[EL] Butler and the EAC

[Justin Levitt]

I've never met or spoken with Mr. Butler (at least, not to my 
knowledge), and I have absolutely no idea from any other sources whether 
he'd be a partisan EAC commissioner or not.  But to draw conclusions 
from the 159 characters in his Twitter bio about how he would act in a 
position of official responsibility strikes me as just as silly as 
concluding how he'd act in a position of official responsibility based 
on who he chose to vote for.  And whether Rick means the suggestion that 
Butler could be quite partisan in a new position as praise or critique, 
it also strikes me as deeply unfair to Mr. Butler.

The quoted Twitter bio tells me that Mr. Butler has consulted for 
political organizations and nonprofits.  He currently runs an 
organization supporting independent filmmaking apparently for the 
benefit of communities affected by disaster, displacement and economic 
disparity <http://www.filmaid.org/what-we-do/>.  He used to run an 
organization that is highly critical of some conservative news outlets, 
Fox included, and recognizes that Fox supporters aren't likely to agree 
with him.

I don't see anything in there about political parties or government 
service, much less using government service for partisan political 
ends.  Even if you think that these past jobs have been partisan, 
there's no reason to assume that people can't tell the difference 
between appropriate behavior in a private capacity and appropriate 
behavior in a government job representing the people.  Some people, it's 
true, have only one gear.   But as I've written 
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=2239491>, the vast majority of people 
understand role morality pretty well, and behave differently in 
different roles throughout their life.

Branding people as partisan through-and-through based on a few words in 
a different context (much less words that don't actually show a 
predilection to political partisanship) has costs.  Aside from any 
personal impact on Mr. Butler, or individuals who may be contemplating 
public service in the future, it decreases any effect of critique that 
actually may be merited by real inappropriate action.

-- 
Justin Levitt
Professor of Law
Loyola Law School | Los Angeles
919 Albany St.
Los Angeles, CA  90015
213-736-7417
justin.levitt at lls.edu
ssrn.com/author=698321

On 11/20/2014 7:32 AM, Rick Hasen wrote:
>
>
>     Myrna Perez Withdraws from EAC Consideration; President Nominates
>     Matthew Butler <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68518>
>
> Posted onNovember 19, 2014 4:41 pm 
> <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=68518>byRick Hasen 
> <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> The rumors turned out to be true. The Brennan Center's Myrna Perezhas 
> withdrawn 
> <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/19/presidential-nominations-and-withdrawal-sent-senate>her 
> nomination and one of the Democratic-appointed EAC commissiners. In 
> her place, Matthew Butler.
>
> Butler's current twitter bio<https://twitter.com/matthewsbutler>makes 
> it sounds like he could be quite partisan in this position: "Political 
> & Non-Profit Management Consultant. Current interim ED @FilmAid 
> <https://twitter.com/FilmAid>. Fmr. CEO @MMFA 
> <https://twitter.com/MMFA>. Opinions my own and probably not popular 
> with many fans of Fox News."
>
> As I explain in /The Voting Wars/ 
> <http://www.amazon.com/The-Voting-Wars-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300198248>, 
> there was a time when a few courageous EAC commissioners could have 
> made the Commission something to get above the partisan sniping. But 
> they were shut down and that moment regrettably has passed.
>
>
> Posted inelection administration 
> <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>,Election Assistance Commission 
> <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34>,The Voting Wars 
> <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
>
>

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