Voting rights advocates oppose Indiana’s request to verify voter citizenship

CT_IC_1049883100_1049946671_010-1027_JVA76KB72BAA5GA4TRPBV7A2WM.jpg

A sign stands outside Lake County Government Center in Crown Point on the first day of early voting in the county on Oct. 11, 2023. Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune

CT_IC_1049883100_1049946672_010-1027_JHFROM5LSCEDUKXKPYZDIALHKE.jpg

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales speaks during the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference Hungary in Budapest, Hungary, on May 5, 2023. The two-day CPAC meeting organized by Center for Fundamental Rights of Hungary featured some 60 prestigious foreign speakers from 20 countries and five continents. Tibor Illyes/MTI

PREVIOUS IMAGE

Image

NEXT IMAGE

Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights

Nonpartisan organizations and voting rights advocates including Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Common Cause Indiana, Count US Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power, Indiana State Conference of the NAACP, Indiana Conservation Voters, and League of Women Voters of Indiana, as well as attorney William R. Groth, submitted a formal advocacy letter in opposition to the recent request made by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Secretary of State Diego Morales. The request made to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) seeks to verify the citizenship status of nearly 600,000 Indiana voters. The advocacy groups state the proposed method of verifying voter citizenship may violate the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

Attorney General Rokita and Secretary Morales sent USCIS lists of specific voters, requesting the agency’s assistance in verifying their citizenship status. The voting rights advocates say that such measures could result in the improper removal of eligible voters from the rolls and could violate the NVRA.

The advocacy letter states:

“We remind you that the federal NVRA prohibits your Offices from removing or authorizing or requiring any other officials to remove Indiana voters from the voter rolls fewer than 90 days before the November 5, 2024, General Election.”

“Efforts like this put thousands of eligible voters at risk of being intimidated or unfairly removed from the rolls,” said Ami Gandhi, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Midwest Voting Rights Program at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “The NVRA was designed to protect voters from arbitrary and discriminatory practices. Indiana’s actions could strip eligible citizens of their right to vote.”

The actions taken by Attorney General Rokita and Secretary Morales could lead to voter intimidation and create widespread disenfranchisement. The advocacy letter emphasizes Indiana does not have a voter fraud issue. In fact, there is overwhelming evidence that shows that non-citizens do not vote nor attempt to vote. Conducting systematic voter list maintenance procedures fewer than 90 days prior to a federal election is a violation of federal law and intimidates voters.

“This nonsense from the attorney general and secretary of state is intimidation of naturalized citizens and Indiana voters. These two elected officials should be inspiring confidence in our elections, not sending political press releases from their official offices. Indiana elections are safe and secure, period. Early voting is underway now and all Indiana voters and citizens should ignore this political stunt and feel confident to vote,” said Julia Vaughn, Executive Director of Common Cause Indiana.

“There is simply no basis to question the eligibility of nearly 600,000 registered Indiana voters, and any attempt to remove them from the rolls on the eve of an election would violate federal law,” said Ryan Snow, counsel with the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We stand with our partners in holding Indiana officials accountable and ensuring that every eligible Indiana voter can exercise their freedom to vote.”

The advocacy organizations reserve all rights to take legal action should Attorney General Rokita and Secretary Morales act without authority. Instead of unlawfully restricting the right to vote, Indiana should be ensuring a fair and free election process.

Voters with questions about any aspect of voting or to report an issue can contact the non-partisan Election Protection hotlines:

866-OUR-VOTE (English)

888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish)

844-YALLA-US (Arabic)

888-API-VOTE (Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese)

The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group of civil rights lawyers and advocates working to secure racial equity and economic opportunity for all.