This seems like something out of a twisted novel, John, but the new top voting lawyer at the Department of Justice was until recently an attorney and activist for a leading anti-voting legal group that has worked for years to spread fear about unproven illegal voting and press election officials to implement stricter, suppressive voting rules.

The lawyer, Maureen Riordan, worked side-by-side with Cleta Mitchell — the right-wing activist who played a key role in President Donald Trump’s failed bid to subvert the results of the 2020 election — following Mitchell’s pledge to “reclaim our election systems from the left.”

This appointment, along with the posting of Trump campaign lawyer and election denier Harmeet Dhillon as head of the Civil Rights division, shows how DOJ has gone from a largely consistent defender of voting rights to instead working actively to undermine our fundamental rights. 

Again, are we surprised? No. But these moves from the administration highlight how badly we need to fight for our fundamental rights as citizens, from the outside of government.

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Riordan's first lawsuit at her new job? Filed recently against North Carolina, it cites Trump’s March anti-voter executive order and aims to strip legitimate voters from the rolls and force North Carolina to do more to collect unnecessary information that’s required by new, suppressive state laws, all from people newly registering to vote. 

This follows her work at the harmless-sounding Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), which is anything but. PILF specializes in pressuring states and counties — by threatening and bringing expensive and frivolous lawsuits — to more aggressively remove voters from the rolls. As part of that effort, PILF has worked to stoke fear about the threat of non-citizen voting, which is extremely rare. 

Remember, the civil rights division of DOJ was created in 1957 -- often referred to as the “crown jewel” of the department -- has always been a cornerstone in the fight to protect our right to vote, not suing to restrict it or cut off access for voters seeking to exercise their rights.

But Trump's nominees to DOJ have sent out “mission statements” that made it clear the civil rights division was shifting its focus from protecting the civil rights of marginalized people to supporting Trump’s priorities and anti-voting conspiracy theories.

This administration is seemingly going to do everything in their power to attack our right to vote until they ensconce their control forever. We have to keep fighting back, no matter what the cost.

John, will you fuel our efforts to protect our right to vote and so much more with $25 or more right now? >>

Integrity First Voter Action Project is dedicated to expanding ballot access and increasing voter participation across the country.

Since the Supreme Court gutted key provisions in the Voting Rights Act, extreme politicians have taken advantage to pass harsh laws that restrict access to the ballot box. These restrictions particularly affect disadvantaged communities and people of color. It’s our goal to bring awareness to these laws wherever they may crop up and organize voters to take action to ensure the right to vote is available to everyone in their states and communities.

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