Comments against voting rights restrictions due Oct. 20

The movement to restrict voting access, this time led by Stephen Miller, has petitioned the Election Assistance Commission to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote by mail.

As many have noted over the years, it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote.

Thus White House aide Miller is proposing a “solution” to a non-existent problem. From NPR last year:

There’s no evidence for the claim, which echoes a racist conspiracy theory known as the “great replacement.”

[…]

After the 2016 election, the Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates for voting rights, surveyed local election officials in 42 jurisdictions with high immigrant populations and found just 30 cases of suspected noncitizens voting out of 23.5 million votes cast, or 0.0001%.

[…]

The Washington Post reviewed a Heritage database of voter fraud cases and found 85 cases relating to allegations of noncitizens voting between 2002 and 2023.

In July, UCLA election law professor Rick Hasen told Oregon Public Broadcasting:

“It really is not a big problem, both because on the individual level, it would be hard to get noncitizens to agree to it. And on the broader level, it’s just not a very cost-effective way to try to steal an election.”

This is not a rulemaking but a proposal for rulemaking. Nevertheless, it’s important to point out that a rulemaking is not needed to solve a non-existent problem. And, as Victoria Francis, deputy director of state and local initiatives of the American Immigration Council, told Democracy Docket, “Laws are meant to address real problems.”

Submit comments on the federal rulemaking website by Monday, October 20. Sample text for this ‘much ado about nothing’ wedge issue:

I am writing to oppose the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from conducting a rulemaking regarding adding documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to the federal voter registration form.

I oppose requiring citizens to submit a passport or other citizenship documents to register to vote because this is a “solution” looking for a “problem” that does not exist. The Brennon Center, for example, found evidence of 0.0001% of suspected noncitizen votes out of 23.5 million votes cast. Suspected, not confirmed.

Moreover, such a regulation would be the opposite of efficiency in spending, a talking point of this Administration. Citizenship verification will be very expensive. There are many well-documented needs in our country where our tax dollars could be spent far efficiently and effectively, such as mental health care, affordable housing, and health insurance costs.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

The post Comments against voting rights restrictions due Oct. 20 appeared first on The Moderate Voice.