Investigation of Voter Suppression

As part of a broad effort to promote the integrity of our nation’s elections, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings launched an investigation into alleged efforts to suppress the vote through voter registration fraud and voter challenges.

Ranking Member Cummings’ investigation looked into reported allegations of widespread voter registration fraud by Strategic Allied Consulting, a company owned by longtime GOP consultant Nathan Sproul. He also requested documents from Catherine Engelbrecht, President and Founder of True the Vote, regarding the group’s “horrendous record” of filing inaccurate voter registration challenges across the country. Follow the links below to learn more about the investigation.


Five Things You Should Know:

1. Ranking Member Cummings believes that voting is a fundamental right that every eligible American is entitled to—not a privilege reserved for a select few—and efforts to deny that right are criminal and offensive.

4.  On October 12, 2012, the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights issued a report concluding that True the Vote’s poll monitoring efforts in North Carolina appear to be aimed at African American and other minority communities that historically have voted for Democratic candidates.

2. Ranking Member Cummings launched his investigation based on news reports that True the Vote and its affiliated organizations had challenged the registration of thousands of legitimate voters based on insufficient, inaccurate, and faulty evidence.

5. Ranking Member Cummings requested documents and a transcribed interview with longtime GOP consultant Nathan Sproul relating to allegations of widespread irregularities in the voter registration efforts of Strategic Allied Consulting, his company, which is under criminal investigation in Florida for allegations of voter registration fraud in ten counties.

3. Ranking Member Cummings raised concerns about reports from multiple states that True the Vote has targeted predominantly minority communities and coordinated with Republicans in an attempt to deny legitimate voters their rights.



Quick Links: 

Press Clips:

  • Read Bloomberg Groups Use Fake Letters, Felony Threats to Suppress Vote

  • Read Cummings OpEd in Afro Magazine, "Protecting Our Right to Vote"

  • Watch MSNBC Interview on Ed Show on Voter Suppression Allegations

  • Read LA Times Story Congressman Opens Voting Rights Probe of Tea Party Group

  • Read LA Times Story House Democrat Starts Inquiry Into GOP Firm Linked to Bad Voter Forms

  • Watch MSNBC Interview with Martin Bashir on Investigation

  • Watch MSNBC Interview with Al Sharpton on Investigation

 

Press Releases/Documents:

  • Read Cummings Ramps Up Investigation of Voter Suppression Allegations

  • Read Cummings Issues Statement on Nathan Sproul's Refusal To Comply With Congressional Investigation

  • Read Cummings Launches Investigation of “True the Vote”; Raises Questions about Conservative Group’s Campaign to Challenge Legitimate Voters

  • Read Cummings Investigates Allegations of Voter Registration Fraud by RNC Consulting Firm 

 

Correspondence with True the Vote: