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FIRST ON FOX: A prime House Republican is questioning the Department of Justice about what he says is “apparent coordination” with left-wing civil rights groups over its lawsuits towards two Republican-led states over efforts to take away non-citizens from its voter rolls.
“The Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government is conducting oversight of the apparent coordination between the Civil Rights Division and left-wing advocacy groups to impede the ability of states to ensure the accuracy of their voter rolls,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who’s chairman of the subcommittee, says in a letter obtained by Fox Digital.
The Department of Justice sued Alabama and Virginia in current months over their strikes to take away non-citizens from the voter rolls. The DOJ has claimed that the states have violated clauses that say states should full their upkeep program no later than 90 days earlier than an election beneath a clause often called the Quiet Period Provision.
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“This systematic voter removal program, which the State is conducting within 90 days of the upcoming federal election, violates the Quiet Period Provision,” the DOJ mentioned because it filed swimsuit towards Virginia.
Virginia has insisted that the state’s course of is “individualized” and performed in accordance with state and federal legislation. A decrease court docket ordered 1,600 people to be restored to the voter rolls, however that has since been blocked by the Supreme Court.
The DOJ sued Alabama on comparable grounds, alleging that adjustments to the voter registration lists came about 84 days earlier than Election Day.
“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division mentioned in a press release. “As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law.”
But Roy says the lawsuits from the DOJ got here after lawsuits by left-wing civil rights groups. In the letter, Roy says that the Sept. 27 Alabama lawsuit got here weeks after a Sept. 13 lawsuit from a coalition of left-wing civil rights groups. The instances have been consolidated on Sept. 28.
In Virginia, a civil rights lawsuit was filed on Oct. 7, and the DOJ filed its lawsuit on Oct. 11.
“The cases involve the same or similar plaintiffs and lawyers and follow a similar pattern with respect to the timing of each complaint. These circumstances raise questions as to whether the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is working with these groups to file cases to keep noncitizens on voter rolls just before the 2024 election and prevent states from ensuring that only eligible citizens vote in federal elections,” Roy says.
He additionally says the DOJ “did not object to consolidating its cases with those filed by left-wing organizations and attorneys with a public history of opposing bipartisan efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting.”
Roy says lots of the groups have objected to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which might require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
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“The American people deserve to know whether left-wing activist groups are dictating the DOJ’s legal strategy with respect to noncitizens voting in the upcoming election,” he writes.
Roy is asking for all paperwork and communications referring to the lawsuits and any of the civil rights groups concerned within the suits, in addition to paperwork to indicate whether or not the DOJ plans to file any further lawsuits towards the states.
Virginia was handed a authorized victory this week when the Supreme Court halted the decrease court docket’s determination to reinstate 1,600 potential noncitizens to the rolls. A divided court docket granted the state’s keep software pending enchantment within the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
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The DOJ mentioned in a press release Wednesday after the Supreme Court’s ruling, “The Department brought this suit to ensure that every eligible American citizen can vote in our elections. We disagree with the Supreme Court’s order.”
Fox News’ Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.
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