\u2013 A cohort of state attorneys general are warning the Justice Department against plans they claim Attorney General Merrick Garland signaled \u2018intrude\u2019 on their states\u2019 authority to carry out elections.<\/p>\n
Led by Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana, the group of 16 GOP prosecutors wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday criticizing his comments from March 3 at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama, in which he claimed that \u2018democracy\u2019 is under attack by \u2018discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018The DOJ has no authority to dictate to the states in matters that concern their sovereign right to ensure safe, secure, and free elections,\u2019 the letter says.<\/p>\n
Garland launched the Justice Department\u2019s Election Threats Task Force in March, saying he doubled the number of lawyers in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018The right to vote is still under attack,\u2019 Garland said last month. \u2018That is why we are challenging efforts by states and jurisdictions to implement discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot, including those related to mail-in voting, the use of drop boxes, and voter ID requirements.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018That is why we are working to block the adoption of discriminatory redistricting plans that dilute the vote of Black voters and other voters of color. We are holding accountable jurisdictions that fail to provide accessible vote centers for voters with disabilities,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
The AGs wrote in their letter that Garland\u2019s actions amount to a \u2018weaponization\u2019 against the states, and his \u2018views about elections are not only a serious threat to the principles of federalism and separation of powers, but also to democracy and the rule of law.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Although we do not know exactly the strategy the DOJ intends to take with its numerous election attorneys, we intend to vigorously defend our election laws.\u00a0We will not allow intimidation and fearmongering to supersede the will of the people,\u2019 they wrote.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Biden administration is weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice against the states,\u2019 Rokita told Fox News Digital. \u2018These actions pose a direct threat to democracy, election integrity and the rule of law.\u00a0We will stand up and defend our rightful authority within the framework of American federalism.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018With voter confidence at an all-time low,\u2019 he said. \u2018The U.S. Department of Justice should champion voter security measures instead of attacking states that implement them. And the\u00a0DOJ should respect, as well, the constitutional provisions giving states the role of regulating elections.\u2019<\/p>\n
The AGs said that Garland\u2019s claim that voter ID is an \u2018unnecessary restriction on access to the ballot\u2019 is incorrect. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018On the contrary, voter ID laws prevent voter fraud by stopping those who attempt to impersonate others at the polls,\u2019 they wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The AGs note that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that voter ID laws are constitutional and do not impose a burden on the electorate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They also wrote that \u2018voter fraud and voter impersonation is very real and occurs frequently.\u2019<\/p>\n
The AGs also took issue with Garland\u2019s claim that some states have imposed \u2018unnecessary restrictions\u2019 related to absentee voting, including \u2018mail-in voting\u2019 and \u2018the use of drop boxes.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Numerous security risks exist with mail-in voting and drop boxes, and these methods of voting have led to the proliferation of election fraud,\u2019 they noted.<\/p>\n
Garland also asserted that the Voting Rights Act has been \u2018drastically weakened\u2019 with an \u2018increase in legislative measures that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to vote and to elect the representatives of their choice.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018This statement is factually incorrect,\u2019 the AGs wrote. \u2018The Voting Rights Act is not under attack. Election security measures passed by state governments do not \u2018make voting more difficult,\u2019 nor are they dismantling the right to vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Instead, common sense election laws strengthen our electoral process to ensure free and fair elections are conducted among the states, especially since voter fraud does exist.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Across the country, the 2020 general election generated mass confusion and distrust in the system,\u2019 they said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Public confidence in our election system is at record low with more than 30% of the electorate believing that the 2020 election was stolen due to voter fraud. By using the DOJ against the states, you continue to sow the seeds of distrust among the American electorate,\u2019 they wrote.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n\n
\u2013 A cohort of state attorneys general are warning the Justice Department against plans they claim Attorney General Merrick Garland signaled \u2018intrude\u2019 on their states\u2019 authority to carry out elections. Led by Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana, the group of 16 GOP prosecutors wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday criticizing his <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}