Category: Election 2024

The Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) is issuing new guidelines for state and local election officials regarding who can be removed from voter rolls. However, a former DOJ attorney says the move is tantamount to political intimidation and discourages election officials from effectively ensuring only eligible voters cast ballots.

“This is what I perceive as an attempt by the Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division to intimidate state and local jurisdictions and state and local election officials from doing their jobs,” said Gene Hamilton—a former attorney with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security—in a recent interview. Hamilton, who now serves as the executive director and senior counsel for America First Legal, added: “What they’re trying to do is they’re trying to chill people from actually doing the very things that are common sense.”

LAST MINUTE GUIDANCE.

On September 9, the DOJ quietly released guidance directed at state and local election workers that emphasized the purging of “voting rolls must be accomplished in compliance with federal law and in a nondiscriminatory manner.” Prior to any election, states are supposed to review their lists of eligible voters, ensuring they’re up to date and any ineligible individuals are removed.

“Ensuring that every eligible voter is able to [vote] and have that vote counted is a critical aspect of sustaining a robust democracy, and it is a top priority for the Justice Department,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement justifying the updated guidance. She added: “As we approach Election Day, it is important that states adhere to all aspects of federal law that safeguard the rights of eligible voters to remain on the active voter lists and to vote free from discrimination and intimidation.”

THREAT TO ELECTION INTEGRITY.

While the DOJ claims the guidance does not prohibit states from removing ineligible voters, including noncitizens or those who have committed voter fraud, Hamilton contends that it may still discourage states and local authorities from determining who is an eligible voter. The updated DOJ rules also bar states from removing voters from rolls within 90 days of an upcoming federal election.

In Georgia, it is estimated that as many as 47,000 noncitizens may be registered to vote after journalists revealed that 14 percent of the noncitizens they had spoken to claimed they were registered. The National Pulse reported earlier this year that 49 states are providing voter registration forms to noncitizens, who are overwhelmingly registered as Democrats.

Some states have taken action on the issue, with Texas removing a million ineligible voters from its rolls this year.

Will Upton contributed to this report.