Nine GOP-led attorneys general are suing the Biden administration over voter registration efforts

BY: DARRELL EHRLICK

Nine states, including Kansas, are challenging an executive order by President Joe Biden that would enlist federal agencies to help register residents to vote, and those states say the order undermines their power to control elections, calling it a subsidized program from federal level, intended to stimulate democracy. and left blocks.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen filed the federal lawsuit in Wichita court. The nine states are Montana, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

At the heart of the process is Executive Order 14019, which was issued on March 10, 2021, and directs federal agencies “to consider ways to expand opportunities for citizens to register to vote and obtain information about the election process and participate in he. “

States challenging the executive order say Biden is transforming various federal agencies, turning them in part into an illegal “voter registration organization.” Attorneys general say elections, including voter registration, are solely the province of the states, guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

What’s more, states said it was an example of the federal government trying to usurp states’ sovereignty and giving states no choice but to go to federal court. The suit said the states were never invited into the process, never allowed to comment, and accuses the Biden administration of hiding the plans.

“In response to Freedom of Information Act requests, the Biden-Harris Administration asserted that the plans are subject to privilege and may be withheld from public scrutiny,” the suit claims.

The suit lists a number of federal agencies as defendants, including the US Treasury, US Department of Justice, US Department of the Interior, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Labor, US Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development of the US and the US Department of Education.

The lawsuit also argues that the National Voter Registration Act means federal agencies can’t stand in the way of citizens voting, but it also said voter registration is left up to the states and Biden’s order exceeds his authority.

The 41-page lawsuit outlines a number of ways the executive order directs federal agencies to help strengthen voter registration efforts, including:

1. The lawsuit accuses the Justice Department of providing information to those who remain eligible to vote while in federal custody, as well as training prisoners about voting laws and rights before re-entry.
2. It says the Interior Department will disseminate information about registration and voting at Bureau of Indian Education-run schools and tribal colleges and universities.
3. The order also encourages the Department of Agriculture to provide nonpartisan voter information to its borrowers and lenders about registration and voting.
4. Designating 2,400 American Job Centers, which provide guidance, training, and career services, to become voter registration agents under the National Voter Registration Act.
5. Allowing space in community areas of public housing for certain election-related activities, including voter registration or voter drop-off boxes for early voting.
6. The lawsuit said the order allows the Department of Education to allow federal study funds to “support voter registration activities.”

“There is little detail about how agencies determine whether a third-party organization is ‘approved,’ ‘nonpartisan,’ or with which third-party organizations an agency may work to promote voter registration,” the suit says. “A rule allowing federal agencies to engage in voter registration activities abridges the states’ constitutionally protected sovereign rights.”

As a practical matter, the states argue that the federal government’s executive order not only exceeds the constitution, but could threaten efforts in every state.

“The federal government’s vast resources make it unique among all possible entities involved in voter registration. Because of the resources it can bring to bear, the federal government can engage in voter registration activities on a scale that will virtually defeat any state’s attempt to regulate the actions of the government,” the suit says.

Knudsen, Montana’s attorney general, echoed that sentiment when he announced the Helena lawsuit on Tuesday.

“Fair elections are an essential part of our country’s republic. Congress gave states the power to oversee elections years ago,” Knudsen said. “I will not stand by while the Biden-Harris administration shamelessly tries to garner votes by hiring its own agencies to register voters and disregarding states’ own voter registration systems, jeopardizing the integrity of our elections.”

States have also said that encouraging a variety of different agencies without proper training puts elections at risk of fraud.

“They failed to consider the risk of fraud or implement actions to prevent fraud, which threatens the integrity of the state administration of elections,” the states said. “This includes, at a minimum, ensuring that illegal aliens do not register to vote through the plans the agency defendants have put in place.”

It is already against federal law for non-citizens to vote in elections.

The states are closing the lawsuit saying the executive order plans were not motivated to help register residents to vote, rather they are part of a Democratic plan.

“(The executive order) was motivated by a partisan desire to unfairly increase the Democratic vote, as shown by the fact that the order came from left-wing, progressive groups,” the suit claims. “The purpose is to promote left-wing politicians and policies in elections.”

This story was produced by the Daily Montanan, a State Newsroom affiliate.