common ordinary people from voting, plain and simple!" said Representative Tom Rukavina. "We need to find a way to create more jobs, not waste time on solutions in search of a problem."
One of the ACLU's fundamental missions is protecting the right to vote for all people. This includes protecting against voter fraud, which the ACLU has been fighting against in all fifty states for over fifty years. Among the cases the ACLU has fought are: illegally purged voter files in Michigan (2008) and failure to count minority votes in Florida (2000).
"We don't want hearsay, we want facts," continued Samuelson. "If you can bring evidence of a voter impersonation conviction that would have been prevented by this new law in the past ten years, we will give you $1,000. We believe this amendment push is being fueled by rumor and fear, but not facts."
People interested in taking the ACLU of Minnesota up on their bet can mail a copy of their evidence along with their contact information to the office of the ACLU at 2300 Myrtle Avenue, Suite 180, St. Paul, MN 55114.
Rules: Must have proof of legal charge, indictment or conviction for voter impersonation in the State of Minnesota issued not before January 1, 2002. Anecdotes, hearsay and unsubstantiated claims will not be accepted. Evidence must be presented at the offices of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota at 2300 Myrtle Avenue, Suite 180, St. Paul, Minnesota 55114 by 5:00 p.m. March 30, 2012. $1,000 will be split among all legitimate claims, if any. Questions: call Carolyn Jackson at 651.645.4097 x125. Results will be announced April 2, 2012.
ACLU-MN launches Vote No 2012
February 13, 2012
St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota launched its new Vote No 2012 political fund. The purpose of the ballot question political fund is to defend the Minnesota Constitution from amendments that limit civil rights and individual freedoms.
Vote No 2012 is made up of members & staff of the ACLU of Minnesota. The purpose of the campaign is to mobilize ACLU-MN supporters, inform Minnesotans and work with coalitions to deliver "NO" votes in November 2012.
With over 8,500 members, and 25,000 supporters statewide the ACLU-MN will work to mobilize these individuals within their community to be rights activists. The ACLU-MN will be doing a tour of the state in 2012 to educate and mobilize Minnesotans to vote no.
"We couldn't stand idly by when we see the Legislature using the Constitution to limit the rights of Minnesotan's citizens," stated Charles Samuelson. "So the Vote No 2012 campaign will work with anyone committed to supporting the individual rights of Minnesota's citizens."
"Minnesota's Constitution should never be amended to serve the political agenda of any one group," said Leslie Sandberg, Chair of the Vote No 2012 Committee. "Vote No 2012 was created fight against any amendment that would place prejudice and discrimination over rights and freedoms in our Constitution."
ACLU-MN study finds Minnesota lacks legal standard on Taser use
December 14, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. - The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota released a report today documenting Taser use policies in Minnesota. In 2006 the ACLU-MN began collecting and analyzing law enforcement Taser policies. This report compiles scholarly research conducted on Tasers and the impact of Taser use on the human body. After thoroughly analyzing the data, the ACLU-MN is also releasing recommendations to law enforcement agencies on best practices regarding Taser use.
The ACLU-MN report raises a number of concerns including:
- The seven deaths that have occurred in Minnesota related to Taser use, despite the fact that Tasers are considered non-lethal force.
- There is no standard policy for Taser use in Minnesota.
- Record keeping on Taser use varies considerably across the State.
- Law enforcement agencies rely overwhelmingly on Taser International, the manufacturer of Tasers, for their training which raises concerns about a conflict of interest.
- There is no standard policy regarding use of Tasers on people suffering mental health crises.
The ACLU-MN issues the following recommendations:
- The ACLU-MN recommends a uniform, statewide use of force continuum which places Tasers higher than hard, empty hands and at least at the same level as a baton.
- Each agency which owns a Taser should have a separate Taser Use Policy which accounts for the risks unique to Taser use such as risk of falling, risks to vulnerable populations, and risk of fire.
- Agencies should have strong restrictions on the use of force on people suffering mental health crises.
- Training for Taser use should address the risks of Tasers more explicitly than the materials provided by Taser International.
- The State of Minnesota should mandate reporting use of Tasers.
"The recommendations we make pose a minimal cost to law enforcement agencies, would be fairly easy to implement, and would provide an important management tool;" stated Chuck Samuelson, Executive Director of the ACLU-MN. "These are common sense recommendations that make good public policy that we hope starts a state-wide conversation about this newer weapon."
"By not having a reasonable standard law enforcement agencies risk exposure to legal challenges;" added Carolyn Jackson, lobbyist for the ACLU-MN.
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Wisconsin's Unconstitutional Voter ID Law
December 13, 2011
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Wisconsin's Unconstitutional Voter ID Law
Restrictive Photo Identification Requirement is Part of a Nationwide Effort to Suppress the Fundamental Right to Vote
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty today filed a federal lawsuit charging that Wisconsin's voter ID law is unconstitutional and will deprive citizens of their basic right to vote. The lawsuit is the only active federal challenge against a voter ID law, the most common type of legislation that is part of a nationwide attack on the right to vote.
"This lawsuit is the opening act in what will be a long struggle to undo the damage done to the right to vote by strict photo ID laws and other voter suppression measures," said Jon Sherman, an attorney with the ACLU Voting Rights Project. "Across the nation, legislators are robbing countless American citizens of their fundamental right to vote, and in the process, undermining the very legitimacy of our democracy. We intend to redirect their attention to the Constitution."
The complaint says that allowing only certain types of photo ID imposes a severe burden on the right to vote in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. It also states that the law violates the 24th and 14th amendments because it effectively imposes an unconstitutional poll tax. The lawsuit was filed the same day that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was scheduled to speak about the importance of ensuring equal access to the ballot box.
"The state of Wisconsin has created a voter ID system that is making it very hard or impossible for residents to exercise their cherished right to vote," said Larry Dupuis, legal director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. "Countless Wisconsin residents, including veterans, minority voters and seniors who have been voting for decades, will be turned away from the polls under this law's restrictive photo ID requirements. Our lawsuit aims to block this unconstitutional law so that Wisconsin can continue its proud tradition of high participation in elections."
The law will also have a severe impact on homeless voters, many of whom do not have photo identification.
"Protecting homeless persons' right to vote is crucial, since voting is one of the few ways that homeless individuals can impact the political process and make their voices heard," said Heather Johnson, civil rights attorney at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. "By limiting participation to Wisconsin residents with photo identification, this law effectively silences homeless persons' voices. With homelessness rising by 12 percent in Wisconsin since the recession began, we cannot allow the state to set this dangerous and unconscionable precedent."
The ACLU and the Law Center filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of 17 eligible Wisconsin voters who may not be able to vote under the law. They include:
- Ruthelle Frank, 84, of Brokaw, who does not have a birth certificate. When she was born at home in 1927, her mother recorded her birth in the family Bible. Under Wisconsin's law, she is unable to obtain an ID needed to vote. She herself is an elected official, having served on her village board since 1996.
"I have exercised my right to vote in every election since 1948," Frank said. "I should not suddenly be barred from voting just because I don't believe in paying for identification in order to vote. That's like a poll tax and sends this country back decades ago when it comes to civil rights."
- Carl Ellis, 52, is a U.S. Army veteran living in a homeless shelter in Milwaukee. His only photo ID is a veteran ID card, which is not accepted under the law.
"If I can serve my country, I should be able to vote for who runs it," Ellis said. "Veterans and others who do not have a certain type of photo ID should not be kept from voting. These laws are undemocratic and un-American."
- Anthony Sharp, 19, is an African-American Milwaukee resident who does not have any of the accepted forms of photo ID under the law. Sharp, who lives with his family, does not have income needed to purchase a $20 certified copy of his birth certificate in order to vote.
"You shouldn't have to pay all this money to be able to vote," he said. "I'm a citizen and was excited about voting, but I don't have the money to pay for all these documents. Every American must be able to vote, not just those who can afford to get an ID."
The 2011 Wisconsin Act 23 was signed into law May 25 and is effective starting with the state's primary in February. Under the law, Wisconsin voters will need to present a certain type of photo ID, which many eligible voters do not have. Many photo ID alternatives are excluded. For example, the law does not allow technical college and veteran ID cards. More than 380,000 students are in Wisconsin's technical college system, and over 15 percent of them are minorities.
Voter suppression laws disproportionately affect minorities, the elderly, students, people with disabilities, and low-income and homeless voters. In addition to Wisconsin, six other states recently passed voter ID laws: Alabama, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Other voter suppression measures that have been enacted nationwide include limiting the early voting period, eliminating same-day or Election Day registration, and restrictions on those who help register people to vote.
The ACLU has also submitted comment letters to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding discriminatory voting laws in South Carolina and Texas and has intervened in court cases in which North Carolina and Alabama are challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. The ACLU also filed motions to intervene in similar cases filed by Arizona and Georgia.
Attorneys on the case include Jon Sherman, Laughlin McDonald and Nancy Abudu of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, Larry Dupuis and Karyn Rotker of the ACLU of Wisconsin and Heather Johnson and Karen Cunningham of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.
To read a copy of the complaint, go to: www.aclu.org/voting-rights/frank-v-walker-complaint
For more information about voter suppression, including a video of Frank, go to:
www.aclu.org/voter-suppression-america
