Boehner Asks President to Direct Attorney General, Justice Department to Enforce Federal Voting Laws
Oct 24, 2008
Washington -
Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today sent a letter to President Bush asking him to direct Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the U.S. Department of Justice to compel top election authorities in each state to comply with federal voting laws set out in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Click here to read the full letter.
“Unless action is taken by the Department immediately, thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands of names whose information has not been verified through the HAVA procedures mandated by Congress will remain on the voter rolls during the November 4 election; and there is a significant risk if not a certainty, that unlawful votes will be cast and counted. Given the Election Day is less than two weeks away, immediate action by the Department is not only warranted, but also crucial,” Boehner wrote in the letter.
NOTE: On Oct. 17, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated two lower court rulings ordering Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to comply with Section 303 of the Help America Vote Act. The Court ruled that the a private entity did not have the legal standing to enforce federal laws, leading Boehner to ask Attorney General Mukasey to compel Brunner to comply, which would mean providing access to a computerized statewide database, as required under HAVA. The Justice Department has not responded to Boehner’s letter.
Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that a Wisconsin state court dismissed a lawsuit filed by that state’s Attorney General “demanding that state elections officials confirm hundreds of thousands of voters’ identities before Election Day.”
Starting tomorrow, Ohio elections officials will begin removing ballots cast during the state’s early voting period from their identifying envelopes, eliminating any possibility of catching fraudulently cast ballots. Franklin County officials yesterday tossed out a dozen fraudulently cast absentee ballots, and the Hamilton County prosecutor has appointed an independent counsel to investigate more than 200 ballots on which the name or address does not match to state records. Prosecutor Joe Deters has asked that at least the questionable ballots remain in their identifying envelopes until voter registration information can be confirmed.
Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.
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