The Justice Department released two guidance documents Wednesday intended to ensure states fully comply with federal election laws, specifically those statutes pertaining to methods of voting and constraints on post-election audits.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a written statement, “The right of all eligible citizens to vote is the central pillar of our democracy, and the Justice Department will use all of the authorities at its disposal to zealously guard that right.”
“The guidances issued today describe certain federal laws that help ensure free, fair, and secure elections. Where violations of such laws occur, the Justice Department will not hesitate to act.” He added.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice released documents outlining the department’s view on post-2020 election reforms implemented by numerous states, as well as ongoing election audits.
In amidst the COVID-19 pandemic last year, those states that roll back emergency election regulations may lead to a legal fight with the federal government according to one of the documents.
A document released by the DOJ Wednesday began, “Since the 2020 election, some States have responded by permanently adopting their COVID-19 modifications; by contrast, other States have barred continued use of those practices or have imposed additional restrictions on voting by mail or early voting. In view of these developments, guidance concerning federal statutes affecting methods of voting is appropriate.”
“The Department’s enforcement policy does not consider a jurisdiction’s re-adoption of prior voting laws or procedures to be presumptively lawful; instead, the Department will review a jurisdiction’s changes in voting laws or procedures for compliance with all federal laws regarding elections, as the facts and circumstances warrant.”
Looking back to the 2020 election, the guidance notes that in many jurisdictions, there were automatic recounts or canvasses pursuant to state law due to the closeness of the election results.
But after the 2020 election, the Democrats, led by the Biden administration, have attacked Republican lawmakers’ efforts to enact reforms of electoral.
Around Georgia’s election, President Joe Biden and other Democrats ignited a storm to reform it by comparing the measures, designed to restore trust in the state’s election process, to racist laws of “Jim Crow”
Georgia was sued by the Department of Justice in June over its election changes. Garland stated that the state’s voting reforms “were enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of black Georgians to vote on the basis of their race or color, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”
Democratic attacks on the state, condemned by the state’s GOP leaders, sparked a corporate backlash against Georgia. Major League Baseball announced in April that it was boycotting Georgia over the election reforms, moving its All-Star game as well as the 2021 draft out of Atlanta.
Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state to Washington, D.C., on July 12 to break quorum during a special session in the Texas House and block election reform legislation supported by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The Democratic lawmakers have stayed in Washington for weeks in protest of the Texas election reforms while advocating for a federal election overhaul that would concentrate authority over elections in the federal government.
“Texas Democrats’ decision to break a quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve. As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state, The Democrats must put aside partisan political games and get back to the job they were elected to do. Their constituents must not be denied these important resources simply because their elected representative refused to show up to work.” Abbott ripped the rogue lawmakers in a statement.
Sources: Dailywire, Azcentral, Thewellnews