Welcome to the home of the Virginia Institute for Public Policy on virginiainstitute.org!

Welcome to the home of the Virginia Institute for Public Policy on virginiainstitute.org!

Tag Lynn Taylor

Epoch Times: Grassroots Election Integrity Movement Sweeps Battleground States

This article was originally published in The Epoch Times.

At ten past five in the morning on Election Day in 2021, retired construction company owner Warren Jenkins slid into his business-casual attire in a panic, knowing he had to get to the polling station in 20 minutes. He was the only Republican poll watcher at an important precinct.

Jenkin’s wife, prescient, pre-made lunch for her husband, who then arrived at the polls to begin his 15-hour shift—from 5:30 a.m. to about 9 p.m.—just in time.

As a volunteer poll watcher in Virginia, Jenkins would… [Click HERE to read more.]

2021.08.20-21 | Virginia Election Integrity Summit II

Why you should be at the Virginia Election Integrity Summit II!

If you think the infiltration of “Zuck Bucks” into Virginia’s registrar offices and our electoral process is bad, wait until you see what’s happening now! There are only two states with elections this year, and Virginia is one of them. If we don’t act now, and keep an ever watchful eye, Virginia will be the progressive left’s Guinea pig for election reform… moving us further from true election integrity.

Will you join us in our stand to restore trust and faith in Virginia’s elections? Join us in making it easy to vote, but hard to cheat. Join us for VFE’s Election Integrity Summit II on August 20-21 in Richmond.

Registration includes your meals with comments from these outstanding speakers:

  • Ken Cuccinelli | Chairman of the Election Integrity Transparency Initiative and former Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia
  • Scott Walter | President of the Capital Research Center and former Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy

WORKSHOPS & TRAINING SESSIONS | Register HERE.

Election Integrity Training for Election Workers and Poll Watchers:  Virginians begin voting on September 17th. We need 15,000 slots filled for election workers and poll watchers.  You will learn Virginia’s election laws and procedures, what to look for, how to make sure the laws are followed, and how to get signed up to make sure the election this fall is fair and honest. Taught by:  Dr. Clara Belle Wheeler, Senior Fellow with the Virginia Institute for Public Policy and Virginia’s top expert on election statutes and procedures and Melody Clarke, Senior Regional Coordinator for Heritage Action.

Emergency Project to Document Potential Illegal Registrations:  There are literally thousands of voter registration confirmations being returned to the General Registrars offices.  We need volunteers to help document the returned envelopes and what the GRs are doing about those.  We must make sure that the voter rolls for this fall’s election are not populated with phantom or illegal registrations.  Taught by:  Aimee David, Senior Fellow with the Virginia Institute for Public Policy and J. Christian Adams, President and General Counsel of Public Interest Legal Foundation. 

Preparing for the Post Election, War Rooms, and Recounts:  It is crucial to an honest election that we are ready for the post-election, and know how to anticipate, document and plan for addressing significant problems once voting begins.  Taught by:   Lee Goodman, former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission and longtime VA attorney who has presided over several Virginia recounts and Brenda Hankins, a Partner at Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, focusing her practice on Political and Election law.

Recruiting, Scheduling and Deploying Poll Observers:   The recruitment, scheduling and deployment of trained poll watchers is the key to honest elections in Virginia in 2021.  Learn how to do that in your own county and voting unit.  Taught by:  Melody Clarke, Senior Regional Coordinator for Heritage Action.

Researching How Your Local Election Office Conducts YOUR Elections:  There are many questions that have swirled around the voting systems and protocols of the 2020 election.   Citizens must be engaged and learn to be a regular presence at the election offices.  This session will provide training on the questions, the research, the information that citizens need to learn and find out about your local GR office, from voting systems, to vendors, to outside influences, to the FOIA laws to obtain information, and much more.   Taught by:  Cleta Mitchell, Esq., Senior Legal Fellow at Conservative Partnership Institute.

Vulnerable Voters Training:   Leftwing activists target the elderly, those in nursing homes, group homes, minority communities and homeless people to manipulate and unduly influence and, essentially, ‘steal’ their votes.  This session will outline how we can stop the left from preying on those voters who are most vulnerable.   Taught by:  Lori Roman, President and Tracey Miller, Vice President of American Constitutional Rights Union.   See www.ProtectVulnerableVoters.org  | www.ProtectElderlyVotes.org

SUMMIT SCHEDULE | Register HERE.

Friday, August 20

5:00 p.m. | Registration and check-in open.

6:00 p.m. | Reception

7:00 p.m. | Dinner

  • Welcome
    • Cleta Mitchell | Senior Legal Fellow, Conservative Partnership Institute
    • Lynn Taylor | President, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
  • Keynote Speaker
    • Ken Cuccinelli | Former Attorney General of Virginia, Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, SBA List & American Principles Project

Saturday, August 21

7:30 – 8:00 a.m. | Registration and check-in open.

8:00 – 8:45 a.m. | Breakfast (Ballroom)

  • Opening Remarks
    • Lynn Taylor | President, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
  • Overview of the 2021 Election Process and Why Citizens Must Engage
    • Cleta Mitchell | Senior Legal Fellow, Conservative Partnership Institute

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. | Morning Workshops

  • Election Integrity Training Part 1 (Salon C)
    • Dr. Clara Belle Wheeler | Senior Fellow, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
  • Recruiting, Scheduling, and Deploying Poll Observers (Salon B)
    • Melody Clarke | Senior Regional Coordinator, Heritage Action for America
  • Researching How Your Local Election Office Conducts YOUR Elections (Salon A)
    • Cleta Mitchell, Esq. | Senior Legal Fellow at Conservative Partnership Institute

10:00 – 12:00 noon | Midmorning Workshop

  • Preparing for Post-Election, War Rooms, and Recounts (Amethyst Room)
    • Lee Goodman | Former Chairman, Federal Election Commission, partner at Wiley Rein, election and political law
    • Brenda Hankins | Partner at Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, election and political law.

10:30 – 11:45 a.m. | Morning Workshops

  • Election Integrity Training Part 2 (Salon C)
    • Dr. Clara Belle Wheeler | Senior Fellow, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
  • Emergency Project to Document Potential Illegal Registrations (Salon B)
    • Aimee David | Senior Fellow, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
    • Christian Adams | President & General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation
  • Protecting Vulnerable Voters (Salon A)
    • Tracey Miller | Vice President, American Constitutional Rights Union

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch (Ballroom)

  • How Zuckbucks and the Left Used Charitable Dollars to Influence the 2020 Election
    • Scott Walter | President, Capital Research Center

1:45 – 3:00 p.m. | Afternoon Workshops

  • Election Integrity Training Part 1 (Salon C)
    • Dr. Clara Belle Wheeler | Senior Fellow, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
  • Recruiting, Scheduling, and Deploying Poll Observers (Salon B)
    • Melody Clarke | Senior Regional Coordinator, Heritage Action for America
  • Researching How Your Local Election Office Conducts YOUR Elections (Salon A)
    • Cleta Mitchell, Esq. | Senior Legal Fellow, Conservative Partnership Institute

3:15 – 4:30 p.m. | Afternoon Workshops

  • Election Integrity Training Part 2 (Salon C)
    • Dr. Clara Belle Wheeler | Senior Fellow, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
  • Emergency Project to Document Potential Illegal Registrations (Salon B)
    • Aimee David | Senior Fellow, Virginia Institute for Public Policy
    • Christian Adams | President & General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation
  • Protecting Vulnerable Voters (Salon A)
    • Tracey Miller | Vice President, American Constitutional Rights Union

4:45 p.m. | Closing Reception

  • Sponsored by FreedomWorks
  • Voting Rights Pledge

6:00 p.m. | Summit Concludes

*Note: Summit schedule is subject to change.

REGISTER HERE.

For summit related questions or concerns, please email [email protected] or call/text 540.245.1776.

To make reservations at the Hilton Downtown Richmond, please click HERE. **Please note that the room block has filled up and is no longer available. However, you may still contact the hotel directly to make a room reservation.

Election Integrity Summit II brought to you by:

Politically Diverse Coalition Pushes Virginia To Create A Free Market For Energy

by: Oliver Mendoza

This article was re-printed with permission from RVA Magazine.

The Virginia Energy Reform Coalition has brought together groups of various political affiliations to push for free-market alternatives to Dominion.

 

With the current divisions between political ideologies in America, the advent of a group like the Virginia Energy Reform Coalition (VERC) can be like a breath of fresh air. VERC is composed of several Virginia organizations of surprisingly varied political stances who have come together to try and put an end to the monopoly Dominion Energy has on Virginia’s electrical supply.

In 1999, Virginia attempted to deregulate the energy market and failed. Now 20 years later, we are seeing groups like the progressive Virginia Poverty Law Center teaming up with the likes of Ken Cuccinelli’s FreedomWorks Foundation to help create a competitive free market for energy in Virginia.

VERC consists of nine different organizations in all: Appalachian Voices, Clean Virginia, Earth Stewardship Alliance, FreedomWorks, Piedmont Environmental Council, R Street Institute, Reason Foundation, Virginia Institute for Public Policy, and Virginia Poverty Law Center.

Some of these groups are advocates for clean energy and clean government. Brennan Gilmore, the Executive Director at Clean Virginia, said that there have been a series of oversteps by Dominion that led to consumers dealing with higher prices and businesses not being able to compete in the commonwealth’s large energy market.

“People across the political spectrum have reacted in a very strong way,” said Gilmore. “It was a testament to just how far these utilities have abused their monopolies that allowed for this type of unprecedented coalition to be built.”

Though some of the groups may clash over other political issues, they agree on the topic at hand: that a free, competitive energy market would benefit all parties.

Ken Cuccinelli speaks at the press conference for the VERC launch. Photo courtesy Appalachian Voices

“I realized that working with folks who have different ideologies with you is actually pretty easy when you’re headed for the same goal,” said Lynn Taylor, the President of Virginia Institute for Public Policy (VIPP). Taylor pointed out that in 2018, according to an article in USA Today, Virginia had the eighth-highest electrical utility bills in the country. According to Taylor, if utilities were allowed to compete for customers, consumers and businesses would have options on the price they pay for electricity, ideally leading to lower prices.

“This is an area where I think transparency does not have a party, and doing the right thing and creating fairness in the system does not have a party,” said Dana Wiggins, director of Outreach and Consumer Advocacy at the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC). VPLC advocates for low-income Virginians, and adds a little more depth and diversity to the VERC.

According to Wiggins, the VPLC has put forth a proposal for a program to help low-income Virginians by implementing energy efficiency measures. Under VPLC’s plan, any Virginians paying more than 6 percent of their income towards electric bills would qualify for a program to cap their payments at 6 percent.

While a group like the VPLC might seem unlikely to make an alliance with high-profile Republican and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, this isn’t the first time the two have worked together. In 2017, Cuccinelli filed a legal brief on behalf of the VPLC, who were then challenging a law that had locked in Dominion and Appalachian Power Co.’s rates for five years to protect the utilities from costs associated with Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

Clearly the old saying really is true: politics makes strange bedfellows. But for the leaders of the organizations making up the VERC, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “In a time when politics and policy seems pretty hopelessly divided, it’s actually been really refreshing to cross that ideological threshold,” said Gilmore.

Top photo by Marco Sanchez, courtesy of Piedmont Environmental Council