As the midterm elections approach, the Justice Department has demanded that nearly every state and Washington, DC, turn over their voter registration lists and, in some cases, ballots from previous elections or access to voting equipment.

The federal government has sued more than 20 states and Washington, DC, for refusing to comply with these requests; At the same time, Congress is pushing through laws to tighten voter ID requirements, mandate purging of voter rolls, and restrict mail-in voting. During the videoconference, “Unexpected Factors That Could Alter the Midterm Elections: Federal Demands for Voter Data, Laws to Limit Access to Voting, and Challenges to State Control of Elections,” hosted by American Community Media, experts discussed the impact on the elections and how states and courts are responding. Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School (LMU), former senior White House advisor for Democracy and Voting Rights, and former official in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said that Trump has no power in the realm of elections. “The easiest thing for state and local officials in charge to do is simply ignore him, or when they don't ignore him, tell him they disagree, and they are the ones who control American elections.”

So he said that, for example, the Trump administration is trying to collect voter registration records from states across the country.

“It's not authorized to do that, but the states are fighting back and winning. He's issued an executive order, but federal officials don't have to obey.”

He mentioned that the president has talked about nationalizing the elections or canceling them, but this process simply isn't up to him.

Some of the proposed laws in Congress, he said, would limit access to voter registration; others to polling places.

“Many of them are based on unfounded alarm about fraud that simply doesn't exist as a pretext for restricting access. They are dangerous if passed, but there is enough resistance.”

She said that the mid-decade redistricting, in some areas, could be cause for concern, but in others,it is an opportunity.

“All indications point to truly extraordinary voter turnout this fall, which in part explains the increasingly nervous and intense White House marketing campaign, because most voters don't seem to be heading in the direction the president would prefer.”

What has been the response?

Danielle Lang, vice president for voting rights and the rule of law at the Campaign Legal Center; An adjunct law professor and election rights attorney in the United States, Lang said that in March of last year, President Trump issued a sweeping executive order that sought to seize control of various aspects of federal elections and their operation. She explained that the order aimed to interfere with federal agencies involved in elections by pressing states to make changes to their electoral processes. “Nothing has come of that executive order because of court injunctions and the resistance of the states.” Lang, who represents the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), as well as the SECURe Families initiative, a group of military families, and the Arizona student association, said they were the first to sue over this executive order, and were soon joined by many colleagues and several states.

“We quickly obtained a preliminary injunction on the most immediate threat, which was his order for the Election Assistance Commission to change the voter registration requirements on the federal voter registration form.”

She indicated that one of the most important things about the federal form is that it makes it easier for groups serving non-English-speaking communities to provide the form in many different languages ????and distribute it to their constituents nationwide.

“The injunction was a significant victory, not only because it prevented a harmful measure from being implemented, but also because of the powerful message from the district court judge, who wrote a roughly 100-page opinion stating in the strongest, most direct, and most substantiated way possible that the president has no constitutional power over elections.”

Dedicated to Latinos

Andrea Senteno, MALDEF Regional Legal Counsel in Washington, DC ballot, as well as recent calls for police presence at polling places, target Latinos and other voters of color. "The newly introduced SAVE AMERICA Act and the Make Elections Great Again Act, which will be heard next week, would require proof of citizenship to register or even to vote. This has a disproportionately detrimental effect on the Latino electorate." If enacted, they would make voter registration and voting much more difficult, and intentionally create confusion, fear, and mistrust,ultimately discouraging eligible voters from participating in the election.”

He added that these bills are based on misinformation and false narratives about the security of our elections, and much of this is based on a kind of attribution.

“Ultimately, what they also do is create a very real risk of harassment and intimidation of American citizens who don't look like an American citizen or an eligible voter, simply because of their race, their ethnicity, or the fact that they don't speak English fluently.”

He said this is very concerning, given the increased enforcement of immigration laws that we have been seeing in communities across the country.

“These calls that we have seen in the public debate, for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to be present at or near polling places, are deeply troubling.”

“Of these, they likely discouraged eligible voters from exercising their right to vote.”

A Right Under Attack

John C. Yang, president and CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) “outsiders, strangers, not as true Americans. The reality is that increasingly marginalized communities have become politically visible and viable in jurisdictions across the country, not only in large cities, but also in rural areas.”