ACLU Demand Letter: Standing Up to Voter Intimidation
By Vanessa Ajualip Hernandez, Intern
On June 27th, 2024, TNJFON joined the ACLU and 10 partner organizations to demand a stop to voter intimidation aimed at naturalized citizens in Tennessee.
On June 13, over 14,375 letters were sent to registered voters across the state, threatening criminal prosecution for illegal voting and demanding that they verify their U.S. citizenship. The recipients of these letters were naturalized citizens who had already verified their U.S citizenship during the voting registration process. The letters confused and intimidated naturalized citizens, making them afraid to exercise their right to vote.
In the letters, Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins writes that the Elections Division “received information that appears to indicate” that the recipient’s voter registration information “matches with an individual who may not have been a U.S citizen at the time of obtaining a driver license or ID card from Tennessee.” There is no requirement to update the DMV when you become a citizen, so no reason that DMV records should correspond with voter rolls.
In a letter sent to Goins and Secretary of State Tre Hargett, we expressed how this voter list maintenance program is unconstitutional. Programs aimed at removing ineligible voters from official lists must be completed at least 90 days prior to a primary or general election for federal offices. However, Goins sent the letter on June 13th, just 29 days before early voting for the August 1st primaries begins, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. Imposing an additional burden on naturalized citizens, warning about criminal prosecution, and being ambiguous about whether or not voter’s registration would be purged as a result not only violates the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S Constitution, but the Voting Rights Act and other federal laws.
In our letter to Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins and Secretary of State Tre Hargett, we demand that the state cease all actions of voter intimidation, issue a public statement declaring that these citizens will not be removed from official voter lists, and send written confirmation to recipients of the original letter that their names will not be removed from official voter lists. We also demand the immediate release of all records related to the development and implementation of this unconstitutional voter list maintenance program.
Federal courts have found similar programs from Florida, Texas, and Arizona to be unlawful.