As the faculty adviser to the College Republicans, I was quite concerned to read the story “GOP leader selecting votes?” However, after reading the story carefully and checking with the county clerk’s office, it appears to me that Eric Johnson has done nothing wrong. To the contrary, it seems Eric has behaved legally and effectively. If conducting a voter-registration drive, a deputy registrar may not campaign for a party or an individual and cannot refuse to register a potential voter. At these drives, the deputy registrar fills out the form with the voter and takes responsibility for the forms, which are public property, ultimately submitting the forms to the county clerk’s office. The accusations made by Eileen Dubin, chair of the DeKalb County Democratic Central Committee, did not occur over a formal registration drive. Instead, what Eric was doing was approaching potential voters and asking them if they were registered. If they were not registered and seemed likely to vote Republican, he handed them a form by which “they might register themselves.” These forms are available online and can be distributed by anyone. While the difference between the two forms of behavior may seem small, it is important. The first is illegal; selectively encouraging people to register for themselves is perfectly legal and good politics.

Unfortunately, the Northern Star printed the allegations made by Ms. Dubin without substantiating their validity. I can’t fault Ms. Dubin. She is an effective and committed political leader. Her attempt to challenge the most effective campus political organization was somewhat below the belt, but arguably good politics. However, the Star’s decision to print the story, without confirming the validity of the charges with the county clerk’s office, is simply poor journalism. Doing so took me only about 20 minutes and was my original recommendation to the Star. While the Star may have spoken with the county clerk’s office, no one asked the key questions. Is selectively distributing self-registration forms illegal? Is there an actual complaint? Is there an investigation? The answer I received to all three questions was “no.”

It is also worth noting that Eric has provided considerable and distinguished public service. He has served as chairman of the NIU CRs, a member of University Council, a member of the Judicial Board, a member of the Bond Revenue Fees Committee, a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education Student Advisory Committee, a member of the DeKalb County Board, the Director of Governmental Affairs for the NIU Student Association, and currently serves as the state chairman of the Illinois CR Federation and as NIU’s Student Trustee.

I am grateful to Eric for the outstanding service he has performed. As to having a newspaper print unsubstantiated – and ultimately false – allegations against Eric Johnson, all I can say is: “Welcome to politics, Eric.” While I might call for Star reporters to be sure of their story before presenting it, I certainly can’t suggest they use Dan Rather or CBS News as a role model. Oh wait, maybe they did.

Daniel R. Kempton

Associate professor, political science

Faculty adviser,

NIU College Republicans