PILF Attorney Cites Examples of Blatant Radicalism and Abuses of Power She Witnessed While Working at the DOJ.
(Washington, D.C.) – January 20, 2022: Today, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) Litigation Counsel and former Department of Justice lawyer Maureen Riordan is testifying before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
In prepared remarks, Riordan argued that H.R. 4 would give radical bureaucrats at the Department of Justice total control over our elections.
“If passed, H.R. 4 will give tremendous power over the election procedures of every state and local election to partisan bureaucrats within the Voting Section. I watched this power abused firsthand.”
Riordan noted that bureaucrats in the DOJ Voting Section have abused this power in the past and have even been sanctioned by federal courts.
“The Voting Section has a long record of abuse by its lawyers, for improper collaboration in reviewing Section 5 submissions, and has been sanctioned by courts.
Between 1993 and 2000, the Voting Section has been sanctioned $2,358,687.31.”
Under H.R. 4, Riordan noted that the DOJ would have to approve nearly every single change to our elections.
“The John Lewis Voting Rights Bill’s practice-based preclearance triggers will require most electoral change to be submitted for preclearance, no matter how inconsequential the change may be. For example, a polling place change does not just include a change in physical address. It includes ANY change to the polling place. If a polling place moved from the school gym to the school cafeteria, the lawyers in the Voting Section would have to review and approve or reject the change. Voter registration changes include office hour openings from 8:30 to 8:25 would have to be approved.”
In conclusion, Riordan argued that in 13 years, the Department only issued 81 objections, proving that there is not blatant discrimination that requires this type of federal power grab of our elections.
“According to information received from the DOJ through a FOIA request, from 2000 through 2013, the Voting Section received and reviewed 222,132 submissions and issued 81 objections. That means that only .036 of 1 percent of the submissions reviewed resulted in an objection. Do you think that number represents massive, blatant discrimination?”
Watch the full hearing here.
Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. PILF has brought lawsuits and won victories in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and across the United States.
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