Sample Candidate Questions for the BORDC 2006 Voter Information Guide
Many opportunities exist for you to engage candidates on issues relating to the Bill of Rights. Some ways you can use the questions below are:
- In Candidate Questionnaires: We suggest that your group select 3 questions about issues that resonate with local voters. Try not to pick more than one question in a category as many of the questions overlap. Candidates are very busy, so if you keep your questionnaire short, they will be more likely to respond.
- At Candidate Town Hall Meetings and Debates: We suggest that you ask questions that are specific enough to prevent a candidate from skirting around the issue. Also give the audience enough background to inform them why the question is important.
- At House Parties for Candidates: Members in your community may be holding “house parties” for candidates during the election season. These fundraising events offer a great opportunity for you to informally engage a candidate in conversation, using one of the following questions as a leadoff question.
The sample questions below are organized into the following topics:
Community
Resolutions
Civil
Rights and Liberties
The USA PATRIOT
Act
Government
Accountability
Detention,
Torture and Abuse
Surveillance
and Other Privacy Concerns
Immigrant
Rights
- [If community has passed a resolution]: What is your opinion of our community’s (state's) civil liberties resolution? If elected, would you enforce the resolution?
- [If passed resolution and candidate is an incumbent]: What have you done to enforce our community’s civil liberties resolution?
- As an elected official sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution, will you support and enforce our community's (proposed) resolution?
- As of [date] __ communities and __ states (including __________) have issued statements against the USA PATRIOT Act and other post-9/11 laws and policies that threaten civil liberties. What is your reaction to this movement and how would you take action in response to it? [You can find the updated number of communities at www.bordc.org.]
- [If community or state has passed or is considering a resolution]: What local issues do you see as related to our community’s civil liberties resolution and how would you address them?
- [If community/state is working on a resolution]: Community members/(People from across our state)are working on a resolution to protect our civil rights and liberties. If elected, would you support the resolution and, if so, how would you support it?
- Fairness and justice are high priorities for most Americans. Two of our basic civil rights are access to a fair trial and the right to an attorney. What would you do to protect these deeply held American values?
- [If local or state candidate]: How do you believe local and/or state officials and law enforcement agencies should respond to requests for cooperation from federal agencies that they believe may violate civil liberties?
- [If local candidate]: What threats to civil liberties do you see in our community, and how would you address them?
- What if any limits on free speech and religious freedom do you believe are justified by the current threat of international terrorism?
- Do you think the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments of the Bill of Rights should apply only to citizens or to foreign nationals in our community as well?
- In March 2006, Congress amended and reauthorized the USA PATRIOT Act. What additional amendments, if any, to the USA PATRIOT Act would you support and why?
- Millions of Americans are genuinely concerned that our civil liberties, as articulated in the Constitution and particularly in the Bill of Rights, are threatened by some provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and other government laws and policies. If elected, what would you do to address their concerns?
- Many Americans are concerned about decreased judicial oversight, increased police powers, and diminishing privacy for Americans, which resulted from the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and the reauthorization of its surveillance provisions earlier this year. How would you address their concerns?
- [If an incumbent, search their voting record on bills that affected civil liberties here.] You voted [in favor of, against] the PATRIOT Act/PATRIOT Act reauthorization. Why?
- [If not an incumbent] Would you have voted for the PATRIOT Act or its reauthorization?
- The USA PATRIOT Act and other post-9/11 policies affect state and local law enforcement. For example, the Department of Justice asked local police to help them round up men with Arab-sounding names after the 9/11 attacks. The men were held without charges or access to lawyers for long periods. How do you think local and/or state officials and law enforcement agencies should respond to requests for cooperation from federal agencies they believe violate the Bill of Rights?
- How would you respond to the concern of many Americans about what they see as an increase in government secrecy?
- What are your views on the President's claims of executive power on national security matters since 9/11?
- President Bush has issued more than 750 Constitutional challenges through his 130 signing statements – more challenges to legislation than all previous presidents combined. Bush has repeatedly said he doesn't need to “execute” a law he believes is unconstitutional. He has challenged the law outlawing torture, the PATRIOT Act reauthorization compelling him to report to Congress on secret searches of homes and papers, and a guarantee that whistleblowers will not be punished for informing Congress on safety issues. Do you support these actions by the President? Have you reviewed his signing statements? What steps will you take, if elected, to address this executive overreach?
- In 1978, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to protect the American people from warrantless domestic surveillance. Last December, a New York Times story revealed that the Bush Administration has been engaging in such surveillance. The Administration's position is that President Bush has the constitutional power to ignore FISA, and that Congress authorized the wiretapping when it passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in 2001. Do you believe the President is acting within his powers? Why or why not, and what do you propose as a remedy?
- An unprecedented number of whistleblowers from government agencies involved in national security have been relieved of their duties for revealing what they perceived as government wrongdoing, including alleged unconstitutional activities and programs, to their higher-ups, members of Congress, or the public. Do you consider these individuals patriots or traitors, and if you are elected, what would you do to solve this problem?
- (a) Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court's 5-3 ruling on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which stated that Congress's Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) resolution did not apply to the military tribunals envisioned by President Bush? (b) Do you agree or disagree with the administration's claim that the AUMF permits the administration to wiretap Americans without warrants required under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)?
- Do you believe that the federal government is doing enough to address the concerns of Americans who believe their civil liberties and privacy are threatened by many post-9/11 policies and secret government programs? If you do not, what would you do to address their concerns?
- What role should Congress [or other appropriate entity if question for local or state candidate] play in ensuring the protection of our civil rights? How well do you think this oversight system is working now? What would you change to make the oversight system work better?
- Many Americans are concerned about the seemingly absolute power of the Executive to make decisions that greatly impact human rights. What is your position on executive authority in a post 9-11 America?
- Do you believe it is necessary for our government to detain U.S. citizens and foreign nationals as “enemy combatants” indefinitely, without the habeas corpus right to challenge the government's reason for their detention?
- In 2005, Congress passed a Defense Appropriations bill that included
Senator John McCain's amendment abolishing torture. But another
amendment in the same bill stripped Guantánamo detainees
of their habeas corpus right to challenge their detentions and opened
the door for confessions extracted by torture to be used in their
trials. Habeas corpus is a universal right that was established
in the 13th century.
- [If an incumbent, search their voting record on these amendments here.] You voted (in favor of, against) the amendments. Why?
- [If not an incumbent] If elected, will you work to restore habeas corpus rights for all detainees and prisoners?
- Many Americans are concerned that detentions in the United States and Guantánamo Bay, detainee treatment in U.S. run prisons such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the CIA's program of kidnapping and "rendering" prisoners to countries known to use torture have made us less safe from terrorism. Do you agree, and if so, what would you do to change U.S. policy?
- The War Crimes Act of 1996 criminalizes violations of the Geneva Conventions, such as abuse or murder of detainees in U.S. custody. Such activities took place as a result of the 2002 so-called "torture memo" issued by the Bush administration's Department of Justice. The administration has asked members of Congress for protection from this law. Do you support Congress passing laws to insulate human rights violators from the War Crimes Act and the Geneva Conventions?
- Will you unequivocally work to abolish all forms of torture and
abuse of detainees by the U.S. government, including waterboarding,
stress positions, use of dogs, humiliation, sleep deprivation, and
other forms of debasement?
- [If a candidate for state or local office] Will you work to pass a resolution banning torture and abuse, calling upon the U.S. government to adhere to international laws and treaties?
- The United States has not held military tribunals in 60 years
(not since World War II). The Supreme Court, in its ruling on Hamdan
vs. Rumsfeld, ruled that the President's plan for such tribunals
neither meets international standards nor has the necessary approval
of Congress. Do you believe tribunals as envisioned by the President
are necessary now to protect against terrorism? Would you support
the use of courts martial instead? How would you incorporate Common
Article 3 into the process, to insure human rights are accorded
each detainee?
- If at a public forum, you may wish to include some details on military tribunals to brief the audience on the issue such as: military tribunals prohibit the right of appeal to a civilian court, use appointed military counsel for the defendant, and do not follow judicial rules of evidence. For example, hearsay evidence and evidence collected in violation of the Fourth Amendment may be admitted, evidence against a defendant may be withheld from a defendant and his or her lawyer, evidence obtained by torture or coercion may be admitted, and the defendant may be barred from attending his own proceedings.
Surveillance and Other Privacy Concerns
- Many Americans feel that the President is unwilling to follow
the laws of Congress. For example, President Bush continues to wiretap
Americans without seeking warrants, in violation of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
- [If a candidate for Congress] If you are (re)elected, will you work to hold the President accountable and to ensure that no American is wiretapped without a warrant, as guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights?
- [If a candidate for local office] Will you support a local resolution calling on the President to obey the laws enacted by Congress?
- The FBI and the Pentagon have been conducting surveillance on
innocuous groups exercising their free speech rights, such as the
Quakers and Greenpeace, and creating databases of information on
groups who have no ties to terrorism. Members of local Joint Terrorism
Task Forces (JTTFs) have been asking international scholars to spy
on immigrant communities for them.
- [If a candidate for Congress] Do you believe this surveillance is justified? If not, what will you do to stop it?
- [If a candidate for local office] The Portland (Oregon) City Council dismantled the JTTF in that city because the local police involved had no accountability to the city government. What, if anything, will you do locally to dismantle the JTTF in our city? What will you do to protect local residents by challenging these acts by the federal government?
- What is your position on the President's claim that he has constitutional
authority to conduct warrantless surveillance in the U.S.
- What is your position on the pending bill offered by Senators Specter and DeWine in the Senate (S. 2453), which would give the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court the authority to rule on the legality of the President's secret warrantless surveillance programs, and give the President authority to continue wiretapping without individual warrants currently required by the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights?
- What is your position on the pending Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act of 2006 (H.R. 5825) offered by Representatives Wilson, Sensenbrenner and Hoekstra in the House?
- What is your view on whether secret warrantless searches of Americans' homes or their conversations should be allowed? On whether those searches are constitutional under the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights?
- Should Congress enact strong protections for personal information on individuals held by third parties, such as credit card information, bank records, and library records requiring individualized suspicion and court orders before the government can obtain them?
- What is your view on whether and how Congress should conduct oversight of secret intelligence activities affecting Americans in the United States?
- What types of personal information do you believe it is legitimate to collect about citizens in order to protect against terrorist threats? What are legitimate uses of that information? [You can provide a few examples such as airport security, law enforcement databases and sharing information if you feel the question needs to be clarified to address your specific concerns.] How would you protect citizens’ privacy and civil liberties? What information should be off-limits?
- Congress voted in 2003 to de-fund the Pentagon’s Total Information Awareness project, yet several data-mining programs are ongoing, such as the CAPPS II airport-prescreening program. What would you do to ensure that people in the United States have a right to privacy?
- What specific steps would you take to ensure individual privacy and protection from secret government surveillance and intelligence gathering?
- What is your view on whether due process protections should be afforded individuals before they are detained or deported under U.S. immigration laws?
- What is your view on whether protections are needed to ensure that enforcement of the immigration laws is not arbitrary and unfair, for example, based on ethnic or racial profiling?