Civil and Human Rights Coalition: Justice Department Continues to Undermine Voting Rights

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement in response to the latest Department of Justice filing in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, a pending Supreme Court case concerning Ohio's procedure for removing voters from the rolls:

"Monday's filing was further confirmation of some of our worst fears about the Trump administration's crackdown on voting rights. Yesterday, the Justice Department abandoned a longstanding view, articulated in a 2010 guidance and through numerous court filings across Democratic and Republican administrations, that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 prohibits voter purge practices like the one under litigation in Ohio. In fact, just last summer, the Justice Department had affirmed in this same case, before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, its view that Ohio's voter purge practices violated federal law. The sudden shift in longstanding position because of a change in political administrations raises real concerns about the politicization of the Justice Department's historic role in protecting voting rights.

Whether through repeated false statements about supposed mass illegal voting, creating a sham commission to pave the way for voter purges, or telling courts that it's acceptable for states to remove eligible voters from the rolls without adequate evidence, the Trump administration is leading an attack on voting rights. We will do whatever it takes to fight back and protect Americans' rights to participate in our democracy. We will also continue to seek ways to expand, not restrict, the number of eligible people who are able to make their voice heard at the ballot box."