Equal Citizens

Equal Citizens is an American non-profit, non-partisan group that is "dedicated to reforms that will achieve citizen equality".[1] It was founded in late 2016 by Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig to continue the effort to bring about the set of reforms he proposed during his 2016 presidential campaign. Notably, as its inaugural campaign, the group launched "Electors Trust" immediately after the 2016 general election. They did this to provide free and strictly confidential legal support to any elector who wished to vote their conscience. Working together with several other groups, such as the Hamilton Electors and celebrities, the campaign resulted in the largest number of "faithless" electoral votes ever cast in a single presidential election.[2]

Equal Citizens
Formation2016
FounderLawrence Lessig
PurposePromote citizen equality and reform institutions that currently defeat that equality
Location
MethodsLitigation and advocacy
Executive Director
Phoebe Wong
Charles Kolb, Celinda Lake, Lawrence Lessig, Richard Painter, Robert Reich
Websitewww.equalcitizens.us

Equal Citizens is currently in the midst of multiple high-profile legal cases across the U.S. that engage within several reform areas, ranging from altering the campaign finance system with litigation to end super PACs, to amending the presidential election system with litigation that challenges the winner-take-all system of the Electoral College.

History

In August 2015, Lawrence Lessig announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Lessig described his candidacy as a referendum on campaign finance reform and electoral reform legislation and stated that, if elected, he would serve as president with these proposed reforms as legislative priorities. Specifically, the main focus of Lessig's presidency would be to pass the Citizen Equality Act which has three main objectives: (1) Equal right to vote, which includes implementing automatic voter registration and moving voting days to a national holiday; (2) equal representation, achieved through the passage of the Fair Representation Act; and (3) citizen funded elections, or public financing of congressional elections. In November 2015, Lessig ended his presidential campaign, and created Equal Citizens from the campaign infrastructure. Equal Citizens serves as the operational hub for accomplishing the reforms proposed in the Citizen Equality Act.

Organizational overview

The group comprises two sister organizations: EqualCitizens.US, a 501(c)(4) organization, and Equal Citizens Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. EqualCitizens.US carries out grassroots advocacy campaigns, while the Equal Citizens Foundation focuses on educational and litigation projects. Both organizations aim to achieve the same mission of citizen equality.

Leadership

Lessig is the founder and president of Equal Citizens.

The following individuals serve as the Board of Directors of Equal Citizens Foundation:

Charles Kolb (2018–present), President and CEO of DisruptDC

Celinda Lake (2018–present), President of Lake Research Partners

Lawrence Lessig (2018–present), Professor at Harvard Law School

Richard Painter (2018–present), Law Professor at the University of Minnesota, US Senate Candidate

Robert Reich (2018–present), Professor at UC Berkeley, former US Secretary of Labor

Funding

Funding for Equal Citizens comes from small-dollar online donations and grants from philanthropic foundations. Equal Citizens does not accept funds from governments, intergovernmental organizations, political parties, or corporations.

In September 2017, Equal Citizens launched a 30-day crowdfunding campaign to fund their litigation to challenge winner-take-all in the Electoral College. In those 30 days, over 35,000 people signed up, over 5,000 people donated, and the crowdfunding goal of $250,000 was met several days before the deadline.[3]

Issue areas

Equal Citizens' mission is to "end the corruption of our representative democracy by restoring the core promise of citizen equality in our Constitution".

The group has four main issue areas:[4]

  • Equal Representation: citizens should be represented equally in elections through reforming the Electoral College and ending gerrymandering.
  • Equal Dependence: representatives should depend on citizens equally by limiting the role of big money in politics and restricting the revolving door between government and lobbyists.
  • Equal Freedom to Vote: citizens should have the same opportunity to vote by ensuring equal access to the voting for all citizens.
  • Equal Access to Culture: citizens should have equal access to culture by reforming copyright laws that undermine public access to culture and defend net neutrality.

Litigation

In 2017, Equal Citizens launched three high-profile litigation projects that sought to reform the Electoral College and campaign finance. The three litigation projects are currently being processed in different levels of the federal court system.

Equal votes

Equal Votes is a legal challenge to the constitutionality of a state's ability to allocate their electoral votes in a winner-take-all basis.[5] Lessig argues that based on the "one person, one vote" principle already articulated by the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore, the winner-take-all system is unconstitutional—it is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause that ensures all votes must be treated equally under the law.[6] By allocating their Electoral College votes according to winner-take-all, Equal Citizens believes states effectively discard the votes of United States citizens in the vote for president.

The Equal Votes litigation team is led by Bush v. Gore lawyer David Boies and includes attorneys from distinguished law firms across the country such as Alston & Bird and Steptoe & Johnson. The litigation strategy advisory team includes former White House chief ethics lawyer Richard Painter, NYU Professor of Constitutional Law Samuel Issacharoff, and Duke Law Professor Guy-Uriel Charles.

In September 2017, Equal Citizens launched a 30-day crowdfunding campaign to raise $250,000 to fund the beginning stages of the Equal Votes project, and succeeded in meeting the funding goal before the deadline.[7] During the campaign, the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner volunteered to lead the litigation pro bono.[8]

On February 21, 2018, under the leadership of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, the litigation team filed four lawsuits in four states — California, Texas, Massachusetts, and South Carolina — on behalf of a diverse group of Democrats and Republicans whose votes for president do not matter in the general election under the winner-take-all system. All four cases raise constitutional claims grounded in the 14th and 1st Amendments. In addition, the suits in Texas and South Carolina claim the present system violates the Voting Rights Act by disenfranchising minority voters.[9] Lessig said that he hopes one of the four cases will get to the Supreme Court "before too far into the 2020 presidential cycle".[10]

Equal Electors
Further information: Chiafalo v. Washington
See also: Faithless electors in the 2016 United States presidential election

In the 2016 United States presidential election, ten electors voted or attempted to vote contrary to their pledges in the Electoral College. In Washington state, three electors were each fined $1,000 for their vote, and in Colorado, one elector was removed and two others were threatened for breaking their pledge. In 2017, Equal Citizens filed the case Baca v. Colorado Department of State[11] on behalf of three electors in Colorado and Guerra v. Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings[12] on behalf of the three electors who were fined by Washington State.

In explaining the litigation, Equal Citizens' chief counsel Jason Harrow argued that "the framers of the Constitution intended presidential electors to be able to exercise independent judgment in casting their votes for president of the United States".[13] In March 2017, an administrative law judge rejected the arguments of the Washington plaintiffs. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy later denied their claim in December 2017.[14] After the ruling, Harrow said that Murphy's decision did not affect Equal Citizens' goal of eventually taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.[15] The Washington Supreme Court later upheld the fines. In April 2018, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Wiley Y. Daniel rejected the Colorado plaintiffs' case, declaring that they lacked standing.[16][17] Equal Citizens appealed the judge's decision,[18] and a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled 2–1 in favor of the electors, finding that the Colorado's faithless elector law is unconstitutional.[19] The Washington electors further appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, while Colorado also appealed the decision of the Tenth Circuit. On January 17, 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to hear both cases during the 2019–2020 term.[20] On July 6, 2020, the Court ruled unanimously against the electors, deciding that states have the power to force electors to follow the state's popular vote.[21][22] Lessig said following the decision:[23]

When we launched these cases, we did it because regardless of the outcome, it was critical to resolve this question before it created a constitutional crisis. We have achieved that. Obviously, we don't believe the Court has interpreted the constitution correctly. But we are happy that we have achieved our primary objective — this uncertainty has been removed. That is progress.

End Super PACs

Alaskan law limits contributions to independent political groups.[24] But these limits are no longer enforced because of a federal court decision, SpeechNOW.org v. FEC. Alaska, however, permits residents to file a lawsuit if the state election management body, the Alaska Public Offices Commission, is not enforcing its election law. Under these rules, on January 31, 2018, Equal Citizens brought a complaint on behalf of three Alaska citizens, including James Barnett, a former Anchorage municipal politician, claiming the Alaska Public Offices Commission did not enforce the law by letting two Alaskan super PACs accept contributions greater than the amount stipulated by Alaska law.[25] The two super PACs involved are Interior Voters for John Coghill, an outside group that supported the election of Republican state Senate majority leader John Coghill, and Working Families of Alaska.[26] The goal is to relitigate the federal court decision SpeechNOW.org v. FEC that created the legal entity of super PACs.[27]

Campaigns

Elector’s Trust

In December 2016 Lawrence Lessig, Mark Lemley, and Michael Hawley established The Electors Trust with the backing of Equal Citizens, to provide pro bono legal counsel and a secure, anonymous communications platform for the 538 members of the United States Electoral College who could potentially become faithless electors to prevent the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.[28][29] The goal of the organization was also to help electors determine whether there was sufficient support to prevent Donald Trump's election.[30] In December 2016, Lessig claimed that there were between 20 and 30 Republican electors considering voting against Trump.[31]

The Electors Trust offered counsel through California law firm Durie Tangri.[32] On December 15, 2016, Lessig told reporters that The Electors Trust had spent $20,000 for security for its lawyers due to threats from Trump supporters.[33]

Lessig and The Electors Trust represented Christopher Suprun, an elector from Texas, who announced he would vote against Donald Trump regardless of how his state voted.[34]

Working together with several other groups such as the Hamilton Electors as well as celebrities, the campaign resulted in the most number of "faithless" electoral votes ever cast in a single presidential election.[2]

Amending the CLASSICS Act

In June 2018, Equal Citizens launched an advocacy campaign partnered with Demand Progress, the EFF, Public Knowledge, and the Internet Archive to pressure Congress to change provisions in the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act (The CLASSICS Act).[35] Their main demand, articulated in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, was to add a registration requirement to any copyright extension, so as to allow unregistered works to pass into the public domain.[36]

Creative Democracy Contest

In May 2018, Equal Citizens, in partnership with musician Bassnectar and the electronic music festival Electric Forest, launched the Creative Democracy Contest, in which online users could enter art depicting facts about American democracy for prizes.[37] Judges for the contest included Lawrence Lessig, actress Bridgit Mendler, and artist Sebastian Wahl.[38]

References
  1. "Equal Citizens". Equal Citizens. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. Cheney, Kyle. "Electoral College sees record-breaking defections". Politico.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. "Track Progress - Equal Votes: A Legal Challenge to Winner-Take-All Allocation of Electoral Votes". equalvotes.us. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. "About Equal Citizens". Equalcitizens.us. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  5. Williams, Joseph P. (February 28, 2018). "A Quest to Make Every Vote Count". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  6. Lessig (4 December 2016). "The Equal Protection argument against "winner take all" in the Electoral College". Medium.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  7. "Election Reform: Attacking with Today's Tools - CommPRO.biz". Commpro.biz. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  8. Todd, Ross (21 February 2018). "Boies-Led Coalition Challenges "Winner-Take-All" Method of Electoral College - The Recorder". Law.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  9. Calkins, Laurel Brubaker (21 February 2018). "Winner-Take-All Electoral Practice Faces Voter-Rights Challenge". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  10. Sullivan, Mark (1 March 2018). "Why The U.S. Electoral System Will Keep Giving Us Unpopular Presidents". Fastcompany.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  11. "MICHEAL BACA, POLLY BACA and ROBERT NEMANICH, Plaintiffs v. COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Defendant" (PDF). Equalcitizens.us. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  12. "Petitioners Opening Brief" (PDF). Equalcitizens.us. 24 October 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  13. "Colorado Electoral College reps told to follow popular vote". Apnews.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  14. "Rogue electors are undeterred by their latest legal setback". HeraldNet.com. 25 December 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  15. "Fine upheld for 'faithless elector'". Columbiabasinherald.com. 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  16. "Federal judge tosses "faithless" presidential elector lawsuit against Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams". Denverpost.com. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  17. "Judge Rules Members of Electoral College Must Follow Popular Vote". Freebeacon.com. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  18. "Opening Brief" (PDF). Equalcitizens.us. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  19. "The Colorado Sun". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  20. Williams, Pete (January 17, 2020). "'Faithless elector': Supreme Court will hear case that could change how presidents are chosen". NBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  21. de Vogue, Ariana; Duster, Chandelis (July 6, 2020). "Supreme Court says states can punish Electoral College voters". CNN. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  22. Chiafalo et al. v. Washington.Text
  23. Lessig, Lawrence. "Equal Citizens". twitter.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  24. "Alaska Statutes Title 15. Elections § 15.13.070 - FindLaw". Codes.findlaw.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  25. "Complaint Barnett v Interior Voters for John Coghill and Working Families" (PDF). Equalcitizens.us. 31 January 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  26. "End Super PACs". Equalcitizens.us. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  27. Borher, Becky (February 7, 2018). "Group Picks Alaska to Challenge Unlimited Campaign Donations". AP News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  28. "How a Group of Lawyers Is Helping "Faithless Electors" Vote Their Conscience (Q&A)". Hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  29. "Lessig: 20 Trump electors could flip". Politico.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  30. D'Angelo, Chris (6 December 2016). "Republican Elector Vows To Vote Against Donald Trump". Huff Post. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  31. "More GOP electors are open to dumping Trump, Electors Trust organizer says". Thinkprogress.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  32. "Lawyers offer free support to electors who want to oppose Trump". Theweek.com. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  33. "Elector who promised to vote against Trump receives death and rape threats". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  34. "Meet the Republican Elector Who Is Refusing to Vote for Trump". Democracynow.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  35. "Advocacy groups knock 'unjust' copyright-extending CLASSICS Act". Techcrunch.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  36. "Equal Access: The CLASSICS Act". Equalcitizens.us. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  37. "Bassnectar - Reflective 3 - Aug 24". Bassnectar.net. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  38. "Creative Democracy Contest & Sweepstakes". Equalcitizens.us. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
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