• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

Lawsuit Seeks Public Info About Controversial Voting Purge Letter

By DC Editors - August 7, 2018 Leave a Comment

Controversial Voting Purge Letter

From the Brennan Center:

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is suing the Justice Department today for refusing to turn over documents related to a controversial letter DOJ sent last year, which sought detailed information about how states maintain their voter rolls. Voting rights groups are concerned that it could be a prelude to pressuring states to engage in aggressive voter purges — the often-flawed process of deleting names from voter registration lists.

“The public has a right to know why the Justice Department sent this letter, and what information it received from states in response,” said Jonathan Brater, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. “The Justice Department should be fighting to protect the voting rights of all Americans. We are concerned, though, that this letter may be part of a broader effort to undermine those rights, and we are going to court to find out.”

Non-partisan ethics watchdog American Oversight is representing the Brennan Center in the lawsuit.

DOJ sent the letter in July 2017, requesting that election officials in 44 states share details about how they are complying with federal laws that govern voter list maintenance. In it, DOJ claimed the inquiry was related to “nationwide enforcement efforts.” The Brennan Center filed a Freedom of Information Act request shortly afterward, requesting communication and documents related to both the creation of the letter and any responses DOJ received from states. Earlier this year, the DOJ largely denied the request, producing some partially-redacted pages while at the same time acknowledging that additional responsive documents exist.

“On its own, this letter would be troubling, but taken in the context of President Trump’s discredited ‘voter fraud’ commission and the move to include a citizenship question in the census, it looks like one piece of a broader attack on voting rights,” said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight. “With just months until Americans head to the polls again for the November midterms, we need to get to the bottom of how this letter was written and why it was sent.”

DOJ’s inadequate response comes as a new Brennan Center report finds that voter purges are on the rise. Between the federal elections of 2014 and 2016, almost 4 million more names were purged from the rolls than between 2006 and 2008.

The uptick is particularly noticeable in jurisdictions that previously had to “pre-clear” changes to their election procedures with federal officials because of a history of racial discrimination. The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder ended that federal oversight. Had purge rates continued in these jurisdictions at the same pace as rates in jurisdictions not subject to preclearance at that time, 2 million fewer voters would have been deleted from voter rolls between the elections of 2012 and 2016.

Please follow and like us:

Filed Under: Democracy in America Tagged With: Election Transparency, Voter Access, Voter Registration

About DC Editors

We are your source for news on the all important effort to establish and strengthen democracy across the globe. Our international team with dozens of independent authors are your gateway into the raging struggle for free and fair elections on every continent with a focus on election reform in the United States. See our Facebook Page and also follow us on Twitter @demchron.

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Transparency Europe Independent Politicians India Internet and Voting Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Syria Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | AMERICA | Lawsuit Seeks Public Info About Controversial Voting Purge Letter

Primary Sidebar

donate button
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
PINTEREST
RSS

Taiwan Nearly Cured of Traditional Chinese Medicine

By David Anderson, J.D.

Taiwan’s democracy, established in the 1980s, is firm, successful and arguably the most advanced in East Asia. So it is no surprise they are making a well-considered move in public health.

The Disability Party and Abortion

By Andrew Straw

The Disability Party has a position on abortion that some people find problematic.  It is important for everyone to understand why this political party would limit the reach of Roe v. Wade the landmark case on abortion.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

The Limits of Ranked Choice Voting

By Aaron Hamlin

It’s important to not oversell the benefits of Ranked Choice Voting, which many outlets are doing. Overselling RCV can create unrealistic expectations and sour voters to other alternative voting methods.

Time’s Up America – Civil Disobedience Now

By Jack Jones

We have been acting like doormats and have been complacent to our corporate masters. Not only that but at least 30% of us seem to be even going long and think that we are on the right track! So why do we think that there’s going to be any change?

My Addition to the Literary Mexican Tradition of La Calavera

By Julio César Guerrero

La Calavera is a literary Mexican tradition and discipline from the post-1910 revolution years developed by journalist José Guadalupe Posada and also part of the Magical Realism movement. Even Diego Rivera painted Calaveras.

On the 6th Anniversary of the Disability Party, Some Background

By Andrew Straw

Disabled Americans are encouraged to vote, but that’s all. No barriers have been removed to ensure that disabled voters have disabled candidates to vote for. Some states pretend that no disabled persons have disability rights as a candidate.

A Collection of My Best Thomas Paine Memes for His Birthday

By Adrian Tawfik

In honor of Thomas Paine’s 283rd birthday today, I am proud to announce a new collection I have put together to showcase some of my favorite artistic creations that highlight the founding father. This meme collection is free for you to spread around!

Beware the Pied Pipers of Politics

By Jack Jones

A good tagline is simple, effective and hypnotic if done properly, and it conveys a message that’s easy to remember with a minimal amount of words. How come the Republican Party is so good at the tagline?

Thoughts on Corporate Taxation

By Fred Gohlke

Do we have the courage to fight what Teddy Roosevelt called the “unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics”? Let’s find out! Some thoughts on providing revenue for the government.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

Lyndon LaRouche, Perennial US Presidential Candidate, Dies at 96

Perennial US Presidential Candidate Lyndon LaRouche Dies at 96

Lyndon LaRouche, a fringe political figure who fueled his eight presidential campaigns died Tuesday at the age of 96, his political organization said.

Watergate Movie Was Meant to Be Funny. Then Came Trump

Watergate Movie Was Meant to Be Funny. Then Came Trump

“Watergate,” a film about the scandal that brought down Richard Nixon, first intended to make lightly humorous study of the affair. Then came Donald Trump.

Innovative Project Wikitongues

Innovative Project Wikitongues Helps Bring Languages Back to Life

Some 6,000 languages are spoken in the world, and nearly half of them are endangered, according to the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.

Berlin Filmfest Rolls Out Red Carpet for Women Trailblazers

Berlin Filmfest Rolls Out Red Carpet for Women Trailblazers

Berlin filmfest, kicked off Thursday making a statement against entertainment industry sexism by welcoming an unprecedented line-up of female directors.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy