RECLAIMING DEMOCRACY

How Engagement, Public Financing, and Automatic

Registration Can Increase Turnout and Decrease the

Influence of Big Money in Politics

PANELISTS

S. Nadia Hussain Wendy Martinez Benjamin Brickner Flavio Komuves

Program Coordinator President and CEO Counsel Associate

Agenda

• ETHNIC COMMUNITIES OUTREACH• Youth and Asian American Communities Voter Engagement

• Latino Community Voter Engagement

• CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM• The State of Money in Politics (is dismal)

• The Supreme Court (is not helping)

• Public Financing Programs (can help)

• “THE DEMOCRACY ACT”• Removing Barriers to Participation

• Audience Q & A

ETHNIC COMMUNITIES

OUTREACH

Youth and Asian American

Voter Engagement

S. Nadia Hussain

Who are these “Youth Voters”?

• Youth Voters? 18-29,

Millennials? 18-33

• Millennials make up the largest

share of the U.S. population,

at 28.7 percent.

• Forty-three percent of millennial adults are nonwhite, the most of any current or previous generation. (Pew Research).

• By 2020, according to a Brookings Institution analysis, 1 in 3 adults will be a millennial.

• "They are relatively unattached to organized politics and

religion, linked by social media, burdened by debt,

distrustful of people, in no rush to marry — and optimistic

about the future.” (Pew Research)

• The survey showed that 50 percent of Millennials describe

themselves as political independents, up from 38 percent

in 2004. Meanwhile, 27 percent identify as Democrats and

17 percent as Republicans.

Where’s the vote?

• Barriers to voting

• Voter ID laws

• Early Voting

• College Campus Voting Infrastructure

• Apathy*

• 10 million young people went to the polls in Fall 2014 election— a

youth turnout rate of 21.5%. In 2010, the two-day youth turnout

estimate was 20.9%, or around 9.2 million young people.

(CIRCLE).

• Young people vote at lower rates in local elections than any other

age group.

So….now what?

• Issues, issues, issues!

• Think local

• Initiating a spark for civic engagement

• Civic curriculums in HS

• Breaking down barriers to the vote• Democracy Act

• Early Voting

• Voting online

Asian American Youth Vote

The Asian American Vote

• Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in

America (as a percentage).

• Lowest Turnout of ANY ethnic group

• Most diverse ethnic umbrella, 23 main categories.

API’s in NJ

• New Jersey is home to 855,000 AAPIs, making up about

9% of the state (APIA Vote)

• From 2000 to 2010, the AAPI citizen voting age

population in NJ grew by 62%. (APIA Vote)

• Largest AAPI ethnic groups in NJ include: Indian

(311,000), Chinese (150,000), Filipino (131,000), Korean

(101, 000), Vietnamese (34,000), and Pakistani (23,000).

(APIA Vote)

• NJ has one of the highest API population in the US along

with Hawaii, California and NY. (US Census)

Engaging the API Vote

• Outreach, outreach outreach

• Language specific

• Connecting w/ community leaders

• Ex. Bangladeshi community in Paterson, NJ Muslim American Votes

• Ethnic Media

• Grassroots & Individual contact

• GOTV & Voter Education

• Connecting issues to Votes• About 84,000 Asian Americans in NJ

(26%) lack access to health insurance.

• About 46,000 Asian Americans

In NJ live in Poverty

Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Benjamin Brickner

Nationwide Trends

• Super PACs raised $700

million in 2014

• “Only” $90 million in 2010

• The top 100 donors gave 60% raised

by Super PACs in 2014

• Since Citizens United, more than $600 million

in “dark money” spending (that we know of . . .)

New Jersey Trends

• Recent ELEC report –

• Spending by candidates and political parties

has changed little since 2001

• Outside spending – super PACs and “dark money”

groups – increased from $6.7 million in 2001 to

$39 million in 2013

• At federal level, almost half of outside

spending is undisclosed. Same is likely

true in New Jersey

• Due to gerrymandering, political parties retain

significant control at the nomination stage

Affluence and Influence

The American government does respond to the

public’s preferences, but that responsiveness is

strongly tilted toward the most affluent citizens.

Indeed, under most circumstances, the preferences

of the vast majority of Americans have essentially

no impact on which policies the government does

or doesn’t adopt.

~ Martin Gilens

Princeton University Professor of Politics

First Amendmentand the U.S. Supreme Court

• 1976 – Spending cannot be limited.

Contributions can be limited only to

prevent corruption. Political equality is

“wholly foreign” to the First Amendment

• Since 2006 – Corporate spending bans,

low contribution limits, aggregate

contribution limits and rules used to make

public financing work have all been struck down

• 2014 – The only “corruption” that can be regulated

is quid pro quo corruption (effectively bribery)

Public Financing Programs

• Full Public Financing

• Small Donor Public Financing

Full Public Financing“Clean Elections”

• Participation is voluntary

• Candidates qualify by raising small amounts from a large

number of contributors

• Qualifying receive block grants and agree to not raise

private funds

NJ Clean Elections “Pilot Projects”

• Limited “pilot projects” in 2005 and 2007

(legislature did not renew for 2009)

• Modelled after Maine and Arizona’s

programs, but poorly implemented

• Very limited data (only tried in 2

districts in 2005; 3 districts in 2007)

• 2008 and 2011 Supreme Court

decisions make implementing Clean

Elections more difficult

New York CityCampaign Finance Program

• Participation is voluntary

• But 9 out of 10 NYC candidates participate

• Candidates qualify by raising small amounts from a large

number of contributors who live in NYC

• For mayor: $250,000 from 1,000 contributors ($175 increments)

• For qualifying participants:

• 6-to-1 match for first $175 of each contribution, up to maximum

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

0 500 1000 1500 2000

New York CitySmall Donor Incentive

Actual Amount Contributed

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City

Council

New York CityNumber of Small Donors

State

Assembly

State

Assembly

City

Council

New York CityNumber of Small Donors (Bed-Stuy Neighborhood)

Brennan Center ReportDonor Diversity through Public Matching Funds

Presented to the

League of Women Voters of New Jersey

October 10, 2015

Flavio L. Komuves, Esq.

Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman

The Democracy Act (A4613/S50)

Has 34 prime or c0-sponsors

Passed the Assembly 45-31-3 on June 25, 2015

Passed the Senate 24-16 on June 29, 2015

Current Status: Awaiting gubernatorial action

Key topics of the Democracy Act

• Real early voting in NJ

• Online/MVC Registration opportunities

• Ease youth voter registration

• Promote vote-by-mail

• Define and prohibit deceptive voting practices

• Other reforms

Early voting

• Applies to all general elections, and to those municipal (May)elections where the governing body opts to have it.

• Begins the 15th day before the election and ends the day before.

• Does not apply to primary or other elections.

• There will be 3, 5 or 7 early voting sites per county depending on the number of voters in the county. Precise locations must account for concentrations of population and “access in various geographic areas.” Replaces practice of having to go to county seat during business hours to vote early.

• Dates and hours of early voting are uniform statewide.

• Schools may not be used as early voting sites.

Online/MVC registration

• Enhances the registration process of eligible voters when they apply for a driver’s license (DL) or nondriver ID card by making registration “automatic.”

• Those registered this way may “decline” the automatic registration within 21 days.

• Allows unregistered holders of driver’s licenses or nondriver ID cards to register to vote online and use their DL signature as the authenticating signature.

• Those who do not hold a DL or a nondriver ID card can complete the online process, signing with a touchpad or uploading a signature image, but will probably have to produce identification when voting the first time.

Youth voter registration

• Any 17-year old can submit a voter registration form, and can vote once her or she has turned 18.

• Expands current law, where the 17-year old must be 18 by the next election in order to submit the registration form.

• Maintains public and private high schools’ obligation to hold annual voter drive and voter education program (N.J.S.A. 18A:36-27).

Voting by mail

• Voters can currently request mail ballots for all elections for a calendar year, or for all future general elections. The Democracy Act gives another option: mail ballots for all future elections indefinitely.

• Requires counties to provide postage prepaid envelopes for return of ballots, making uniform the current practices which can vary by county and election.

• Recipient of mail ballot can surrender it to poll workers and vote in the machine on election day instead of having to vote provisionally.

Deceptive voting practices

Bans deceptive voting practices --

the knowing provision of false information to any other person or political party regarding the time, place, or manner of conducting any election in this State or the qualifications for or restrictions on voter, candidate, or petition signer eligibility for any election in this State; or the use or attempted use of intimidation, threats, or coercion to prevent potential voters from registering to vote or to prevent voters or potential voters from casting a free and secret ballot in any election in this State.

regardless of location, intent, or effect.

Deceptive voting practices (continued)

• Democracy Act also bans conspiracies to commit deceptive voting practices, counseling, aiding, or abetting them, or concealing or misleading about who is responsible for them.

• Also bans directing or authorizing the unlawful removal or defacement of physical signs or election websites.

• It applies to and protects individuals and entities including political parties and political organizations.

• Violation is a 3rd degree crime.

Other provisions

• Reforms the way Senatorial and Congressional vacancies are filled.

• Eases civilian and military overseas voting.

• Creates statewide office of accessible elections.

• Expands instances where multilingual ballots and ballot information has to be provided (was generally 10% of registered voters with Spanish as their “primary language”; now generally 5% of any language being “primary”).

• Eases requirements on plaintiff in election contests including challenges based on ineligible voters voting, eligible voters turned away (whether on fraud-based grounds or not), or malconduct or fraud of election officials.

Other provisions (continued)

• Provides for after-election report on “voter fraud” allegations.

• The report, however, is not required to include content on other election irregularities such as ineligible voters voting without fraudulent intent, eligible voters wrongfully turned away, deceptive voting practices, or wrongful acts (fraudulent or otherwise) by election officials.

What’s not in the Democracy Act?

• Same-day or election-day registration (EDR) (generally associated with higher turnout rates) or reduction in 21-day registration deadline.

• No change of the rules on disqualification of prisoners, parolees, or probationers (disqualification of about 99,000 people as of 11/2014).

• Campaign finance or pay-to-play.

• Ranked choice/Instant runoff voting.

• Voting machine reform.

• Codification of emergency/disaster planning.

• Due process rights of voters whose mail or provisional ballots are not counted.

Next steps

• Gov. Christie decides whether to sign or veto the bill.

• He has expressed hostility to the Act’s easing of barriers to allowing eligible voters to register: “Is it really too much to ask someone to fill out a form?”*

• He is skeptical whether there are really obstacles to ballot access. Voters may have decided "there's nothing on the ballot they want to vote for.”*

• Voter turnout as measured by voter-eligible population (VEP) as opposed to registered voters:

• in 2013 gubernatorial election: ~35 percent of VEP• in 2014 congressional election: ~33 percent of VEP• In 2015 legislative election: ?????

* Cite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/09/chris-christie-new-jersey_n_7761708.html

Next steps (continued)

• Urge governor to sign legislation.

• Be on the lookout for a possible proposal to put key terms of the Democracy Act on the ballot in the 2016 general election as a constitutional amendment.

• Urge your legislators to support the referendum if it materializes.

Q&A & DISCUSSION