Thanks to Mitch McConnell, U.S. now has no functioning election commission

[applegrove]

Thanks to Mitch McConnell, U.S. now has no functioning election commission

The Federal Election Commission will be without a quorum as of August 31 and will be powerless to enforce election law.

JOSH ISRAEL at Think Progress

https://thinkprogress.org/thanks-to-mitch-mcconnell-america-now-has-no-functioning-election-commission-42c5b3aeb758/

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The Federal Election Commission (FEC) — intended to be a group of no more than three Democrats and no more than three Republicans overseeing the federal campaign finance system — has been operating with just a bare quorum of four for the past 18 months. With the resignation of Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen, at the end of the week, the commission will be virtually paralyzed.

The reason for this: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.

The FEC is a peculiar agency. It was created in 1974 to enforce finance laws for House, Senate, presidential, and vice presidential campaigns. Unlike most agencies, neither party is allowed to hold a working majority of seats at any time. Scott Harshbarger, the former president of the campaign finance reform group Common Cause, once quipped that the FEC is “probably the only agency in Washington that has done from the beginning exactly what it was intended to do, which was to do nothing.’’

But while the commission has often deadlockedalong party lines — especially in recent years — it still has played some role in issuing fines, auditing campaign filings, and investigating corruption. With just three active members, it will be able to do none of that.



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[Hermit-The-Prog]

1. Moscow Mitch again gives aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin