A new lawsuit in Minnesota is adding fuel to the ongoing fire surrounding voter roll integrity and the potential for noncitizen registration. The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, a conservative good-government group, has filed a lawsuit seeking documents from the Minnesota Department of State and Department of Public Safety related to voter roll maintenance. This move comes shortly after a federal judge blocked Virginia from removing thousands of allegedly ineligible voters from its rolls, a decision the Justice Department opposed.
The parallel between the two cases is striking, raising questions about the Justice Department’s seemingly different approach to voter roll maintenance in different states. In Virginia, the Justice Department intervened to block the removal of voters who self-identified as noncitizens, arguing against a 2006 law allowing for such action. In Minnesota, however, the Department remains silent as the Oversight Project alleges potential noncitizen registration through the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
The Oversight Project’s lawsuit points to the potential for automatic voter registration at the DMV to have led to ineligible voters being added to the rolls in Minnesota. This concern echoes the situation in Virginia, where the state’s voter roll cleansing efforts were halted by the courts.
The Justice Department’s involvement in Virginia, but not in Minnesota, has raised eyebrows among election integrity advocates. While Minnesota’s Secretary of State Steve Simon assures the public that measures are in place to prevent ineligible voters from being registered, the Oversight Project maintains that transparency is crucial, especially in light of the potential for noncitizen registration through the DMV.
This lawsuit underscores the nationwide debate over voter registration processes and the role of the Justice Department in safeguarding election integrity. The contrasting approaches in Virginia and Minnesota highlight the complexities of this issue and the potential for political motivations to influence how voter roll maintenance is handled in different states. As the lawsuit unfolds, the public is likely to be closely watching to see what documents are produced and whether the Justice Department takes any action in Minnesota, mirroring its intervention in Virginia.
