UPDATE! Lawyers: Justice Dept not enforcing election laws
By LARA JAKES JORDAN – 14 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is failing to ensure that voters are legally registered in at least two states, a group of former high-ranking government attorneys said Friday in asking Attorney General Michael Mukasey to prosecute evidence of election fraud.
The five attorneys all formerly held top jobs in the Justice Department’s civil rights division. They also asked Mukasey to “vigorously” investigate the community activist group ACORN, which hired — and fired — some employees now accused of submitting voter registration forms signed by ‘Mickey Mouse’ or other fictitious characters.
“We write to ask you to assure the public that the department is taking all steps necessary to protect the integrity of our election process by vigorously investigating and prosecuting fraudulent voter registration activities,” the lawyers wrote.
They also pointed to Ohio and Wisconsin, where the Justice Department has decided against requiring state officials to confirm voters’ identities by releasing their names to local election authorities as “difficult to fathom.” At issue in both states were thousands of voters whose names did not match listed Social Security and driver’s license numbers in other government databases, or otherwise did not pass identity verification standards.
“This appears to be a dereliction of the department’s obligations to enforce federal law,” the attorneys wrote.
The writers were all high-ranking Justice Department officials during Republican presidential administrations. Friday’s letter follows an earlier request by another group of former Justice civil rights attorneys — who held top department jobs during Democratic administrations — who asked Mukasey to make sure voter registration investigations don’t keep eligible minority voters away from the polls next Tuesday.
Justice Department spokeswoman Jamie Hais said the letter is being reviewed. Earlier this week, the department said it was satisfied with Ohio authorities’ efforts to process problematic voter registration cards but will continue to monitor the issue.
The FBI recently began investigating whether the community activist group ACORN has helped foster voter registration fraud around the nation in the run-up to Nov. 4.
The group, which has denied any wrongdoing, says it has registered 1.3 million young people, minorities, poor and working-class voters. More than 13,000 ACORN workers in 21 states recruited low-income voters, who tend to be Democrats.
In a fact sheet issued Friday, the Justice Department said its highest priorities include “protecting voting rights and combating voter fraud.”
“The department remains committed to vigorous enforcement of the federal laws passed by Congress that protect the right to vote, the worth of votes honestly cast, and the integrity of this country’s elections,” the fact sheet said.