Public Interest Legal Foundation

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is an Indianapolis based "public interest law firm dedicated entirely to election integrity." Since its founding in 2012, the firm has submitted amicus curiae briefings and litigated on election arguing to fight what it sees as "lawlessness in American elections."

The firm is run by J. Christian Adams, who serves as its president and general counsel. Under his leadership, the group has been focused on the threat of "voter fraud," something most scholars in the field dispute being as widespread of an issue as Adams and the Public Interest Legal Foundation claim it to be.

PILF, which claims to be nonpartisan a nonprofit, was formerly known as the "Act Right Legal Foundation,". Brian Brown is the former Chair of the Board for PILF as well as the Chairman and Founder of Act Right -- a conservative action website for giving donations to right-wing candidates and cause. While PLIF was the "Act Right Legal Foundation" it gave grants to conservative causes.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation is a former "associate member" of the State Policy Network

News and Controversies

Efforts to "Purge" Voter Rolls

PILF, alongside Judicial Watch, the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), and True the Vote sent "menacing" letters to 248 local election officials across the United States. The letter, using the PILF letterhead and its "nonpartisan, nonprofit, public-interest" label, "notify" recipients that based on PILF research their "jurisdiction is in apparent violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act."

According to The Brennan Center, "PILF uses an unreliable and inaccurate assessment of voter registration rates" to claim that the recipients of the letters have a higher number of voters than it does members of the voting eligible population. The Brennan Center continues to assert that it "falsely claims these high registration rates alone provide strong evidence that a jurisdiction is not fulfilling its obligation to maintain accurate voter registration databases." After laying out a proposal to address their concerns, PILF has threatened litigation if they suggestions are not followed. "PILF’S letter is part of a larger concerted effort to remove voters from registration lists and further its false and baseless claim that there is widespread voter fraud across the country" according to the Brennan Center.

PILF was criticized as encouraging these purges for partisan Republican gains.

Lawsuit over "Falsely Mislabeling" Individuals

Four individuals initiated a lawsuit against PILF and J. Christian Adams in April of 2018 claiming that they had been “recklessly” listed as labeled as former-voters who had been removed from the rolls as non-citizens on the PILF "Alien Invasion" report. The plaintiffs had their names addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers listed in the report. The four people say that they "have a legitimate concern regarding harassment and physical safety" as a result of online responses to the report. They are suing on the grounds of defamation and allege that PILF violated the Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act.

Ties to the Kobach "Election Integrity" Commission

J. Christian Adams was a member of President Donald Trump's "election integrity commission." It purported to "study the registration and voting processes used in Federal elections." According to the Guardian, the commission was "formed in response to the president’s unfounded claim that up to 5 [million] illegal votes were cast in the 2016 election." At the announcement of said commission, Vice President Mike Pence promised that "this bipartisan group will perform a truly nonpartisan service to the American people.” The Washington Post characterized those remarks as "all well and good" until Pence introduced the co-chair of the commission, Kris Kobach. Which was, "a bit like a wolf standing up and giving a speech about how predators and prey will work together to establish peace on the prairie, and then introducing his vice chair, a bobcat." The commission was sharply criticized for Pence's characterization of the commission's lack of "preconceived notions or preordained results."

When Trump appointed PLIF's J. Christian Adams to the commission, the Guardian noted his record as a litigant and activist against racial minority groups.

"Alien Invasion" Research Paper

In 2016 report PILF put out in collaboration with the Virginia Voters Alliance, it alleges that there were "1046 aliens who registered to vote illegally" in Virginia and that the National Voter Rights Act has "increased the number of ineligible voters on state voter rolls."

This report was criticized by election officials and scholars who said that the methodology of the report was flawed. Providers of the election data to PILF allege that the firm was purposefully misusing it. According to Mother Jones, "a likelier explanation for many of the discrepancies may be simple human error in checking the wrong box on a form at the Department of Motor Vehicles." A federal judge called PILF's methodology “misleading.”

In an overarching report on claims of illegal immigrants voting, the Brennan Center at New York University School of Law, found no indication of widespread voter fraud, which went along with the "wide consensus among scholars, journalists and election administrators: voter fraud of any kind, including noncitizen voting, is rare."

Core Finacials

2016

• Total Revenue: $6,592,870
• Total Expenses: $6,963,067
• Net Assets: $941,389

2015

• Total Revenue: $561,867
• Total Expenses: $761,741
• Net Assets: $381,278

2014

• Total Revenue: $1,914,588
• Total Expenses: $1,775,147
• Net Assets: $679,382

Grants Distributed

• Susan B. Anthony List: $709,470
• National Org. for Marriage: 27,128 (grant listed in the form of "non-cash assistance")

2013:

• Total Revenue: $1,669,539
• Total Expenses: $1,218,054
• Net Assets: $539,942

Grants Distributed

• Susan B. Anthony List: $180,424
• Charitable Allies: $132,424 (grant listed in the form of "non-cash assistance")
• National Organization for Marriage: $37,575 (grant listed in the form of "non-cash assistance")
  • National Org. for Marriage Ed Fund: $5,169 (grant listed in the form of "non-cash assistance")
• Family PAC: $8,288 (grant listed in the form of "non-cash assistance")
• ActRight Education Trust Fund: $21,217 (grant listed in the form of "non-cash assistance")

2012:

• Total Revenue: $1,255,825
• Total Expenses: $1,168,959
• Net Assets: $86,866

Grants Distributed

• Susan B. Anthony List: $336,249

Personnel

Staff

• Kaylan L. Phiilips, chief litgation counsel
• Joseph A. Vanderhulst
• Noel H. Johnson
• J. Christian Adams, president, general counsel

Board of Directors

According to the PILF 2016 990 form

• Brian Brown, director
• William Davis, director
• Hans von Spakovsky, director
• Dr. John Eastman, director
• Cleta Mitchell, chairman
• Neil Corkery, treasurer
• J. Christian Adams, president, general counsel
• Shawna L. Powell, secretary

Contact Information

Public Interest Legal Foundation
32 East Washington Street
Suite 1675
Indianapolis, IN 46204-3594
Website: https://publicinterestlegal.org
Phone: 317–203–5599
Email: media@publicinterestlegal.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PILFoundation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PublicInterestLegal