This one is by “Wright Talley,” ” the pen name of a long-time congressional employee.” Why is it that these arguments are being made anonymously? If they are credible arguments, let’s hear who is making them. (The most famous instance of an anonymous law review article is that of FEC Commissioner von Spakovksy, whom I identified as “Publius” last year.)
Speaking of groups speaking out against voter fraud laws, I just received this letter from a group called the “Lawyer Defense Fund” indicating the group’s intention to file an amicus brief supporting the state in the Crawford (Indiana voter id) case. (I filed an amicus brief supporting petitioners in the case. As an aside, under the new Supreme Court rules such a letter is only required when filing amicus support for a cert petition, not a brief on the merits.) I had not heard of the group, which the letter described simply as a “501(c)(4) non-profit organization.” A little googling led me to the Republican National Lawyers Association website, and in particular the RNLA President’s Message: “We will also be holding our 4th Annual Lawyer of the Year Reception this fall in Washington, D.C. Lastly, and importantly for our future, Harvey Tettlebaum, Craig Burkhardt, David Norcross and Kevin Hall are in the process of ramping up our new 501(c) 4 organization, Lawyers Democracy Fund, that will enable us to bring in additional resources to support our election integrity and other programs.”
I think it will be useful in reading this brief that it is authored by lawyers from the Republican National Lawyers Association (just as it is useful to know a brief is authored by lawyers from the ACLU, Brennan Center, or any other liberal organizations).