Hans von Spakovsky, Author at American Constitutional Rights Union

About Hans von Spakovsky

Hans von Spakovsky is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on elections and election reform. He is manager of the Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative and a senior legal fellow in Heritage’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. He is the co-author with John Fund of the book “Who’s Counting?: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk” (Encounter Books, 2012). Before joining Heritage in 2008, Mr. von Spakovsky served two years as a member of the Federal Election Commission, the authority charged with enforcing campaign finance laws for congressional and presidential elections, including public funding. He has served on the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and on the Fulton County (Ga.) Board of Registrations and Elections. He is a former vice chairman of the Fairfax County (Va.) Electoral Board and a former member of the Virginia Advisory Board to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. A 1984 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law, Mr. von Spakovsky received his B.S. degree in 1981 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Supreme Court Examines Whether Alabama’s Congressional Districts Violate Voting Rights Act

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:45-05:00October 8th, 2022|

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which took center stage Tuesday during oral arguments at the Supreme Court, prohibits a state from imposing a “standard, practice, or procedure” that “results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color … .” Courts have found that states violate this provision when they draw new legislative districts that dilute the voting power of minority voters by either packing as many of these voters as possible into a single district or by splitting these voters among various other districts—practices known as “packing” and “cracking” voters.

FBI, DOJ Misuse Federal Law to Arrest, Charge Pro-Life Activist

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:48-05:00September 28th, 2022|

In an early morning raid Friday in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, about two dozen FBI agents with weapons drawn pounded on the door of Mark Houck’s home, where he lives with his wife and seven children. The FBI agents arrested Houck based on a federal indictment. Sounds serious, right? Is Houck a domestic terrorist, an American jihadist, a dangerous militia member, a violent felon, or someone with a prior history of violence toward law enforcement who would require such an overwhelming show of force? Not even close.

Von Spakovsky: DOJ Harasses Citizens for Exercising First Amendment Rights

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:48-05:00September 28th, 2022|

The Justice Department has hit Eagle Forum of Alabama with a voluminous subpoena that violates the organization’s First Amendment rights to speak freely, engage in the political process, and talk to its elected representatives.

Von Spakovsky: Lawsuit Continues Against Benson Over Dead on Voter Rolls

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:53-05:00September 14th, 2022|

Culling dead individuals from Michigan voter rolls is a pretty basic task for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Now Judge Jane M. Beckering, an appointee of President Joe Biden, has rejected Benson’s demand to dismiss a lawsuit filed against her claiming she refused to remove almost 26,000 dead individuals from the state’s voter rolls.

Von Spakovsky: Federal Government’s Bungled Census Bad News for Red States. Here’s Why.

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:56-05:00September 8th, 2022|

If a politician from Florida decides to run for president in 2024, his (or her) home state will be short two votes in the Electoral College, and when the new session of the U.S. House of Representatives convenes in January 2023, Florida will be missing two congressional seats to which it is entitled. Why? Because according to a post-2020 census survey, the U.S. Census Bureau significantly undercounted the population of Florida, as well as Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. At the same time, it overcounted the population of eight states, all but one of which is a blue state.

Von Spakovsky: Voter Fraud Cases Continue to Occur

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:57-05:00September 1st, 2022|

We recently added nine new cases to the Heritage Election Fraud Database, bringing the total number of entries of proven instances of voter fraud in the database to 1,374. The mounting collection of cases continue to disprove the narrative that voter fraud is not real and that further election integrity measures are not needed.

Von Spakovsky: Census Bureau Admits Overcounting 7 Blue States, Just 1 Red State

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:35:58-05:00August 25th, 2022|

In a shocking report, the U.S. Census Bureau recently admitted that it overcounted the populations of eight states and undercounted the populations of six states in the 2020 census. All but one of the states overcounted is a blue state, and all but one of the undercounted states is red.

Von Spakovsky: Ahead of Midterms, 14 States Improve Election Integrity Laws

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:36:01-05:00August 20th, 2022|

With primaries underway and with midterms and other fall ballot contests looming, multiple states are demonstrating a commitment to ensuring that their elections remain worthy of public confidence.

von Spakovsky: Non-citizens voting in California: Judge says no, even in left-wing state

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:36:03-05:00August 10th, 2022|

Sometimes, common sense can prevail – even in far-out California. Last week, California Superior Court Judge Richard B. Ulmer Jr. ruled that only U.S. citizens have the right to vote. In this, he echoed an earlier ruling by the New York Supreme Court.

Today’s FBI Partisans Tarnish Agency’s Already Damaged Image

By Hans von Spakovsky|2023-03-06T11:36:05-05:00August 5th, 2022|

The FBI is damaging its credibility with the American people. The latest revelations from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, about the political partisans who occupy the ranks of the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country are, if true, deeply disturbing.

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