An election integrity group submitted a legal complaint under the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon for stopping working to get rid of replicate names from the state’s voter rolls as federal law needs.
An analysis by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), which filed the complaint (pdf),discovered 586 replicate registrants, indicating the very same individual has actually been signed up two times. HAVA needs states to execute a digital statewide citizen registration list that is “accurate and updated regularly,” where “duplicate names are eliminated from the computerized list.”
HAVA was signed by President George W. Bush in October 2002. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the statute created a new federal agency, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to function as a clearinghouse for election administration info; it offered funding to states to enhance election administration and change out-of-date ballot systems; and it developed minimum requirements for states to follow in a number of crucial locations of election administration.
“This is the first time a voter list maintenance complaint has been filed under HAVA,” said PILF President J. Christian Adams.
“This is an innovative approach to clean voter rolls and improve election integrity. PILF is leading the way in cutting-edge legal strategy to protect free and fair elections. This complaint will result in removing the duplicate registrants from Minnesota’s voter roll.”
PILF, a nonprofit, describes itself as “the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity.” PILF “exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections.”
The group mentions that it has actually brought suits and won success in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and throughout the United States.
In the problem, PILF is looking for a hearing prior to the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in St. Paul. PILF’s lawyer in the event is Charlotte Davis.
Particularly, PILF looks for an order engaging Simon, a Democrat, “to right away and completely examine the duplicated registration records determined by the Foundation and combine or get rid of verified duplicated records from the main list of qualified citizens.”
PILF is furthermore seeking an order “to implement and follow a reasonable and effective list maintenance program to cure the violations identified herein and bring the state’s voter registration list into compliance with” federal law.
Simon was slammed by Republicans in late 2020 for stating claims that scams impacted the result of that year’s governmental election were “foolish and irresponsible,” as local media reported.
Simon informed state Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, a Republican who herself was formerly Minnesota secretary of state, by letter that the election was fraud-free and was a “tremendous success” that resulted from an “unprecedented effort” by government officials to administer the election as the pandemic raved. Kiffmeyer had actually stated there were “anecdotal reports of irregular election activity, questions on software, equipment malfunctions, and other concerns during this year’s election.”
As of this writing Simon didn’t respond to a request for comment.
H/T The Epoch Times
