Pascrell Leads 97 House Members Beseeching Attorney General to Protect Voting Rights

Justice Department can help stop tidal wave of anti-democratic Republican Party measures in states

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today led 96 House members writing to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to exercise greater vigilance and leadership in protecting voting rights from the growing threat of voter suppression in virtually every state in the country.

“The rule of law in the United States is under grave threat. Across nearly every state in our Union, laws are being offered and enacted that will impede access to vote, suppress the rights of voters of color, and rig elections in favor of one political party. Our U.S. Department of Justice must aggressively take on this sinister challenge. As the chief law enforcement officer of our entire federal government, in the name of American democracy, we ask you to exercise leadership with absolute urgency,” the 97 members write the Attorney General.

Last year, more than 440 GOP-sponsored bills were offered in 49 states seeking to severely limit voting access of Americans, and at least nineteen states passed thirty-four new laws. This Republican coordinated campaign to disenfranchise voters, purge voter rolls, engage in voter suppression and dilution, and empower election subversion, oppresses the rights of voters in a manner that disproportionately targets people of color.

The letter is signed by Reps. Pascrell, Lucy McBath, Dina Titus, David Trone, Rashida Tlaib, Juan Vargas, Gregorio Sablan, Frank Pallone, Jr., Don Payne, Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee, Jackie Speier, Brendan Boyle, Jim McGovern, Donald Norcross, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nanette Barragan, Tim Ryan, John Larson, Richard Neal, Joe Morelle, Debbie Dingell, Adriano Espaillat, Bobby Rush, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Hank Johnson, Dwight Evans, Tony Cárdenas, Sheila Cherfilus McCormick, Andre Carson, Norma Torres, Rick Larsen, John Sarbanes, David Scott, Emanuel Cleaver, Jerry McNerney, Dan Kildee, Judy Chu, Jamie Raskin, Conor Lamb, Jamaal Bowman, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Joe Courtney, Seth Moulton, Mike Levin, Nikema Williams, Jimmy Gomez, Jan Schakowsky, Frederica Wilson, Mike Quigley, Tom Suozzi, Grace Meng, Dean Phillips, Lizzie Fletcher, Madeline Dean, John Yarmuth, Adam Schiff, Tom Malinowski, Sanford Bishop, Carolyn Maloney, Andy Levin, Brian Higgins, Albio Sires, Anthony Brown, Raul Grijalva, Chellie Pingree, Danny Davis, Josh Gottheimer, Al Lawson, Andy Kim, Anna Eshoo, Mark Takano, Mike Doyle, Eric Swalwall, Gerry Connolly, David Cicilline, Nydia Velazquez, Troy Carter, Darren Soto, Ted Lieu, Mikie Sherill, Gregory Meeks, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Huffman, Ruben Gallego, Brenda Lawrence, Alan Lowenthal, Don Beyer, Linda Sanchez, Colin Allred, Alma Adams, Sean Casten, Betty McCollum, Paul Tonko, Doris Matsui, Ted Deutsch, Raul Ruiz, and A. Donald McEachin.

The text of the members’ letter is below.

March 31, 2022

Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

The rule of law in the United States is under grave threat. Across nearly every state in our Union, laws are being offered and enacted that will impede access to vote, suppress the rights of voters of color, and rig elections in favor of one political party. Our U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) must aggressively take on this sinister challenge. As the chief law enforcement officer of our entire federal government, in the name of American democracy, we ask you to exercise leadership with absolute urgency.

Last year, more than 440 bills were offered in 49 states seeking to severely limit voting access of Americans, and at least nineteen states passed thirty-four new laws.^[i] This coordinated campaign to disenfranchise voters, purge voter rolls, engage in voter suppression and dilution, and empower election subversion, oppresses the rights of voters in a manner that disproportionately targets people of color. These actions have a direct connection to the racist institutional legacy of slavery that was designed to subjugate, otherize, and disempower Black Americans. The DOJ cannot accept these efforts to diminish participation in our elections. That is why we are thankful you doubled the Civil Rights Division’s enforcement staff to stand up for the voting rights of all Americans.

However, DOJ has only offered legal challenges to a handful of these measures. We worry that by letting these measures remain unchallenged gives the appearance of approval by our federal government and could encourage additional measures to restrict voting rights. We ask the Justice Department to challenge in court every enacted law that suppresses voting or seeks to overturn free and fair elections.

You recently received a letter led by U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley, James E. Clyburn, Mondaire Jones, and signed by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) that described how the voter suppression efforts we are witnessing today are reminiscent of Jim Crow era discrimination. This letter asked you to:

Be creative. Be relentless. Be unapologetic in your commitment to do whatever it takes to ensure that every American has their vote counted no matter how they look or where they live. No lawsuit is too trivial when it comes to the voting rights of citizens.

We echo the CBC’s demands for a strong response from the DOJ.

The DOJ’s toolbox to protect American democracy is varied and large. You should bring every implement in that box – every measure, every lever, every scalpel, every hammer – to bear to this fight. Please act now.

Sincerely,

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