Judiciary Members Seek Answers on "Phone Jamming," Voter Suppression Cases

Octoberber 3, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Subcommittee Chairpersons Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Linda Sánchez (D-CA) sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Peter D. Keisler seeking answers about allegations of voter suppression in battleground states across the country, using a technique called "phone jamming," as well as failing to register Democratic voters and destroying Democratic voter registration cards.

The committee's interest in this issue peaked recently as allegations of Justice Department and White House officials engaging in selective prosecution and other efforts to affect political outcomes arose out of the U.S. Attorney investigation.

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"These cases – the notorious “phone jamming” case that arose in New Hampshire in 2002 and the equally troubling activities of a firm known as Sproul & Associates during the 2004 election cycle – present extremely disturbing allegations regarding interference with voters’ rights," the members write. "Serious concerns remain, however, regarding whether the department has adequately investigated and prosecuted these cases."

In 2002, New Hampshire Republican operatives jammed the phone lines of the New Hampshire Democratic Party and a Manchester Fire Fighters Association to hamper get-out-the-vote efforts on election day. In the letter, Conyers and his colleagues review charges regarding subsequent investigative failures in the FBI and Justice Department.

In 2004, Sproul and Associates was hired for voter registration efforts in several states but allegedly "engaged in serious misconduct such as declining to register Democratic voters and destroying registration cards collected from Democratic voters in several states prior to the national elections in 2004," the letter states. However, the lawmakers state that they have not been made aware of any "enforcement action, criminal or civil, by the Department on this matter."

The members are requesting answers about the cases by October 19. Click the link below for full text of the letter:

Member's Letter to AG Re: Voter Suppression

Source: House Judiciary Committee