Civil Rights Groups Urge Supreme Court To Reject Trump Voting Order

Photo:USPS

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – A coalition of civil rights and voting rights organizations, including several Indian American ones, have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the Trump administration’s request to reinstate Executive Order 14399, arguing that the measure could create barriers for eligible voters and disrupt election administration ahead of the November midterm elections.

The Asian Law Caucus, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, South Asian American Justice Collaborative, and Common Cause filed an amicus brief August 3 on behalf of 24 organizations asking the court to keep in place a lower court ruling blocking key provisions of the order.

The Trump administration and intervenor states had asked the Supreme Court to allow the order to take effect while litigation continues. The groups argue that doing so could undermine access to the ballot, particularly for voters who rely on mail-in ballots.

The brief challenges provisions directing the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to create state citizenship lists, saying the federal SAVE database that would be used for the lists is incomplete and has a history of errors.

The organizations said inaccurate federal records could wrongly affect naturalized citizens, older voters, voters with disabilities, low-income voters, and others who may face difficulties proving citizenship status or updating records.

“This Executive Order is a naked attempt to keep too many Americans from voting,” said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus. “Almost half of Asian American voters cast their ballots by mail and many Americans could have their essential right to vote thrown out by a faulty federal system.”

Kohli said the coalition’s groups are continuing voter protection efforts, including training poll monitors, operating election hotlines, and working with election officials.

Ronak Patel, a staff attorney with AALDEF, said mail voting is critical for many Asian Americans, naturalized citizens, voters with disabilities, and voters with limited English proficiency.

“The federal government’s attempt to control states’ vote-by-mail programs has caused confusion among voters and jeopardized the franchise of millions of American citizens,” Patel said.

The groups also challenged a provision requiring the U.S. Postal Service to withhold ballots from voters who do not appear on federal citizenship lists. They argued that state election officials have constitutional authority over election administration and that the order would create uncertainty for voters.

Meredyth Yoon, litigation director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, said the order could prevent eligible citizens from voting because of database errors.

“The real danger of blocking citizens from voting is far worse than the prospect of noncitizens voting, which evidence consistently shows is a non-issue,” Yoon said.

Kalpana Peddibhotla, executive director of SAAJCO, said voting access measures such as mail ballots and language assistance are especially important for South Asian American communities.

The brief was signed by organizations including AAPI Equity Alliance, Asian Americans Advancing Justice of Southern California, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Public Counsel, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Stop AAPI Hate, and The Workers Circle.