Attorney General Opposes DOJ’s Intimidation From Passing Election Integrity Laws
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland over “concerning comments [he] made regarding our country’s elections and election security laws passed by the states.” The letter was led by the States of Indiana and West Virginia and warns the DOJ against its “intimidation and fearmongering.”
The letter highlights Garland’s claim that democracy is under attack by “discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot,” adding that he “double[d] the number of lawyers in the civil rights division” and “launched the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.” The attorneys general assert that these actions “amount to a weaponization of the DOJ against the states, and [that Garland’s] views about elections are … a serious threat to the principles of federalism and separation of powers.”
The states point out lines in Garland’s speech that appear to undermine the Constitution and law and order. The first is when Garland alleged that voter identification is an “unnecessary restriction on access to the ballot.” The second is his claim that states have imposed “unnecessary restrictions” related to absentee voting, including “mail-in voting” and “the use of drop boxes.” The third is his statement that the Voting Rights Act has been “drastically weakened” with an “increase in legislative measures that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to vote and to elect the representatives of their choice.” The final issue is his threat that the DOJ is “fighting back” against commonsense election security measures approved by states.
The attorneys general write, “Public confidence in our election system is at record low. By using the DOJ against the states, you continue to sow the seeds of distrust among the American electorate. The DOJ has no authority to dictate to the states in matters that concern their sovereign right to ensure safe, secure, and free elections.”
The State of Utah has been a national leader in election integrity standards, giving our voters more assurances about the security and integrity of their ballots for all contests. Under the watchful purview of the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office, the state has taken many actions to safeguard voter registration, voter equipment, ballot processing, and voter responsibility. General Reyes and the team at the Utah Attorney General’s Office are committed to working alongside the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the State Legislature to defend our commonsense election integrity measures in state and federal court, whenever necessary.
Joining Utah, Indiana, and West Virginia were the States of Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Texas.
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