Wyoming is defending its new law requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration – and now they have the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) backing them up.
Equality State Policy Center sued to block the law in May, arguing the measure imposes unconstitutional burdens on eligible voters, many of whom don’t have ready access to a U.S. passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers.
But the DOJ filed a statement Tuesday arguing Wyoming has broad authority to enact the law. It’s just the latest step in the Justice Department’s troubling ongoing shift towards attacking, instead of protecting, voting rights.
The agency submitted the statement to address “the legitimate interests of the State of Wyoming in preventing voter fraud and ensuring that citizens have confidence in the administration of elections,” according to the filing.
The DOJ also dismissed concerns that the law will prevent some voters from casting a ballot: “Almost every voting rule will impose some burden, but slight inconveniences, including the processes necessary to acquire photo identification to register or vote, do not delegitimize the State’s interest in preventing fraud or seriously hinder the ability to vote.”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is backing Wyoming in the lawsuit, too, and has filed to intervene as a defendant alongside Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray (R), an election denier. Gray is not a fan of Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias, whose law firm is representing the plaintiffs in the case.
“We need all hands on deck to combat radical left-wing DNC attorney Marc Elias’ attacks on any and all conservative election integrity reforms,” Gray told Cowboy State Daily last week. Read more about the Wyoming lawsuit here.
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