Fair Lines America

Fair Lines America (FLA) is a registered 501(c)4 non-profit that works to prevent independent redistricting commissions from establishing in the states, conducts redistricting trainings, and weighs in on redistricting litigation.^[1] FLA's executive director is Adam Kincaid, who also serves in the same capacity for the National Republican Redistricting Trust.

NRRT senior adviser Guy Harrison told Politico of Kincaid’s leadership, “Adam is a chief authority on redistricting within our party, and he has the experience and expertise to meet the Democrat litigation juggernaut head-on.”^[2]

FLA has a sister registered 501(c)3 organization: Fair Lines America Foundation.

1 News and Controversies
2 Ties to the Bradley Foundation
3 Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
4 Funding
5 Core Financials
- 5.1 Fair Lines America
- 5.2 Fair Lines America Foundation
6 Personnel
- 6.1 Fair Lines America
  - 6.1.1 Staff
  - 6.1.2 Board of Directors
- 6.2 Fair Lines America Foundation
  - 6.2.1 Staff
  - 6.2.2 Board of Directors
7 Contact Information
8 Articles and Resources
9 References

News and Controversies

Former New York Legislators Urge Republican Donors to donate to FLA

Former New York State Republican Chair Ed Cox and former NY Rep. John Faso sent a memo to Republican donors urging them to donate to either the Fair Lines America Foundation or the National Republican Redistricting Trust in order to fund the litigation efforts against the new congressional map for New York. The memo stated a predicted one and a half to three million dollar cost for the litigation efforts, and called upon Republican mega-donors to help with funding the team. ^[3]

FLA Sues U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Census Bureau

FLA filed a law suit against the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Census Bureau under the Freedom of Information Act. Due to pandemic lockdowns, the Census Bureau relied on a technique called imputation to fill in blank spaces in city populations where people live in groups (e.g. college dorms, prisons, and nursing homes). FLA believes this practice unfairly benefits liberal states, allowing them to have more Electoral College votes.^[4]

CMD Reports Fair Lines America Foundation to the IRS for Misreporting Income

The Center for Media and Democracy filed a complaint to the IRS against the Fair Lines America Foundation for underreporting its 2018 income. The organization reported an income of $50,000 in 2018, while research revealed they received almost four times that among in donations. FLAF is the 501(c)(3) sister organization to Fair Lines America.^[5]

FLA Launches American Redistricting Project Site

On June 1, 2020, The Hill reported that FLA launched a new site: The American Redistricting Project. FLA's executive director Adam Kincaid told The Hill, "If you are interested in redistricting and you're a college student or you are a reporter, you end up at the Brennan Center or you end up at a couple of blogs done by college professors, but there's nothing from the conservative movement. What we wanted to do was to fill that vacuum."^[6]

ALEC Holds Tutorial with FLA Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held a six-part training session "Mapping America" for "legislative leadership and key redistricting staff" in May 2020 by "our good friends at Fair Lines."^[1] (See ALEC section below for more.)

FLA Files Supporting Brief in Case Challenging Michigan's Independent Redistricting Commission

FLA filed an amicus brief in support of Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution's legal challenge to the creation of the independent commission following a 2018 vote to create an independent redistricting commission. The measure passed with 61.8 percent of the vote.^[1]

Ties to the Bradley Foundation

In 2019, the Bradley Foundation gave Fair Lines America Foundation $100,000 to "support start up efforts." Fair Lines America Foundation is also an "approved grant recipient" of Bradley's donor advised fund, the Bradley Impact Fund.^[1]

Bradley Files

In 2017, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of SourceWatch, launched a series of articles on the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, exposing the inner-workings of one of America's largest right-wing foundations. 56,000 previously undisclosed documents laid bare the Bradley Foundation's highly politicized agenda. CMD detailed Bradley's efforts to map and measure right wing infrastructure nationwide, including by dismantling and defunding unions to impact state elections; bankrolling discredited spin doctor Richard Berman and his many front groups; and more.

Find the series here at ExposedbyCMD.org.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held a six-part training session for "legislative leadership and key redistricting staff" in May 2020 by "our good friends at Fair Lines."^[1]

"The first, titled 'Redistricting Basics and the 2020 Census,' gave an 'overview of the tools and skills' needed for redistricting and featured “experts” on the 2020 Census.

The May 13 webinar on 'Changes in Redistricting Law' again featured 'experts' who spoke on the 'volume and impact of liberal (i.e. Democrats) litigation this decade and the changing redistricting legal landscape heading into 2021.'

Attendees to the third webinar scheduled for this afternoon, May 14, will hear from 'academic experts and lawyers' on 'The Fourteenth Amendment, Voting Rights Act, and Recent Academic Literature.'

The fourth webinar on May 19, titled 'Redistricting Data Science,' will delve into the technical resources available to map drawers and how FLA and its Foundation can be of assistance.

'Commission Litigation and Engagement,' the fifth webinar on May 21, will focus on legal challenges to redistricting commissions and how to 'engage' with them, and the final webinar on May 27 will give legislators the 'tools' to defend their 'maps, push back against liberal redistricting strategies, and go on offense,'" David Armiak reported for the Center for Media and Democracy.^[1]

About ALEC

ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Funding

FLA and FLA Foundation are not required to disclose their funders. Major funders, however, were found through a search of IRS filings and annual reviews. Here are the known funders:

Fair Lines America Funders

American Action Network: $2,650,000 (2020-2021)
Ending Spending: $50,000 (2022)
Judicial Crisis Network: $250,000 (2020)
Republican Governors Public Policy Committee: $28,000 (2020)

Fair Lines America Foundation Funders

Barry Friedberg & Charlotte Moss Family Foundation (2021): $1,000
Bradley Foundation: $450,000 (2019-2021)
Bradley Impact Fund: $40,550 (2019-2022)
CLA Inc: $123,000 (2020)
DonorsTrust: $4,200,000 (2018-2022)
Ending Spending: $100,000 (2020)
Greenberg Foundation: $25,000 (2022)
Irving I Moskowitz Foundation: $150,000 (2019)
Jewish Communal Fund: $75,000 (2021)
John William Pope Foundation: $700,000 (2018-2021)
Legacy Foundation: $12,000 (2018)
National Philanthropic Trust: $1,500,000 (2018-2021)
Randolph Foundation: $5,000 (2022)
Schwab Charitable Fund: $2,000,000 (2020)
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: $46,000 (2021)

Core Financials