Download the PDF: New Black Panther Party Report

During the 2008 presidential election, two New Black Panther Party (NBPP) members stood outside a polling place in Philadelphia in paramilitary garb and shouted racial slurs. One of the men brandished a nightstick. In December 2008, a civil case for alleged Voting Rights Act violations for intimidating or attempting to intimidate voters, poll workers and observers was initiated against the NBPP, its chairman, and the two men at the polling place. Despite the entry of a default judgment in DOJ’s favor, in May 2009 the Department abruptly reversed course. It dismissed charges against all but one of the defendants and reduced the original sanctions it requested against the original defendant. Due to the Department’s inconsistent explanations for its actions, the Commission initiated an investigation into whether the Department enforced the Voting Rights Act in a race-neutral manner in the NBPP case.

Download PDF: Commission Letter to Attorney General Holder regarding ACORN

In October 2009, the Commission sent a letter to Attorney General Holder urging him to direct the Department of Justice to investigate whether ACORN was involved in fostering vote fraud.