1 00:00:19,719 --> 00:00:22,679 Speaker 1: And we are back with another edition of the Federalist 2 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,359 Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, Senior Elections correspondent at the 3 00:00:26,399 --> 00:00:30,920 Federalist and your experience shirpa on today's quest for Knowledge. 4 00:00:31,079 --> 00:00:34,240 As always, you can email the show at radio at 5 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:38,640 the Federalist dot com, follow us on exit FDRLST, make 6 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,560 sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast, and of 7 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,359 course to the premium version of our website as well. 8 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,439 Our guest today is Jay Christian Adams, President and General 9 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,799 Counsel for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, and we talk 10 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:58,600 about the critical topic of election integrity and the battles 11 00:00:58,679 --> 00:01:03,439 ahead in this critical midterm election year. Christian, thank you 12 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:05,200 so much for it for joining us in this edition 13 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:06,319 at the Federalist Radio Hour. 14 00:01:06,719 --> 00:01:08,719 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me. Great to be here. 15 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,719 Speaker 1: Absolutely, we have a lot of ground to cover. As 16 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,840 they used to say in the Smoky and the Bandits song, 17 00:01:15,079 --> 00:01:16,840 We've got a long way to go, but a short 18 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,879 time to get there, or something like that. We're beginning 19 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:25,040 our conversation today with the big story, a Supreme Court 20 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,920 decision that I think will have a significant effect moving forward. 21 00:01:30,079 --> 00:01:36,799 It addresses standing of political candidates. The Supreme Court ruling 22 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:38,799 on that case. As we speak, I was wondering if 23 00:01:38,799 --> 00:01:41,680 we could delve into that and what that will all 24 00:01:41,719 --> 00:01:42,760 mean moving forward. 25 00:01:43,159 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, So it's the Boss case was decided by the 26 00:01:46,879 --> 00:01:50,920 Supreme Court effectively, I think four to two to two. 27 00:01:51,079 --> 00:01:55,680 And the big issue there that's important is who can 28 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,680 sue for violations of election law. 29 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:00,439 Speaker 2: Good news. 30 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 3: There's good news and bad news, just so we can 31 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:07,079 do both. The good news is this expands the universe 32 00:02:07,079 --> 00:02:10,319 of people who can bring a lawsuit to candidates. In 33 00:02:10,319 --> 00:02:13,240 other words, if you're running for Congress and an election 34 00:02:13,319 --> 00:02:17,159 law is being broken, then you can sue. I get that. 35 00:02:17,159 --> 00:02:20,319 That's a good thing that the Supreme Court ruled the 36 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,560 way it did and said candidates can sue. What's a 37 00:02:24,599 --> 00:02:26,719 little important to understand on the other side of the 38 00:02:26,759 --> 00:02:31,439 ledger is this probably we need a lot more than 39 00:02:31,479 --> 00:02:33,080 just candidates having the right to sue. 40 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 2: The public. 41 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 3: Interlegal Foundation files lawsuits. We filed a lawsuit exactly like 42 00:02:37,719 --> 00:02:42,719 this case actually in North Dakota challenging their acceptance of 43 00:02:42,759 --> 00:02:46,080 mail balance late and we lost on standing just like 44 00:02:46,159 --> 00:02:49,840 Judicial Watch did in Illinois. On today's case, and ours 45 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,520 is not a candidate. It was essentially an election official. 46 00:02:53,319 --> 00:02:57,080 So the standing issue at is a big deal. It 47 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,560 needs to go further. Today was a good step in 48 00:02:59,560 --> 00:02:59,919 the right. 49 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,039 Speaker 1: To It is a huge issue. And I'm thinking too, 50 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,599 it wasn't settled today, but there were lawsuits in the 51 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:12,800 last election cycle about state senators or lawmakers having standing 52 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,120 in these issues, and we saw a pretty famous Pennsylvania 53 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,680 case stalled out on that front. Where do you think 54 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,960 that is heading for these others like lawmakers who file 55 00:03:24,039 --> 00:03:25,840 lawsuits in these election cases. 56 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's what the Supreme Court resolved. 57 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 3: It's settled now in the Boss case bost by the 58 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:38,439 way that a candidate would have standing. That's what the 59 00:03:38,479 --> 00:03:40,800 big opinion was the Supreme Court. Now, it was a 60 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:47,439 fractured opinion. Amy Cony, Barrett and Kagan disagreed with it 61 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,639 and said, yes, they're standing for this particular person, but 62 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,240 it's because they're wasting and spending money after. 63 00:03:55,039 --> 00:03:57,919 Speaker 2: The election to make sure the law was followed to 64 00:03:58,039 --> 00:03:58,400 you know. 65 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 3: Send observers and that kind of So they kind of 66 00:04:01,159 --> 00:04:06,280 had dollar bill standing in the concurrence, and of course 67 00:04:06,319 --> 00:04:10,039 two justices dissented said there is no standing. You're going 68 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,360 to open up the floodgates to crazy people like the 69 00:04:13,479 --> 00:04:14,560 normal stuff. 70 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,959 Speaker 2: And so it was essentially a four too two opinion. 71 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,079 Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I think I didn't ask that question correctly. 72 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,480 I know that the candidates now have standing according to 73 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,680 the Supreme Court. But in the last elections, and we've 74 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:34,600 seen this before, legislatures have sued collectively or many members 75 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:40,279 of a state legislature have sued in an election dispute, 76 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,480 and particularly election integrity questions. In a case in Pennsylvania 77 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,160 comes to mind, where you had a federal judge there 78 00:04:48,199 --> 00:04:53,000 say I'm sorry, we rely on these previous cases to 79 00:04:53,079 --> 00:04:59,680 assert that legislation, legislators, the legislature does not have standing 80 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,360 in the these cases because of you know, a lot 81 00:05:03,439 --> 00:05:07,720 of different things. I don't think this case dealt with that. 82 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,639 Where do you think that might be heading based on 83 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,959 and perhaps informed by this Supreme Court case? 84 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,759 Speaker 3: Yeah, terrific question. My apologies. I'd assumed in your question 85 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,360 the legislators were on the ballot, right, and that's the difference. 86 00:05:23,319 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 2: So you're exactly right. 87 00:05:25,439 --> 00:05:29,759 Speaker 3: This case does not say legislators have standing simply because 88 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:34,720 they're legislators. If they were candidates, they would have standing. 89 00:05:34,879 --> 00:05:37,839 But if there's simply legislators who aren't on the ballot 90 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:39,480 that is unchanged. 91 00:05:39,879 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: All right, gotcha? And again the Supreme Court kind of 92 00:05:42,879 --> 00:05:46,199 paused on that. One would say, maybe bulk at that 93 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,040 and we'll see perhaps down the road. Now we are 94 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:54,480 in another critical It sounds hyperbolic to say that every 95 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,000 election cycle is critical. If you look at it from 96 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,399 the point of view of do you want to save 97 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:03,920 this republic? That's pretty critical. So all of that said, 98 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:08,639 what do you see at PILF as being the biggest 99 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,480 election integrity issues as we head into the twenty twenty 100 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,519 six mid term election year. 101 00:06:16,399 --> 00:06:18,639 Speaker 3: Yeah, I got to tell you it's related to the 102 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:23,120 Supreme Court case, which this case didn't reach the bigger issue. 103 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,600 It only reached the small issue of whether Cannon set standing, 104 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,199 And that's the federal law that requires male ballots or 105 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,199 ballots to be received by election day. That's the underlying 106 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,759 litigation and boss that was not touched by the Supreme Court. 107 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,040 And I think that late arriving ballots that cause late 108 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:50,079 announcements of winners is the single most destabilizing component of 109 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:54,360 American elections. It's destabilizing to the country. I think it 110 00:06:54,519 --> 00:06:59,800 creates doubt, it invites mischief, and that issue is going 111 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,040 Supreme Court in another case that will hopefully be resolved 112 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:05,360 well before election day. 113 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, that is critical. I know that you folks have 114 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,120 been dealing with this for a long time. Ask some 115 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,399 of the candidates in Nevada how critical that was. There's 116 00:07:16,839 --> 00:07:19,120 a gentleman who ran for Senate a few years back 117 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,000 who can tell you all about that. But it's not 118 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,639 just there, it's California, it's in so many different states. 119 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,800 Where do you think that case will end up given 120 00:07:30,839 --> 00:07:31,920 what you've seen so far. 121 00:07:32,279 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great question, and it's a statutory text question. 122 00:07:36,839 --> 00:07:42,560 The question is does federal law require all ballots to 123 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,480 be in by election day? That's the issue before the 124 00:07:45,519 --> 00:07:50,639 Supreme Court, and the statute says election day they have 125 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,519 to be cast by election day. 126 00:07:52,959 --> 00:07:54,879 Speaker 2: And so it's going to turn on what the meaning 127 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:55,800 of cast is. 128 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 3: And I think that cast means you're gets dropped in 129 00:08:01,079 --> 00:08:02,600 the official basket. 130 00:08:03,079 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 2: It doesn't mean it gets dropped in the mailbox, are 131 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:05,600 given to. 132 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,879 Speaker 3: Some contractor who comes to your front porch and takes 133 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:09,600 the mail away. 134 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,439 Speaker 2: And so I think that it's huge. 135 00:08:13,639 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 3: I think it's probably going to come out the right way, 136 00:08:16,879 --> 00:08:19,560 but I certainly won't want to bet put all my chips. 137 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:20,199 Speaker 2: In the center of the table. 138 00:08:20,839 --> 00:08:24,759 Speaker 1: At the same time, we have to think about the 139 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,319 dirty voter rolls out there. That's something the Public Interest 140 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,759 Legal Foundation has thought a lot about over the years. 141 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,039 You've got a lot of cases in motion right now. 142 00:08:35,399 --> 00:08:40,000 We have seen some really awfully dirty voter rolls and 143 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:42,879 the fruits of those voter rules. Of course in the 144 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:47,320 last couple of years. In particular, where does that stand 145 00:08:47,519 --> 00:08:51,120 and where do your legal actions stand on that front? 146 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 3: Well, I got some bad news there the Six Circuit 147 00:08:53,879 --> 00:08:56,559 Court of Appeals in the case we brought against Joscelyn 148 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:01,159 Benson in Michigan, we're having twenty five thousand dead people 149 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,759 on the active voter rolls, which is barely subject to dispute. 150 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:10,919 It's lock solid evidence. The Sixth Circuits said, Hey, states 151 00:09:10,919 --> 00:09:13,159 don't really have to be effective in how they clean 152 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,559 the roles. They just have to try to. And we're like, Nope, 153 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,000 that's not what the law says. And this we have 154 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,440 a petition with the US Supreme Court. If the Supreme 155 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:26,480 Court doesn't take the case, guys, there is a court 156 00:09:26,519 --> 00:09:28,320 decision by the Six Circuit Court. 157 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,519 Speaker 2: Of Appeals that says states really. 158 00:09:30,279 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 3: Don't have an obligation to keep clean voter rolls, and 159 00:09:33,399 --> 00:09:38,080 so this is a huge issue. I think some Republican 160 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:43,200 Party groups helped us, but we didn't get enough. We 161 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,960 didn't get it much in the way of broad energy 162 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,480 on this. Nobody from Michigan. Nobody, And it's sort of 163 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:54,200 sort of discouraging because this is the ballgame whether we're 164 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:55,519 going to have clean voter roles or not. 165 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,519 Speaker 1: Why is that? Why didn't you get that energetic response? 166 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,360 I mean, is really where the rubber meets the road 167 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,320 in terms of election integrity? 168 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:07,039 Speaker 2: I don't know, I really don't. 169 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 3: Maybe that's something you can do a show on and 170 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,399 ask the people who should have But it's discouraging. Look, 171 00:10:14,639 --> 00:10:16,399 all we can do is try as hard as we can. 172 00:10:16,519 --> 00:10:19,799 We litigated this. We went to the grave sites of 173 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,879 the voters. We visited them in the graveyard with video. 174 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,039 You can go to Public Interest Legal Foundation and google 175 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:27,639 Michigan video graveyard. 176 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 2: We actually went to the site. 177 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,440 Speaker 3: Some of these people have been dead since the nineties 178 00:10:32,919 --> 00:10:34,519 and they're still in the active voter rolls. 179 00:10:35,279 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 1: Well, what is the argument from Joscelyn Benson. I'm again, 180 00:10:38,879 --> 00:10:41,240 like a mediocre attorney. I know the answer to this, 181 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,919 But what is the answer from the Joscelyn Benson's of 182 00:10:44,919 --> 00:10:46,919 the world, who, by the way, want to move from 183 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,360 Secretary of State to be the next governor of Michigan. 184 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:51,639 Keep that scary thought in mind, But how do they 185 00:10:51,919 --> 00:10:54,120 justify these dirty voter rolls? 186 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 3: So there's two ways they do. The first is the 187 00:10:57,639 --> 00:11:01,759 proportionality way. They say, hey, this is only twenty five 188 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:06,120 thousand dead people on the active roles out of six millions, 189 00:11:06,279 --> 00:11:10,440 so we're and we removed one hundred and fifty thousand 190 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,000 dead people last year, so we're making a reasonable effort 191 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,000 to keep the roles clean. 192 00:11:15,159 --> 00:11:15,639 Speaker 1: Go away. 193 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 3: That's the first argument. It's a tiny fraction of the problem, 194 00:11:19,519 --> 00:11:22,440 and they removed a bunch of people. The second argument 195 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,240 they're making is the law doesn't require them to be effective. 196 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,960 It just requires them to give it the old college 197 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,679 try and if they fail, oh well they're not liable. 198 00:11:33,039 --> 00:11:35,080 And so those are the two arguments. And you could 199 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,080 see how if these two arguments got legs, which they're getting, 200 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,159 it's going to affect the entire country, not just Michigan. 201 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt about it, because every state that doesn't 202 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,639 value election integrity and quite frankly, Let's be honest here. 203 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:54,399 They want to use dirty voter rolls to the advantage 204 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:59,960 of their political favorites. They're going to not only can 205 00:12:00,039 --> 00:12:02,519 you need to do this, but they're going to, you know, 206 00:12:02,639 --> 00:12:06,200 expand the issue, and that becomes very critical in twenty 207 00:12:06,279 --> 00:12:09,120 twenty six. So I ask you that in this vein, 208 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:15,240 do you believe that we are going to see without 209 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,960 COVID But who knows the kind of nonsense that we 210 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:24,159 saw in twenty twenty because the left sure seems desperate 211 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:24,399 to me. 212 00:12:25,399 --> 00:12:27,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, the good news is I don't think we're 213 00:12:27,919 --> 00:12:30,240 ever going to see anything like we did in twenty twenty. 214 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,840 We didn't see it in twenty twenty four, we didn't 215 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:34,440 see it in twenty twenty two. 216 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 2: Twenty twenty is going to go down. 217 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 3: In history as the year the guardrails were taken down 218 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:47,440 and all of the nonsense that occurred in violating state laws, 219 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:52,720 suspending state laws. You know, sometimes courts signed off on that. 220 00:12:52,919 --> 00:12:55,519 But the point is, I don't think we're going to 221 00:12:55,559 --> 00:13:00,240 see that again. The Left pulled off and inside right 222 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:05,039 that year, and too much effort has gone into making 223 00:13:05,039 --> 00:13:06,240 sure it never happens again. 224 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:09,879 Speaker 1: What is the status of the save Act that certainly 225 00:13:09,919 --> 00:13:15,679 ties into the voter roles. And yeah, the Save Act. 226 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,679 You know, the idea that the vast majority of Americans 227 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:21,360 agree with is that you have to be a US 228 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:25,919 citizen to vote in a US election, and it requires 229 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:32,960 you know, documented proof of that fact. Is it has 230 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,799 passed in the House. It has been stalled in the Senate. 231 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,879 Do you know why and what is the status of 232 00:13:38,919 --> 00:13:42,360 the Save Act right now as we get closer and 233 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,080 closer to voting in this midterm. 234 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 3: Well, my understanding is it just doesn't have the votes 235 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:51,559 in the Senate, that it just doesn't have the votes 236 00:13:51,639 --> 00:13:57,120 necessary to pass. And so, you know, I'm not close 237 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,519 enough to Senate issues on this that I can tell 238 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,440 you why that is. But at least my understanding is 239 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:03,879 it's just a game of math. 240 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,279 Speaker 1: I am curious though, I've heard that there are some 241 00:14:07,399 --> 00:14:12,799 Republicans who do not support this basic constitutional issue, this 242 00:14:12,879 --> 00:14:18,320 basic election integrity issue, and that baffles me as well. 243 00:14:21,399 --> 00:14:25,039 Speaker 4: Well. Washington's housing fixes backfire. The watch Doot on Wall 244 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,360 Street podcast with Chris Markowski. Every day, Chris helps unpack 245 00:14:28,399 --> 00:14:30,720 the connection between politics and the economy and how it 246 00:14:30,759 --> 00:14:34,240 affects your wallet. Trump plans on purchasing billions and mortgage 247 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,399 backed securities, as well as allowing people to use retirement 248 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,399 to make down payments. Does adding more cash bring down 249 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,840 the price or at fuel to the fire. Whether it's 250 00:14:42,879 --> 00:14:45,080 happening in DC or down on Wall Street, it's affecting 251 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:45,720 you financially. 252 00:14:45,799 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: Be informed. 253 00:14:46,399 --> 00:14:48,519 Speaker 4: Check out the Watchdot on Wall Street podcast with Chris 254 00:14:48,559 --> 00:14:51,519 Markowski on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 255 00:14:57,279 --> 00:15:00,080 Speaker 1: What are the other big issues that you will be 256 00:15:00,159 --> 00:15:04,360 fighting in court this year? I know you have sent 257 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:10,320 out a number of warning letters and letters too. Your 258 00:15:10,799 --> 00:15:14,720 lead researcher, Logan Churchill has written plenty of these saying hey, 259 00:15:14,879 --> 00:15:18,360 we can help you with this. A secretary of state 260 00:15:18,399 --> 00:15:22,320 elect state election official, we can get you in compliance 261 00:15:22,519 --> 00:15:25,600 with election law election integrity. What kind of issues are 262 00:15:25,639 --> 00:15:26,600 you you're delving into. 263 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,639 Speaker 3: Yeah, so one is we're dealing with the race base 264 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,120 for districting in California. We have a lawsuit against California 265 00:15:34,159 --> 00:15:39,440 there where the new congressional maps are jerry rigging the 266 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,639 system to create race districts. We're also looking at a 267 00:15:43,679 --> 00:15:47,360 secret ballot in Texas. We have a lawsuit being argued 268 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,840 this week there as to whether you have a right 269 00:15:49,879 --> 00:15:52,600 to actually have a secret ballot. I know that sounds shocking, 270 00:15:52,639 --> 00:15:55,200 but it hangs in the balance. And then there's the 271 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,240 whole voter roll problem around the country. We continue to 272 00:15:58,639 --> 00:16:01,759 spend money and time to find dead people, people who 273 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,279 moved away in the voter roles and make the data 274 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,600 available to election officials. It's it's something that is fixable, 275 00:16:09,399 --> 00:16:13,799 and it's something that everybody should agree needs to be improved. 276 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:17,799 Speaker 1: Where does that California issue stand? And I asked that 277 00:16:17,879 --> 00:16:22,159 in the main, there are a lot of liberal states 278 00:16:22,519 --> 00:16:28,279 looking to you know, rig their maps so that they 279 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,639 can they can grab more congressional seats. Where does your 280 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,120 lawsuits stand? Where does the issue stand? In general? 281 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's in the hands of a federal court, 282 00:16:37,039 --> 00:16:39,759 three judge panel. Actually, when you do a challenge like this, 283 00:16:40,519 --> 00:16:42,720 you get three federal judges and. 284 00:16:44,399 --> 00:16:45,399 Speaker 2: You know where it stands. 285 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 3: As like, we're in the middle of combat with litigation 286 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:53,480 with California, and hopefully, you know, we get some good 287 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,320 news from the Supreme Court on another redistricting case shorty 288 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:01,360 called Louisiana versus Cala, which has a brief in there, 289 00:17:02,039 --> 00:17:05,519 and hopefully redistricting law moves in a better direction this 290 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:06,279 calendar year. 291 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:07,839 Speaker 2: You bet. 292 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:12,200 Speaker 1: Our guest today is Jay Christian Adams, President and General 293 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,440 counsel for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, talking election integrity, 294 00:17:16,559 --> 00:17:21,400 all the battles ahead in this critical midterm election year. 295 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:26,599 Will A lot has changed since the election of twenty twenty. 296 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:33,160 We are seeing citizen only voting laws in place or 297 00:17:33,839 --> 00:17:38,960 amendments to constitutions, a growing movement on that front. Are 298 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,160 we going to see the movement at least in these 299 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,720 blue states that didn't change these issues? Are we going 300 00:17:47,759 --> 00:17:54,079 to see a bigger movement with liberal election offices working 301 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:58,680 with far left non profits so to speak, so called 302 00:17:58,799 --> 00:18:01,680 nonpartisan election groups. 303 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, great question, And two things of note. First of all, 304 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,160 a PILF has been doing a deep dive into the 305 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:14,279 personnel in a very blue state's election offices, and we've 306 00:18:14,279 --> 00:18:18,279 been harvesting resumes and we will eventually have a more 307 00:18:18,319 --> 00:18:23,200 comprehensive report, but I can tell you from a preliminary standpoint, 308 00:18:23,759 --> 00:18:26,279 it really makes it hard to have a lot of 309 00:18:26,319 --> 00:18:30,119 confidence in these election offices while we're seeing. The other 310 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,319 thing that's happening is states are passing these mini voting 311 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:38,559 rights acts like New York did, Virginia did, California did 312 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,319 to radicalize election law in these states, so like lock 313 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,599 it down, like this is never changing, We're always going 314 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:50,119 to be hyper progressive, crazy and at a challenge to 315 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:54,279 Some of these voting rights acts on stay level really 316 00:18:54,319 --> 00:18:57,000 need to be made and we look forward to doing that. 317 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: Well, let's go into detail on some of those, because 318 00:19:00,079 --> 00:19:05,400 what these politicians and these activist groups are calling voter 319 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,279 rights acts is just a lot of times and end 320 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:16,119 around to you know, basic election integrity rules, basic integrity laws. 321 00:19:16,599 --> 00:19:18,759 What are they trying to do in some of these states. 322 00:19:18,839 --> 00:19:21,079 Speaker 3: Well, two things they do, of note they do a 323 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:22,759 lot more than that, but I'll just give you two. 324 00:19:22,839 --> 00:19:27,200 One is they make race the center of state election law. 325 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 2: In other words, you can bring. 326 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,559 Speaker 3: These cases to demand race based districts like I want 327 00:19:34,559 --> 00:19:37,759 a black district for Congress, I want to well Congress 328 00:19:37,799 --> 00:19:42,279 and even down to school board, and they dispense with 329 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:45,279 the federal rule. They get rid of the federal rule, 330 00:19:45,279 --> 00:19:48,799 which is really hard to satisfy. It's a really complicated 331 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,160 way to do it, and they make it really super easy. 332 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,640 So what happens is you create all these race based 333 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,000 districts under state law. That's the first thing The second 334 00:19:59,079 --> 00:20:02,519 thing they do is they give state attorneys general, the 335 00:20:02,599 --> 00:20:07,759 bureaucrats in the state, basically the oversight power to review 336 00:20:07,839 --> 00:20:11,359 everything that the local jurisdictions do about elections. You know, 337 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,559 if they want to change the time and place of 338 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,240 the office being open, changing a polling place, everything that 339 00:20:18,279 --> 00:20:24,279 goes into state elections. These bureaucrats in Albany, Sacramento, they 340 00:20:24,319 --> 00:20:29,000 get to veto at all, and that allows manipulation by 341 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:31,559 state employees in the process. 342 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 1: Well, now, wait a minute, I thought liberals Democrats weren't 343 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,200 all that keen on states' rights. It seemed like it. 344 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:44,359 For a long time. It was always federal central authority. 345 00:20:44,799 --> 00:20:45,839 What changed there? 346 00:20:46,759 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 3: Well, look, they know that in places like New York 347 00:20:50,039 --> 00:20:55,000 and Massachusetts and California and Minnesota, they love state power 348 00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:56,119 because they're always. 349 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:56,680 Speaker 2: Going to be in power. 350 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 3: Right Maryland, These are places where progressive is a culture 351 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:07,559 and there's no there's no competing political ideology. It's a 352 00:21:07,559 --> 00:21:10,640 one party state, and so why not be in favor 353 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:12,319 of state power when you got the power. 354 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 2: Yeah. 355 00:21:13,279 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: Indeed, here's the headline from the Associated Press as we 356 00:21:17,519 --> 00:21:21,799 talk today. Democrats will spend millions to shift voter registration 357 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,240 strategy ahead of the midterm elections, kind of what we 358 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:29,000 were talking about before. The Democratic National Committee will spend 359 00:21:29,039 --> 00:21:32,920 millions of dollars to cement control of voter registration efforts 360 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:37,599 that have traditionally been entrusted to nonprofit advocacy groups and 361 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,960 individual political campaigns, a shift that party leaders hope will 362 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:46,119 increase their chances. What do you think about all of that? 363 00:21:46,599 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, this has been going on in small measure 364 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,480 all around the country. I mean, one example, the fight 365 00:21:54,599 --> 00:21:59,519 was Texas where pardon these people went out to do 366 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,000 voter registration and they were putting on bad registrations, like 367 00:22:03,039 --> 00:22:09,240 the fake registrations, and Texas passed the law that said, 368 00:22:09,279 --> 00:22:12,599 if you want to sign people up to vote, you 369 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,200 have to go through training, you have to show you 370 00:22:15,319 --> 00:22:18,640 know the law. And of course what happens next, Texas 371 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,279 got sued over this law like hey, this is suppression. 372 00:22:22,759 --> 00:22:28,200 Well the Planner's lost, Texas won. But the same fight 373 00:22:28,279 --> 00:22:32,319 is taking place around the country where the registration process 374 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,119 has basically been outsourced to activist groups. 375 00:22:36,519 --> 00:22:39,519 Speaker 1: And we've gone down this road before, where you know, 376 00:22:39,599 --> 00:22:43,920 you have activist groups trying to you know, trying to 377 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:47,680 register voters, trying to register the kind of voter they 378 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,880 want to turn out. But at one point, of course, 379 00:22:51,279 --> 00:22:56,480 they were deeply embedded in some of our election offices. 380 00:22:56,519 --> 00:23:00,200 You know, we saw that certainly in twenty twenty where 381 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:07,400 you had a Democrat Party operative in Wisconsin working inside 382 00:23:08,079 --> 00:23:12,839 Green Bay Office election office there and working alongside with 383 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:18,119 the largest blue cities. Do you see that happening again? 384 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,359 I know there have been some changes in the laws 385 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,000 on that front. 386 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 2: Oh for sure. 387 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 3: I mean, look, some of these election offices in Richmond, 388 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:33,839 or at least they were, are populated by volunteers parachuted 389 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,480 in from activists left as five to one C three 390 00:23:37,559 --> 00:23:39,559 groups to work inside the election offices. 391 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 2: This is not a shocker. 392 00:23:44,079 --> 00:23:46,599 Speaker 3: This is the standard operating procedure in a bunch of 393 00:23:46,599 --> 00:23:50,559 state capitals around the country. And I know people were shocked, like, well, 394 00:23:50,559 --> 00:23:52,319 who would ever do that for free? Well, they do 395 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,799 it for free. They parachute people in. 396 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:00,799 Speaker 1: That leads us to ballot harvesting. You know has dealt 397 00:24:00,799 --> 00:24:04,440 with this in the past. How big a role will 398 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,920 ballot harvesting play in the twenty twenty six midterms. 399 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 3: Well, it depends on which state. A lot of states 400 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,680 have curtailed it. A lot of states it's a culture. 401 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:22,880 Some states have made changes, like Mississippi has it is 402 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:24,839 less of a problem than it was in the past. 403 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:31,799 Speaker 1: You're hearing a lot, interestingly from liberals from the Democrat 404 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:37,680 Party about twenty twenty six and how the election might 405 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:43,200 not just be fair because you have Donald Trump in office. 406 00:24:43,279 --> 00:24:45,960 You know, according to the left, he's the biggest threat 407 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,079 to democracy out there. And they're certainly using terms like 408 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:53,960 fascist and what have you. You know, they're talking about 409 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,039 the R word here, Christian. They're saying, we're really worried 410 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,960 that the twenty twenty six mid terms could be rigged 411 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:06,000 by Trump and Republicans. Isn't that quite a change from 412 00:25:06,599 --> 00:25:10,240 when there were a lot of folks, including yourself, who 413 00:25:10,319 --> 00:25:17,160 raised questions about certainly the many irregularities of twenty twenty Yeah. 414 00:25:17,279 --> 00:25:19,920 Speaker 3: I really sincerely hope as we move forward as a 415 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:25,160 country that these sorts of claims become very out of fashion. 416 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,559 It's like a slinky or a I don't know. I 417 00:25:30,599 --> 00:25:33,119 want to do some cultural fun here, like stuff that's 418 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:35,799 no longer popular, like some of the records I have 419 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,759 at home, like the Bay City Rollers. 420 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 1: S A t U R Day, my friend right right. 421 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,119 Speaker 3: Right, right, right, right, The point is that I'm looking 422 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,480 forward to the day that the confidence in the system 423 00:25:48,599 --> 00:25:53,720 is restored, and you know that the pendulum doesn't swing 424 00:25:53,799 --> 00:25:56,160 back and forth between one and the other. 425 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that has changed. I think the polling 426 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,359 shows it that there still is a good deal of 427 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:06,599 distrust in the system. But people feel a lot better 428 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,559 today than they did a few years back, and understandably so. 429 00:26:11,279 --> 00:26:16,559 How much does Congress have Let me ask it straight here, 430 00:26:16,559 --> 00:26:22,200 how much culpability does Congress have in you? The failure 431 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,400 to bring election integrity to the forefront? 432 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 2: Well? 433 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 3: Limited, because remember Congress has limited jurisdictions. Sure, that's how 434 00:26:30,039 --> 00:26:33,920 the founders wanted it. The founders didn't want Congress involved 435 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,079 in state elections. You know there's a reason for that too. 436 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:39,720 It wasn't just they flipped the coin, do we want 437 00:26:39,759 --> 00:26:42,160 Congress involved or not? Go ahead and mister Adams flip 438 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:46,839 the coin. No, it was because they knew centralized authority 439 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:51,240 throughout human history brings disaster. It might start out as 440 00:26:51,279 --> 00:26:53,880 a really good idea, it might start out as really 441 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,359 well attentioned, but it doesn't end up there. And the 442 00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:00,720 founders knew that. So our constitution has a presumption that 443 00:27:00,759 --> 00:27:03,839 the states are in charge, so I can be a 444 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,960 little bit grateful in a way that Congress hasn't addressed 445 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:13,559 this and states like Mississippi, Texas, Georgia. 446 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,200 Speaker 2: I'm just rattling off some great laws Florida. 447 00:27:18,519 --> 00:27:22,599 Speaker 3: Florida passed a lot of great stuff that these laws 448 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,079 are being passed. And look, I know people listening in 449 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:29,279 Minnesota or Massachusetts or Maine might be saying. 450 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:29,839 Speaker 2: What about US. 451 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 3: I get it, But this is a decision made in 452 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:38,960 seventeen eighty seven and the founders were worried about not 453 00:27:39,079 --> 00:27:42,400 holding elections, and so they put the Election's clause in 454 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:48,079 the Constitution. We should use that power very sparingly. 455 00:27:49,799 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: Indeed, are there some areas though, in that Congress does 456 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:58,680 have authority and they've kind of stepped aside or abdicated 457 00:27:58,680 --> 00:27:59,319 that authority. 458 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 3: Well, one area that the congressional authority is going to 459 00:28:03,759 --> 00:28:06,440 impact the country is this election day. Is election day 460 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,599 case that's going to Supreme Court. Congress passed a law 461 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:13,400 and said ballots must be cast by election day. Okay, 462 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,319 there you go. They've used that power under the elections 463 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:22,519 clause to opine about what the law is. Now the 464 00:28:22,599 --> 00:28:28,880 question should they change the NVRA that doesn't require Americans 465 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,720 to pay thirty thousand dollars to get the Alabama voter roll, right, 466 00:28:33,039 --> 00:28:37,480 should they change the NVRA that allows electronic records to 467 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,279 be within the scope of what any American can get 468 00:28:41,559 --> 00:28:44,720 from an election office related to list maintenance. There are 469 00:28:44,799 --> 00:28:47,440 some areas around the edges where Congress could help the 470 00:28:47,799 --> 00:28:51,039 process where they've already made the decision to legislate. 471 00:28:51,519 --> 00:28:53,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, how is that going? By the way, because PILF 472 00:28:53,319 --> 00:28:56,680 has been very instrumental in a number of states dealing 473 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:01,720 with the high cost of obtaining voter roles. If let's 474 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,880 be honest, if we can't see those voter roles, it 475 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,880 is very hard to you know, talk about where election 476 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,359 integrity stands, hard to gauge that you have dealt with 477 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:18,039 some very very expensive costs associated with the voter roles, 478 00:29:18,039 --> 00:29:22,680 both in red and blue states. Where does that stand 479 00:29:22,759 --> 00:29:24,599 right now? And where do you see the fight ahead? 480 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:30,839 Speaker 2: So some good news. PILF has brought and won an 481 00:29:30,839 --> 00:29:31,880 outcome in New. 482 00:29:31,799 --> 00:29:36,319 Speaker 3: Mexico where we got the outrageous fee dramatically reduced by 483 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:40,759 thousands of dollars, and so you can get these records 484 00:29:40,799 --> 00:29:46,359 without paying a king's ransom. Now in New Mexico. I'll 485 00:29:46,359 --> 00:29:51,240 give you some bad news Alabama. Alabama fought really hard 486 00:29:51,599 --> 00:29:54,680 so they didn't have to turn over electronic records, and 487 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,839 they got an eleventh Circuit decision saying so that they 488 00:29:57,839 --> 00:30:00,119 don't have to turn over electronic versions. 489 00:29:59,759 --> 00:30:00,799 Speaker 2: Of voter rolls. 490 00:30:01,759 --> 00:30:05,319 Speaker 3: And so we said, okay, fine, you won this case 491 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,960 called Greater Birmingham Ministries. By the way, we'll take the 492 00:30:09,279 --> 00:30:11,559 voter roll records in pay per form the way you 493 00:30:11,599 --> 00:30:14,319 said that you prefer it. Well, guess what, they couldn't 494 00:30:14,359 --> 00:30:18,559 do it. They don't have enough paper to print, right. 495 00:30:18,839 --> 00:30:22,119 And so that's a real bad place that I hope 496 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,279 sorts out. But it's one of these examples where you know, 497 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,839 just because it's Alabama, just because it's New Mexico, don't 498 00:30:28,839 --> 00:30:30,119 think that the outcome is good. 499 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:32,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, there are a lot of states too. I remember, 500 00:30:32,839 --> 00:30:36,599 and I'm speaking as an investigative reporter, Wisconsin was an 501 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:41,039 extremely expensive place. I remember trying this was fifteen plus 502 00:30:41,119 --> 00:30:44,759 years ago, trying to track dead voters on the voter rolls. 503 00:30:45,119 --> 00:30:46,799 And I said, well, sure you can do that, but 504 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,640 it's going to be ten thousand dollars plus a pop. 505 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,839 Well that's very difficult because voter rolls are indeed subject 506 00:30:53,839 --> 00:30:56,920 to change. And if you've got to spend ten thousand 507 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,960 dollars every couple of weeks to get read on voter rolls, 508 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,240 that's going to price certainly the average citizen out of it. 509 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, and there's something Congress can fix too, if you're 510 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,240 looking for something to fix Wisconsin. By the way, the 511 00:31:11,279 --> 00:31:14,720 reason I say that is Wisconsin's one of six states 512 00:31:14,759 --> 00:31:19,319 exempted under the National Voter Ilellustration Act from transparency. And 513 00:31:19,359 --> 00:31:22,000 we just made arguments in the Seventh Circuit about this 514 00:31:22,279 --> 00:31:23,119 Court of Appeals. 515 00:31:23,599 --> 00:31:24,759 Speaker 2: We had a similar case. 516 00:31:24,559 --> 00:31:26,799 Speaker 3: In Minnesota that just got argued in the Eighth Circuit 517 00:31:26,799 --> 00:31:29,559 Court of Appeals as to whether or not this exemption 518 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:35,960 from transparency election transparency under federal law is valid, and we. 519 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:36,640 Speaker 2: Argue it isn't. 520 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:38,359 Speaker 3: We ought to be able to get the records cheap, 521 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,039 But Wisconsin and Minnesota took the opposite argument, and by 522 00:31:42,039 --> 00:31:44,519 the way, so did the US Justice Department. I might add, 523 00:31:45,119 --> 00:31:49,079 they were in court opposing pill on the question of 524 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:50,880 cheap transparent voter rolls. 525 00:31:51,559 --> 00:31:56,400 Speaker 1: Why why on earth ask them? Yeah, I think we should. 526 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,960 I think that I think that the Trump campaign would 527 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:06,200 certainly appreciate cheaper voter roles like every other campaign on 528 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:11,720 the right and the left, you know, and obviously government 529 00:32:11,799 --> 00:32:16,799 watchdogs like yourself. Well, end with this final question for you, 530 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,680 as we look ahead at this critical midterm election year. 531 00:32:21,119 --> 00:32:27,720 How confident are you in election integrity in America as 532 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,799 we get closer and closer to election day? 533 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 3: A whole lot more than I was years ago. A 534 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,160 lot of progress has been made. There's so many good 535 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,359 things happening in this space. I have confidence in my 536 00:32:40,519 --> 00:32:44,000 vote being counted, and I think most people hopefully share 537 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:44,440 that view. 538 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 1: Very good, sir, Well, it's always good to check in 539 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,960 with you. You've got your your finger on the pulse of 540 00:32:51,039 --> 00:32:53,240 what's happening out there in election integrity because you're dealing 541 00:32:53,279 --> 00:32:56,480 with it every day, and I am sure we will 542 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,160 talk often this year. All right, thank you for having 543 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:03,839 mesolutely anytime. Our guests today, Jay Christian Adams, President and 544 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:08,599 General Counsel for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, about the 545 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:13,359 election integrity battles ahead. You've been listening to another edition 546 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,799 of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, senior elections 547 00:33:16,839 --> 00:33:20,079 correspondent at the Federalist. We'll be back soon with more. 548 00:33:20,519 --> 00:33:24,200 Until then, stay lovers of freedom. I'm anxious for the 549 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:24,480 pray