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VIA EMAIL October 1, 2012 The Honorable Barbara Boxer United States Senate 112 Hart Senate Office

Building Washington, D.C., 20510

Dear Senator Boxer:

I am writing to request a meeting with you to discuss True the Vote, a national, nonpartisan organization I founded for the purpose of protecting the integrity of our electoral process. I believe we agree on many common goals, such as the right of every American to have the opportunity to participate in a fair and legal electoral process. Therefore I am concerned about recent false statements you have made in the national media concerning True the Vote and our efforts to involve citizens at the polls. As a United States Senator, it is important that you have all the facts. Based on several of your recent statements, it is clear that you are relying on second-hand knowledge or poor staff research regarding the activities of our organization. You also made a Congressional referral to the United States Department of Justice calling for an investigation into True the Vote, an organization operating legally under both federal and state statutes in an effort to promote election integrity. Your September 27 letter to the Honorable Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez contains numerous inaccurate remarks - and I hope you will carefully consider a retraction. Among the letters inaccuracies is the assertion that True The Vote put forth citizen challenges to Ohios voter rolls. Though your statements to the media indicated otherwise, it was Ohio Voter Integrity Project that filed challenges, not True the Vote. True The Vote and Ohio Voter Integrity Project are two separate entities with differing leadership, membership, and organizational structure to state otherwise is inaccurate.
Furthermore, your statements in press releases, letters, and on MSNBCs The Ed Show, cloud the facts on the legality of citizen challenges to county voter rolls. Ohio Election Code 3503.24 outlines the legal process for duly registered electors to challenge their local registrations based on irregularities found in the publicly available records. According to 3503.24(B),

True the Vote | 7232 Wynnwood Lane | Houston, Texas 77008

election boards have the duty to review the challenge, then either summarily grant or deny the finding. Should further investigation be required, boards are instructed to set a time for a hearing and notify those challenged in writing three (3) days prior.

You are most certainly aware that Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act gives a private right of action for citizens to bring lawsuits in the event election registrars are failing to maintain the voter rolls properly. Ohio law, in fact, expressly provides for citizen challenges to registration records which appear to be in violation of Section 8. Responsible citizens exercising powers under Section 8 have every right, and we would argue, a civil obligation, to assist the electoral processing by bringing this information to the attention of election officials. To assume that the exercise of rights under federal and state law violates federal law is inaccurate, misleading, and unfair. It is understandable that you are not familiar with all of the details of the mission or methods of True the Vote. I will contact your staff early this week in an effort to coordinate a convenient meeting time in your Washington, D.C. office, during which I can brief you or your staff about our program and help dispel any misconceptions you may have. In the interim, if you anticipate making any future comments about True the Vote, please do not hesitate to contact me directly so that I may provide you with accurate information.

Sincerely,

Catherine Engelbrecht Founder and President True The Vote

cc: U.S. Senator John Cornyn

True the Vote | 7232 Wynnwood Lane | Houston, Texas 77008

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