The Democratic National Committee on Friday sent a warning letter to the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office indicating that it would file legal action against the state should it carry through with its apparent intentions to enter a memorandum of understanding that could lead to violations of the National Voting Rights Act.
The letter from DNC litigation director Daniel J. Freeman notes that a Trump DOJ official indicated during a recent congressional hearing that “Alabama had ‘expressed … a willingness’ to enter into a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) concerning voter registration list maintenance.” That MOU would require the state to, within 45 days of notification by the DOJ, update its voter rolls by removing any alleged ineligible voters.
The DNC believes the MOU’s required actions would violate two provisions under the NVRA due to its 45-day requirement: the “quiet period provision,” which forbids actions in the months immediately proceeding a federal election and the “Notice and Waiting Period” which requires the state to take certain actions for suspected changes of residence.
DNC Chairman Ken Martin said the action also has the potential to improperly expose sensitive voter information, such as drivers license numbers, social security numbers and party affiliations of private citizens.
“As part of their big government power grab, Donald Trump and Pam Bondi want to force states like Alabama to hand over their voter files so that the Trump administration can create a national database with sensitive personal information like driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, and party affiliation, opening the door to privacy concerns and further political retribution,” Martin told APR in a statement. “The DNC won’t stand idly by as the Trump DOJ tries to get access to Alabama voters’ sensitive information and put eligible voters at risk of being wrongfully purged from Alabama’s voter rolls, which is why we are calling on the Alabama Secretary of State to stand up for Alabamians and reject the Trump administration’s illegal agreement. To be clear: Democrats stand ready to fight back and defend Alabama voters, and we’re prepared to use the tools at our disposal to do so.”
In the letter, Freeman wrote that the 45-day requirement to clean the rolls would most certainly violate the “Notice and Waiting Provision” of the NVRA. That provision requires states to take a number of steps to confirm that a voter has moved from a specific registrar’s location before they can be removed from the rolls. The letter states that the DOJ itself has previously determined that a state must follow those steps and that a third party’s allegations – even allegations from the DOJ – could not replace those voter protections.
“This Provision directs that states ‘shall not remove the name of a registrant from the official list of eligible voters in elections for Federal office on the ground that the registrant has changed residence unless the registrant confirms in writing that the registrant has changed residence …; or has failed to respond to a notice . . . and has not voted or appeared to vote in an election during the period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the date of the second general election for Federal office that occurs after the date of the notice,’” the letter from Freeman reads.
The letter also notes that complying with the DOJ’s 45-day demand would harm Democratic voters and members because it “would likely lead to errors that remove registrants who remain eligible under state law.”
The letter also states that it’s possible that Alabama has not yet violated federal law. “… the DNC sends this letter in the hope that the imminent violations set out above may still be avoided. Nonetheless, the DNC stands ready to issue a formal notice should evidence of ongoing violations come to light,” Freeman wrote.
