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For Immediate Release
January, 06 2010, 11:28am EDT
Contact:
Ari Savitzky, FairVote Rhode Island - ari.savitzky@gmail.com / 401-529-3982
Paul Fidalgo, FairVote communications director - paul@fairvote.org / 301-270-4616
Rhode Island Legislature Overrides Electoral Reform Vetoes
FairVote Catalyst for Major Wins for Youth Pre-registration, Elections for U.S. Senate Vacancies
WASHINGTON
The Rhode Island State Senate and House of Representatives yesterday
voted to override two gubernatorial vetoes of landmark electoral reform
legislation, thereby enacting FairVote-initiated measures allowing
voter pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds and mandating popular
elections to fill all U.S. Senate vacancies.
FairVote,
a nonpartisan think tank devoted to improving American elections, has
been a leader in the drive to bring these reforms to Rhode Island
through the efforts of its state affiliate, FairVote Rhode Island. In
2006, FairVote was the key catalyst for the advance registration
legislation, working closely with prime sponsor Rep. Edwin Pacheco. The
bill (S 0085/H 5005) will allow 16 and 17-year-old Rhode Island
citizens to "pre-register" to vote, automatically adding them to the
rolls for the first election for which they are eligible. Starting in
2006, this measure easily passed both houses of the Rhode Island
legislature four times with bipartisan support, only to inexplicably
face Gov. Donald Carcieri's veto pen each time.
FairVote this year helped usher in legislation introduced by Rep.
Christopher Fierro and Sen. Paul Jabour mandating special elections for
the filling of vacated U.S. Senate seats (S 0201/H 5094), the need for
which became alarmingly apparent in the wake of controversies and
scandals surrounding governor-appointed senators after the 2008
election. Rhode Island's own David Segal, a FairVote analyst, testified in 2009
before the U.S. Senate on behalf of a constitutional amendment
mandating Senate vacancy elections backed by leading Republicans and
Democrats, including Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI),
while Connecticut's Republican governor Jodi Rell signed legislation
passed out of the Democratically-controlled legislature last year,
though Gov. Carcieri rejected a similar bill that had once again
passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support.
Both vetoes were easily overturned by both houses of the Rhode Island legislature Tuesday.
"We are proud to have helped lay the groundwork for today's important
victories," said Rob Richie, elections expert and FairVote executive
director. "With the good will and strong advocacy provided over the
years by FairVote and like-minded reformers-such as the leadership of
both houses, Reps. Edwin Pacheco and Christopher Fierro, Sens. Paul
Jabour and Rhoda Perry, and Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis-Rhode
Island voters will now have expanded access for its newest voters and
the final word about who represents them in the U.S. Senate. This is a
good day for democracy in Rhode Island - and the nation."
Tuesday's events in Providence are the latest in a major nationwide
sweep of pro-democracy reforms backed by FairVote. Youth
pre-registration measures have gained enormous ground all across the
country, with new legislation recently passed in several states. In
2009, FairVote worked closely with Democracy North Carolina to build a
bipartisan legislative majority in support of pre-registration for
16-year-olds in that state, which also included a significant civics
education component. Also in 2009, with the signature of Republican
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California enacted a 17-year-old
pre-registration measure- an effort led by FairVote ally the New
America Foundation. The District of Columbia recently passed sweeping
election reform legislation which included pre-registration measures,
which was supported by testimony
to the DC City Council from FairVote's Adam Fogel. In 2008, FairVote
helped bring about pre-registration legislation in Florida that was
supported by both a Republican governor and Republican legislative
majority.
Meanwhile, several other
states are either in the process of passing or considering similar
bills, all with FairVote as a crucial source of research and support,
and congressional legislation is anticipated to support the idea
nationally. Commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a new report by
George Mason University professor Michael McDonald found that voter
pre-registration in Hawaii and Florida has a direct impact on youth
registration and participation when accompanied by civic education
initiatives at schools and government agencies.
FairVote has also been at the forefront of the movement to mandate
special elections for filling U.S. Senate vacancies in the same manner
that U.S. House vacancies are required to be filled: by election of the
people. David Segal's commentary on this issue has appeared in the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, and just weeks before last year's win in Connecticut, the Hartford Courant, and Rob Richie's commentary was published in the Miami Herald.
FairVote acts to transform our elections to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all. As a catalyst for change, we build support for innovative strategies to win a constitutionally protected right to vote, universal voter registration, a national popular vote for president, instant runoff voting and proportional representation.
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That revelation came as The Washington Post reported Friday night that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) "to hold off on any enforcement action" against the first-term New York Republican "as prosecutors conduct a parallel criminal probe, according to two people familiar with the request."
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During Santos' first run for Congress, only about 45 people maxed out to his campaign during the primary and general elections. In nine instances, Mother Jones found no way to contact the donor because no person by that name now lives at the address listed on the reports the Santos campaign filed with the FEC. None had ever contributed to a candidate before sending Santos the maximum amount allowed, according to FEC records. Nor have any of these donors contributed since. The Santos campaign's filings list the profession of each of these donors as "retired."
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Another suspicious donation was attributed to a woman who shares the name of a New York doctor who has made dozens of donations to Democrats. The Manhattan address listed for this donation does not exist. The doctor did not respond to a request for comment.
The outlet noted that "Santos did not respond to a detailed list of questions Mother Jones sent to his lawyer and his congressional office that included names of donors whose identities could not be verified."
Highlighting the report on Twitter Saturday, Brendan R. Quinn of the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) shared a "general reminder (that is apparently needed) that it is illegal to donate money using a false name or the name of someone else."
\u201cThis violates campaign finance laws & harms democracy. The integrity of the electoral process depends on transparent public disclosure of who is spending money on elections. \n\nLearn more about this issue and what @CampaignLegal is doing you fight it, here: https://t.co/c2cPn2OpkH\u201d— Brendan R. Quinn (@Brendan R. Quinn) 1674915720
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The Post on Friday framed the DOJ Public Integrity Section's request that the FEC refrain from taking action against the congressman and turn over any relevant documents as "the clearest sign to date that federal prosecutors are examining Santos' campaign finances."
As the newspaper explained:
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'Just the Next Step' Toward Justice for Tyre Nichols: Memphis Police Shutter SCORPION Unit
Attorneys for Nichols' family called the move "appropriate and proportional" in response to his death and urged other cities to follow suit but also stressed that "misconduct is not restricted to these specialty units."
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The family of Tyre Nichols and others appalled by his death—for which five fired Memphis cops now face murder charges—welcomed the police department's decision on Saturday to disband a unit created in 2021 to patrol high-crime areas.
The move came a day after the Tennessee city put out videos of the former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith—brutally beating Nichols following a traffic stop on January 7. The 29-year-old Black man was hospitalized and died three days later from cardiac arrest and kidney failure.
The MPD's Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods (SCORPION) Unit hasn't been active since Nichols' January 10 death, according to the mayor. The five ex-officers, who are all Black, were part of the unit and on assignment with it when they pulled over Nichols, police spokesperson Maj. Karen Rudolph confirmed to multiple news outlets on Saturday.
In public comments leading up to the footage being released Friday night—which sparked nationwide peaceful protests—Nichols' family along with Memphis residents and people across the United States called for the unit to be shut down.
The MPD said in a statement that members of the unit met with Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis on Saturday "to discuss the path forward for the department and the community in the aftermath of the tragic death of Tyre Nichols."
"In the process of listening intently to the family of Tyre Nichols, community leaders, and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit," the statement continued. "The officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with this next step."
\u201cBig. \n\nMemphis Police have shut down the so-called SCORPION Unit. The officers that beat Tyre Nichols to death were all part of that unit. \n\nSeveral Memphis City Council members have called for it to be disbanded permanently.\u201d— Gabriel Elizondo (@Gabriel Elizondo) 1674942545
In response, attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said in a statement that "the Nichols family and their legal team find the decision to permanently disband this unit to be both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis."
"We hope that other cities take similar action with their saturation police units in the near future to begin to create greater trust in their communities," the pair added. "We must keep in mind that this is just the next step on this journey for justice and accountability, as clearly this misconduct is not restricted to these specialty units. It extends so much further."
Memphis City Council Member J.B. Smiley Jr. told the Commercial Appeal that shutting down the unit was "essential for the family" of Nichols, but "my ultimate concern is just, it may just be surface level," because "the police department has the ability to create other units and just call it something else."
Fellow Memphis City Council Member Patrice Robinson told CNN's Jim Acosta that "the community has a lot more questions and a lot more demands."
"We have gotten emails from many citizens in our community, they're all concerned and they're expressing exactly what they see and what they want to see in our police department," she said. "We really need to investigate and find out what's going on."
Rolling Stone reported on institutional changes that some locals want, according to Memphis organizer Amber Sherman:
They're calling for widespread reforms in the Memphis police: dissolving similar task forces in the city, ending the use of unmarked cars and plainclothes officers, and banning traffic stops without probable cause. All three help escalate police violence, Sherman tells Rolling Stone. "We can't just get rid of one of them. We have to do all three."
The SCORPION Unit was only 14 months old when it was disbanded. Founded in late 2021 during a rise in the city's murder rate, it was touted by local officials for its high number of arrests and a decline in violent crime, but locals say the unit quickly developed a reputation for its policing tactics. "Here in Memphis we call them the Jump-out Boys," Sherman says. "They're in unmarked cars, and they jump out of them and assault people."
Activists in Memphis emphasized that this type of policing is not a new phenomenon. "It's not just the SCORPION Unit. We've had these task forces for years," Sherman continues. "I'm born and raised here, in my 20s, and this has always been a practice."
National leaders also responded to the development on Saturday by warning that much more must still be done at all levels.
"This is what immediate action looks like in the face of crisis and traumatic events on behalf of a community," NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson declared of the department disbanding the unit, while also wondering why local leaders can "move to address the needs of the people faster than elected officials throughout the halls of Congress."
Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson tweeted: "This is good. And not enough. And we've seen this happen before only for these units to pop back up when the world isn't watching."
\u201cAs news spreads the Memphis PD will disband the murderous \u201cScorpion\u201d Unit, it is important to know that back in 2020 NYC disbanded its own \u201canti-crime\u201d unit responsible for shootings, brutality, & Eric Garner\u2019s murder. \n\nNYC Mayor Eric Adams revived & expanded the unit last year.\u201d— Scott Hechinger (@Scott Hechinger) 1674949043
"I must reiterate that this is not the win they want you to think it is. Cops have and will continue to be brutal despite not being in a cool 'special taskforce,'"
coder, organizer, and YouTuber Sean Wiggs warned.
Legal reform advocate Dyjuan Tatro similarly argued that "the problem with this statement is that the SCORPION Unit should have never existed. It's well documented that police special units are violent, reckless, and racist. Furthermore, the rest of the officers of this violent unit are still on the police force, armed and ready to kill."
Strategist and writer Jodi Jacobson
took issue with another element of the department's statement, telling the MPD: "It was NOT a 'tragic death.' It was murder at the hands of our department. What you say matters, and you clearly are not taking responsibility."
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