This is disturbing news. Something stinks.
From Slate.com last Friday:
Imagine the National Rifle Association’s Web site suddenly disappeared, along with all the data and reports the group had ever posted on gun issues. Imagine Planned Parenthood inexplicably closed its doors one day, without comment from its former leaders. The scenarios are unthinkable, given how established these organizations have become. But even if something did happen to the NRA or Planned Parenthood, no doubt other gun or abortion groups would quickly fill the vacuum and push the ideas they’d pushed for years.
Not so for the American Center for Voting Rights, a group that has literally just disappeared as an organization, and for which it seems no replacement group will rise up. With no notice and little comment, ACVR—the only prominent nongovernmental organization claiming that voter fraud is a major problem, a problem warranting strict rules such as voter-ID laws—simply stopped appearing at government panels and conferences. Its Web domain name has suddenly expired, its reports are all gone (except where they have been preserved by its opponents), and its general counsel, Mark “Thor” Hearne, has cleansed his résumé of affiliation with the group. Hearne won’t speak to the press about ACVR’s demise. No other group has taken up the “voter fraud” mantra.
Also, from the blog Election Law:
The Demise of the American Center for Voting Rights?
I recently linked to a Brad Blog post noting that the American Center for Voting Rights appeared to have disappeared. This organization, supported by Republicans, had been the most prominent non-governmental group pushing for stricter voter identification laws in the name of preventing voting fraud.
I wanted to cite to some of the material on the ACVR website in my draft paper on the politicization of election reform, but their website appeared down. I sent a few emails to try to find out what was going on, including to Thor Hearne, who was head of the group. So far, I have received no response. In the meantime, as this link shows, the domain name for AVCR is now for sale. Very odd.
Very Odd, Indeed. Anyone have any more info on this?
