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Pamela,
The Supreme Court recently effectively gutted the landmark Voting Rights Act, triggering a flood of anti-democracy efforts, from radical gerrymanders passed in Florida and Tennessee, to congressional primaries suspended in Louisiana, and to Mississippi’s and South Carolina’s desperate attempts to redraw their maps before the midterms.
These actions, spearheaded by conservatives seeking to hold onto power no matter what it takes, drive big headlines — and for good reason. But the voter suppression happening behind closed doors is just as important.
The U.S. Justice Department has been hellbent on obtaining voter rolls from every state — and we don’t know exactly why. Voting rights advocates are sounding the alarm: it may be in order to create a federal database with every American’s private information, including address, birthday, and Social Security number. Twenty-nine states and D.C. have refused, leading the DOJ to sue those states for the data.
Why are they doing this? The DOJ has claimed that it's just to conduct routine list maintenance. But voting rights parties in court have warned the DOJ may aim to share the data with unrelated agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, potentially for immigration enforcement.
Some at the DOJ also believe they can use this sensitive information to purge voter rolls. In fact, the federal government has already sent memos to states saying that voters deemed ineligible by the Justice Department would need to be removed from the rolls within 45 days — a blatant attempt at voter suppression.
Thanks so much,
Jacob Carrel
Deputy Director of Litigation & Policy
Redistricting Action
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