Elections 2020: How the ACLU prepares Trump for a day in the field

The Boston Marathon Bomber vote authorization debate began with a man named Rick in Muscatine, Iowa.

In early April, he reminded Bernie Sanders, at a public meeting, that prisoners from his home country, Vermont, are allowed to vote and asked if this right was to be extended nationally. Sanders agreed, and before he knew it, he was asked for variations of the question at Fox News and CNN town hall. Sanders' critics have jumped up and the conservative scandal machine has started, powered by President Donald Trump.

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The chain of events did not start by accident: it was orchestrated by the American Civil Liberties Union, which drives activists like Rick as part of a sub-radar campaign from millions of dollars to register the 2020 candidates with its civil liberties priorities. In Hanover, N.H., an ACLU-related elector secured Kamala Harris' pledge to support the addition of a third-sex marker on federal identification cards. The group also puts the Democratic hopes on the front of the scene with sensitive issues about immigration and the right to abortion.

Each of the exchanges was captured on a video and posted on YouTube, and the responses largely reflect a Democratic primary field that evolves further to the left. But the ACLU is making this change happen much more quickly and visibly than it would have otherwise done – much to Trump and his supporters' delight.

During the first months of the campaign, the organization trained hundreds of volunteers in the first election and sent them to more than 150 events where they asked questions about planned topics. For the organizers, the group of more than 20 candidates still has a long way to go to meet its requirements. But already, the effort forces some strong advocates of civil liberties and the right to vote to confront the way in which their priorities materialize on a large stage.

The executive director of the sentencing project, Marc Mauer, who wrote an article in the Howard Law Journal in 2011, arguing that frankness policies were fundamentally undemocratic, acknowledging mixed feelings about the law. Sudden attention of the public. "I would not have guessed it would happen so quickly and so widely," said Mauer, who is not part of the ACLU's effort, to POLITICO.

"This started the problem and I found considerable support for this position that I would not have guessed," added Mauer. "But I would not like us to hold another Willie Horton election where we would have a very distorted discussion on an important issue for democracy, but that's one of the 100 issues that should be debated, not the only one. debated. "

A few weeks after his appearance in Iowa, Sanders told CNN's mayor that he felt that the right to vote was inherent in American democracy – "even for the terrible people". Moderator Chris Cuomo – presumably because the debate had taken place in New Hampshire – provocatively questioned whether Boston's marathon bomber should be allowed to vote.

"Once you started reducing your expenses and you said," Well, this guy has committed a terrible crime, he's not going to let him vote, "said Sanders. "Well, that person did that. Do not let this person vote, you are on a slippery slope. "

Trump grabbed Sanders' response: "Let the Boston bomber vote – he should vote, is not it?" Trump told the National Rifle Association members last week. "I do not think so. Let the jailed terrorists vote, I do not think so. Can you believe it? But that's where some of these people come from.

Ronald Newman, the ACLU's national policy director, said it was not his place to worry about the political storm. He presented Sanders' response in Iowa as a model of what the group is trying to accomplish: injecting the priorities of his pet into the political mainstream and, over time, influencing the health of his pet. ;public opinion.

Along with the request for a vote on incarceration, the ACLU is also asking candidates for specific proposals to halve the federal offender population. end the use of detainees and reduce the reduction of immigration detention by 75%; and to lift the Hyde amendment and other government prohibitions regarding abortion insurance coverage.

In Las Vegas, Castro – who, at a previous stopover in Concord, New Hampshire, had already agreed to forego the phasing out of immigrant families in detention who were seeking asylum or refugee status – said that the application of local law should not be used as a pseudo-immigration agent for the federal government.

ACLU staff and volunteers have also encouraged several candidates to terminate the cash bond and increase the number of voting options and to make election day a public holiday. Gillibrand and O'Rourke have separately agreed to support a third sex classification at the federal level, joining Harris.

The ACLU plans to spend a total of $ 30 million in the 2020 cycle. After gathering more videos, officials plan to send questionnaires to candidates and invite each of them to meet with those involved in the process. the policies advocated by the group. The ACLU also plans to conduct a voter education campaign. "Not only give them this information, but also give them power to make sure they bring it with them to the ballot box," said Newman.

Despite the early attention, it is unclear how much the program will register with the first voters in the state. But the ACLU seems to have the intention of carrying out its plan.

During internal debates on questions for Democratic candidates, the ACLU focused on issues that could reveal significant distinctions among candidates. With regard to the voting rights of prisoners, only Sanders was unequivocal, while others, including Julián Castro and Beto O'Rourke, said they would separate non-violent offenders.

"This is something we will continue to move forward," said Newman about the specificity of the answers provided.

"If you give us one of those classic, no-substance, hot reactions," he added, "there's a 50% chance that when you show up at the next coffee shop, you'll encounter one of our volunteers. . "