Peters Cosponsors Legislation to Stop Trump Administration from Purging Voter Rolls in Michigan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) joined his colleagues in introducing legislation aimed at preventing the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to purge state voter rolls and restrict the right to vote across the country. The Voter Purge Protection Act comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed lawsuits against eight states, including Michigan, for their refusal to hand over unfettered access to their state’s sensitive voter information and registration lists to the federal government.

“The right to vote in free and fair elections is a core principle of our democracy,” said Senator Peters. “Unfortunately, we are currently seeing the Trump Administration pursue efforts across the country, including in Michigan, to restrict voter rights, particularly amongst our most vulnerable communities. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation to protect the rights of every American to make their voice heard at the ballot box and stand against the Trump Administration’s efforts to erode our democratic institutions.”

The Voter Purge Protection Act would update the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to prohibit the removal of individuals from the voter rolls due to changes in residence or not voting in previous elections unless supported by objective and reliable evidence that the voter has died or moved out of the state. The NVRA requires states to conduct ineligible voter removal programs, but it bans states from removing voters without notice solely for their failure to vote.

Since July, DOJ has sent letters to at least 36 states inquiring about state voter maintenance practices. This was in addition to DOJ’s lawsuits against the state of Michigan as well as California, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania after these states refused to provide voter lists to the Justice Department. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dramatically expanded its use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program from a benefits eligibility database to the equivalent of a national citizenship registry without providing Congress or the American people with the required information about how it will ensure data accuracy and privacy. The program has already run over 33 million voters’ information through their system, further raising the alarm on potential future voting list purges.

Specifically, the Voter Purge Protection Act would:

• Amend the NVRA to prohibit states from removing registered voters from voting rolls unless the state has obtained objective and reliable evidence that a person is ineligible to vote. The legislation would clarify that failure to vote or respond to election mail would not constitute objective and reliable evidence of a voter’s ineligibility to vote;

• Allow election officials to use state records to remove voters who have died or permanently moved out of the state;

• Require election officials to send a notice explaining the grounds for removal within 48 hours of removing voters from the rolls and provide public notice within 48 hours after any general program to remove voters; and

• Revise the voting procedure for a voter who failed to report a change of address by allowing a voter who moved within a state to vote at the polling place of the voter’s current address or at a central location in the jurisdiction of the local voter registration office.

Peters has long fought to protect Americans’ fundamental right to vote. In July, Peters challenged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the expanded use of the SAVE Program that could purge eligible citizens from state voter rolls. Peters and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) also recently filed a joint amicus brief in the case of League of Women Voters v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The amicus brief endorses the plaintiff’s motions for a stay and preliminary injunction of the Trump Administration’s misuse and correlation of data, including social security numbers, with no reporting to Congress and without ensuring that data is properly protected as part of its efforts to encourage states to purge state voter rolls. Further, Peters previously helped spearhead legislation to strengthen the voter protections that were enshrined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, prevent voter discrimination, and combat federal efforts to restrict voting rights.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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