The Justice Department’s dedicated team for upholding voting rights laws is set to reprioritize, shifting its attention towards probing voter fraud and ensuring that elections are free from “suspicion,” as revealed in an internal memorandum. This adjustment in focus follows controversial narratives surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
The revised mission statement of the voting section fleetingly acknowledges the historic Voting Rights Act, yet does not emphasize traditional enforcement, such as safeguarding individuals’ rights to vote or averting racial gerrymandering. Instead, it pivots towards addressing conspiracy theories, which were fueled by Republican President Donald Trump’s explanations for his electoral defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
Notably, Trump’s then-Attorney General William Barr asserted that substantial fraud evidence from the election was absent. Subsequent recounts and audits across crucial states contested by Trump, some spearheaded by Republicans, confirmed Biden’s win and verified the election’s integrity. Trump’s camp also faced numerous unsuccessful legal battles contesting the outcomes.
In Trump’s hypothetical second term, Attorney General Pam Bondi, who endorsed efforts to contest Trump’s 2020 loss, could play a significant role. Additionally, Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer with the Republican Party who has echoed Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about election fraud, leads the Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department, which houses the voting section.
Stacey Young, a former Department of Justice veteran, remarked on the Civil Rights Division’s traditional mission to ensure voting access and meaningful votes. Young, who left the division soon after Trump’s inauguration, criticized the portrayal of voting fraud as widespread, terming it politically motivated fiction. The Justice Department has not commented on the reported changes.
President Trump has previously indicated his interest in utilizing the Justice Department against individuals who supported the 2020 election’s integrity, including directing investigations into former appointees who vouched for the election’s accuracy.
The updated mission of the Voting Rights Section, as declared, is to “ensure free, fair, and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion.” It pledges to rigorously enforce Trump’s executive order attempting to overhaul electoral processes, though parts of the directive have faced judicial suspension.
The executive order mandates documented proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, insists on mail ballots arriving by Election Day (contrary to laws in 18 states), and directs the Election Assistance Commission to revise guidelines for voting machines. Several legal experts critique the constitutionality of this executive order, asserting that election procedures fall within the jurisdiction of states and Congress, not the presidency.
The revised mission statement for the Civil Rights Division emphasizes scrutinizing whether “only American citizens vote in U.S. federal elections,” despite noncitizen voting being illegal. Noncitizens attempting to vote face potential felony charges and deportation, though investigations have revealed only minimal instances of such occurrences among millions of votes.
Kansas previously enacted a proof-of-citizenship requirement, blocking thousands of eligible citizens from voter registration before courts overturned it. Nonetheless, Trump and allied Republicans persist in their claims of widespread noncitizen voting, advocating stricter election laws to prevent this.
Interestingly, the statement repeatedly cites combatting “fraud” and probing “other forms of malfeasance,” although voting fraud investigations typically fall under the criminal division’s purview. The voting section, a civil entity, traditionally does not handle criminal investigations.
Moving forward, the unit pledges to “protect the right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated.” Yet, no substantial cases of vote miscounts have emerged. Justin Levitt, a former senior advisor for democracy and voting rights under President Joe Biden, highlighted that the voting rights section’s effectiveness is contingent upon civil rights laws and judicial approval. “For the civil section of the Civil Rights Division, courts need to be buying what they’re selling,” Levitt concluded.