Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) is demanding answers from the Department of Justice (DOJ) after the agency refused to release all documents regarding how it intended to implement a 2021 executive order on expanding voter access.
- President Joe Biden signed an executive order (EO 14019) directing the head of every federal agency, including the DOJ, to come up with a strategic plan on how to "promote voter registration and voter participation."
- The executive order also mandates that these agencies work with "approved" third-party organizations to provide voter registration services on federal agency premises.
Legality Challenged
- Norman argued that Biden shouldn't have issued such an order in the first place.
- The U.S. Constitution doesn't grant the president the authority to "transform all federal executive agencies led by his political appointees, including DOJ, into get-out-the-vote machines for the left, paid for by federal taxpayers."
- Biden's order "oversteps the limited federal agency involvement in voter registration allowed under the National Voter Registration Act." As a result, the FGA concluded that the executive order "is illegal, unethical, and unconstitutional."
FGA
- The FGA filed its FOIA request with the DOJ on July 30, 2021. After the DOJ failed to turn over a single document for more than 200 days, the group filed a lawsuit against the department in April.
- A federal district court ruled in favor of the FGA in July, ordering the DOJ to disclose all requested documents under the FOIA request before the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
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