FAIR GAME
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12 FAIR GAME
SEVEN DAYS
07.19.17-07.26.17
SEVENDAYSVT.COM
Untitled-57 1
OPEN SEASON ON VERMONT POLITICS BY JOHN WALTERS
Fighting the Feds
ermont officials are preparing for a battle with President DONALD TRUMP’s election integrity commission. Last month, the panel sought extensive voter data from all secretaries of state. After the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit, the commission froze its request pending resolution in court. Secretary of State JIM CONDOS has called the commission “a sham” whose true aim is suppressing the vote. At first, Condos said he would turn | 802.878.2851 over the publicly available portion of the database: voters’ names, addresses 5/8/17 10:28 AMand records of participation in past elections. After a furious few days of constituent contacts and huddles with fellow Democratic officeholders, he backtracked a bit, saying that he would explore legal options for withholding all voter data. Now, Condos and Democratic Attorney General T.J. DONOVAN believe they have firm legal grounds for rejecting the commission’s request, citing two separate state laws. First is a requirement that those seeking the state voter list must sign an affidavit swearing that they will not use the data for any commercial purpose. If, as expected, the Trump commission creates an open database of all the information, “Nobody’s controlling it,” says Condos. “Any business could grab that info.” Second is the new state law aimed at countering Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The law bars state agencies from providing information for a federal database. “It was meant to protect immigrants, but it was written as a general measure,” notes Condos. Convenient, that. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are pondering legislation to further tighten access to voter information. “I have heard from a number of constituents who are very concerned,” says Rep. DYLAN GIAMBATISTA (D-Essex Junction). “My No. 1 priority is to ensure that when Vermonters register, they know their information will not be used against them to restrict voting rights.” Giambatista is one of a number of lawmakers to ask Legislative Council, the legal research and bill-drafting office, to “look at every option and put a good bill on the table that will make Vermonters confident with the registration process.” Of more immediate concern is the phenomenon of voters disenrolling for fear of having their information shared with the Trump commission. The
Denver Post recently reported that more than 3,000 Coloradans had removed their names from the rolls. Condos has no such figure for Vermont, but he doesn’t doubt it’s happened here. “We’ve had some people call our office,” says Condos. “We tell them they have to go to their town clerk. But we also tell them, ‘If you do this, the commission is getting its way.’” On the same day the Trump commission sent its letter, Condos received
IT’S BEEN A REAL TROUBLING TIME. S E C RE TARY OF S T AT E J I M C O ND O S
a second vote-related communication from the feds. This one came from the U.S. Department of Justice. It asks the states for their policies and procedures on maintaining voter lists — and purging those ineligible to vote. “Some of the information we can provide. Some of it we can’t, because it’s done at the local level,” says Condos. He infers that the DOJ is trolling for a pretext to conduct a systematic, nationwide purge. “DOJ doesn’t usually do blanket requests like this,” he says. “It’s been a real troubling time,” Condos concludes. He suspects the trouble is far from over.
C’mon, Big Money!
Vermont’s three members of Congress have some very healthy campaign bankrolls. Put together, Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), Sen. PATRICK LEAHY (DVt.) and Congressman PETER WELCH (DVt.) have more than $9 million in their Congressional campaign war chests. That’s according to the latest campaign finance reports, submitted to the Federal Election Commission July 15. (By contrast, Vermont’s statewide officeholders are decidedly small-fry. None of them have raised significant money this year, and only Donovan has a notable balance from 2016. His campaign fund was $121,000.) If this is meant as an obstacle to serious competition, it’s working. Sanders hasn’t had a close race since 1994, when he won reelection to the U.S. House by three percentage points. Welch’s last real contest was his first run for Congress in 2006, when he beat Republican MARTHA RAINVILLE by eight points. As for Leahy, the last time
he had anything approaching a scare was way back in 1992, when he beat then-state treasurer JIM DOUGLAS by 11 points. It’s difficult to see that changing anytime soon. There’s no sign the Vermont GOP will even try to compete with Sanders or Welch next year. (The party’s executive director, JEFF BARTLEY, did not respond to a request for comment.) As for Leahy, the only one likely to beat him is FATHER TIME. Sanders has the most cash of the three. After collecting $1.3 million last quarter, he’s now got $4.9 million in his senatorial campaign kitty. (His presidential campaign account contains another $5.2 million.) He’s been actively seeking donations to his senatorial fund, although he has yet to formally announce his candidacy. He’s also been spending big on his well-publicized travels across the country, maintaining his image and promoting his political movement. His campaign committee reported spending $34,000 on flights, $6,300 on lodging and $69,000 on “event planning” — including per-diem payments to local event organizers. That’s roughly $110,000 on out-of-state travel and expenses in three months. All covered, we should note, by his senatorial reelection fund. As in, you know, Vermont senator. Leahy and Welch are not as comfy as Sanders, but they’re doing quite well. Each has roughly $1.9 million in the bank for campaign expenses. That’s especially notable for Leahy, who just won another six-year term last November and has no need for a campaign fund anytime soon. Welch boosted his campaign account by more than $100,000 in the last three months — and $97,000 of that came from corporate and special-interest political action committees. And most of the measly $4,300 he got from actual human beings came not from Vermonters but from Beltway lobbyists. Welch sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose remit includes telecommunications, energy, the environment, public health, health insurance, medical malpractice, and the regulation of foods, drugs and cosmetics. And wouldn’t you know, many of Welch’s benefactors — roughly $40,000 worth — have business before that committee. Team Welch has a ready explanation, of course. “The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United opened up a spigot of