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Advocacy Blog
Friday, June 13, 2008
VA's Ban on Voter Registration Drives Questioned in Court
According to an Alternet article, an attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), "told a federal appeals court Thursday that the VA could not conceive of any circumstance where voter registration drives could occur at its facilities." For the most part the atrocious decision to ban registration drives at VA facilities has largely been absent from major newspapers, but the New York Times has now covered the recent federal appeals court hearing.
An appeals court this week (June 12) considered whether restrictions on voter registration drives at the VA's campus in Menlo Park, CA are unconstitutional. The court is revisiting the question of whether Steve Preminger, chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee has standing to question the constitutionality of the VA's policy.
According to the Alternet article, Owen Martikan, assistant U.S. attorney representing the VA said "voter registration drives would interfere with patient medical care and also violate the federal Hatch Act, which limits federal employees from participating in political campaign activities." However, veterans are not federal employees.
In May, the department took the broader step of issuing a ban on all outside groups from registration drives on its properties. Scott Rafferty, a lawyer representing Preminger, said "Just because veterans live on these campuses does not mean they should be deprived of the rights of free association and free speech."
Posted by Amanda Adams
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