IRLI Defends Against Attempts by Special Interest Groups to Subvert Key Voting Protections

February 22, 2016

Protecting Voter Integrity from the Effects of Amnesty and Uncontrolled Immigration

February 22, 2016

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (“IRLI”) will appear in the U.S. District Court for the District of D.C. on behalf of the Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, in his defense against a group of activist organizations (“Plaintiffs”) seeking to nullify key democratically enacted voter-protections in his state. Specifically, the lawsuit, League of Women Voters, et al. v Newby, et al. (Civil Action No. 16-cv-236), seeks to reverse the decision of the Executive Director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (“EAC”) to grant Kansas’ request to amend its state specific instructions that accompany the National Mail Voter Registration Form (“Federal Form”). Kansas had requested the EAC amend the Federal Form to include the state’s requirement in law that persons desiring to register to vote must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Although not a defendant in the lawsuit, Secretary Kobach is seeking to intervene as a defendant to protect the interests of the citizens of Kansas and to preserve and defend Kansas law.

The Plaintiffs have requested the court grant a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) against the EAC, which is the reason for today’s hearing. Over the weekend IRLI filed, in addition to a motion to intervene (attached here), a response to the Plaintiffs’ request for a TRO. In its response (attached here), IRLI argued that the Plaintiffs have failed to show irreparable harm, the Plaintiffs have failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of their lawsuit, and the merged balancing of interests and the public interest favor denial of preliminary relief pending disposition by the court on the merits of the lawsuit.

Dale L. Wilcox, IRLI’s Executive Director, commented, “In light of the nation’s unprecedented non-citizen and illegal alien populations, the people of Kansas decided in 2011 that they needed more effective measures in order to protect their voting rights from the cancellation effects of fraudulent voting.” Wilcox continued, “The coordinated effort of Soros-financed activists to overturn those protective measures is anti-citizen in general and only serves to undermine public confidence in the integrity of our electoral process.”