(The Center Square) – Nine states filed suit this week to stop President Joe Biden’s executive order regarding federal employees and voter registration.
The states claim that the federal bureaucracy is interfering in the states’ electoral systems and voter registration processes without examining them in a public hearing.
Mississippi, Montana, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota filed suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to stop implementation of the March 7, 2021 Executive Order.
Biden’s order required federal agencies to develop strategies to expand voter registration efforts and submit plans to the administration within 200 days.
The complaint states that the order would “transform the federal bureaucracy into a voter registration organization and turn every interaction between a federal bureaucrat and a member of the public into a voter registration scam.”
“This exceeds any authority of the executive branch under federal law, violates the Constitution, jeopardizes states’ attempts to regulate voter registration, and ultimately undermines the voter registration systems established by the states,” the complaint states.
The states also say the order will have consequences for state elections by “transforming the federal bureaucracy into a voter registration agency that registers voters for state and local elections as well as federal elections.”
The lawsuit says the agencies’ plans are secret and not subject to a public notice and comment process. The U.S. Justice Department cited executive privilege and denied several public records requests from the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability, which sued the federal government in court.
“This blatant attempt to shield the agency’s actions from public scrutiny is the best evidence of its illegality and is itself unlawful,” the complaint states.
“This executive order is a prime example of why the Biden-Harris administration has been such a disaster,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said in a press release. “They are focused on anything but their jobs, and Americans are paying the price. Federal agencies should prioritize their core missions and not act as an extension of the Democratic National Committee.”
“From the day this unlawful Executive Order (EO 14019) was signed, my team and I had hoped it would be another Biden administration word salad with no action,” Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said in a press release. “Unfortunately, that was not the case. In 2022, several Secretaries of State and I sent a letter to the administration urging them to resign. Our office has since looked closely at the implementation of the EO and filed FOIA requests to ensure we have enough facts to file suit and stop this absurd EO.”
“Fortunately, that day has come! We look forward to continuing to do everything we can to stop the use of taxpayer money for illegal purposes.”
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee sent a letter on May 13 to Shalanda Young, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, asking her to submit the strategic plans to the White House.
