President Joe Biden’s parting gift to his replacement is a
March 2021 executive order that effectively compels federal agencies to mobilize and register elements of historically Democratic voting blocs along with potentially ineligible voters.
With President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris now in a
surprisingly tight race, this scheme — which critics have suggested will play out as “election interference” — could potentially hand the election over to the Democrats. After all, the leftist think tank whose recommendations ostensibly inspired Executive Order 14019 indicated that the scheme could net as many as 3 million new voter registrations a year.
That Democrats swapped out Biden for Harris makes little difference.
While Democrat-controlled states
like Michigan appear keen to take EO 14019 as far as it can, Republican-run states and states with Republican election officials have an opportunity to limit its impact.
Most Republican secretaries of state and attorneys general have spoken out about EO 14019.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, for instance,
blasted the EO in October 2022, stating, “It’s difficult to see how this is anything but a grotesque insult to election integrity, on top of being unconstitutional.”
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft stated, “This executive order undermines state sovereignty and threatens the integrity of our elections.”
In terms of concrete action taken by Republican AGs, however, the record is thus far somewhat mixed. While some have taken concrete steps, as we will outline below, others thus far seem to be content to rest on having issued a strongly worded letter.
There are a number of outstanding questions, even though the country goes to the polls in about three months: What have states with Republican trifectas done about the EO? In cases of states that have yet to take meaningful action, what are they planning on doing, if anything? Is it too late now to act?
Blaze News recently reached out to the relevant officials in Republican trifecta states as well as in select swing states for answers. While some responses may be heartening for those keen on a fair election, it appears that the fight over EO 14019 is just getting started.
Background
According to Biden’s Executive Order 14019, minorities, blacks in particular, are disproportionately met today with “significant obstacles” to voting — “burdened by voter identification laws and limited opportunities to vote by mail.”
To accommodate the constituents of those historically Democratic voting blocs supposedly incapable of using IDs and mailboxes, and to “protect the right to vote,” Biden called upon federal agencies to “consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.”
‘Not only is it unconstitutional, it is outrageously wrong.’
The Heritage Foundation’s government watchdog Oversight Project, which has waged a campaign to expose and kneecap the initiative, revealed earlier this year that under the EO, federal agencies that regularly engage with the American public must:
“use their resources, connections, and relationships with their clientele to facilitate registrations and mass mail-in ballot applications”;
“use federal resources to assist in completing those registrations and applications”; and
“provide space on ‘agency premises’ and resources to ‘approved’ non-governmental organizations (‘NGO’) and ‘state officials’ to accomplish these directives.”
The Foundation for Government Accountability, another watchdog group that has been tracking the implementation of EO 14019,
summarized the problem thusly:
At the minimum, what’s become known as ‘Bidenbucks’ is a clear abuse of power. Political appointees … are being deputized to register and mobilize voters and submit their plans directly to the White House.It is an unconstitutional and undemocratic way for the incumbent to intentionally put his or her finger on the scale to affect the outcome of an election — and use your tax dollars to do so.
Some scholars have alternatively suggested that watchdogs and critics have made a mountain out of a mole hill.
Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a professor of law at Harvard Law School whose research largely concerns empirical political science and the American electoral system, told Blaze News, “I don’t think there’s a serious constitutional issue here.”
“The federal government has authority to regulate the ‘manner’ of congressional elections, and the Supreme Court has held that the ‘manner’ of elections includes voter registration,” said Stephanopoulos. “So an executive order addressing voter registration raises no genuine constitutional problem.”
While Stephanopoulos indicated the executive order “addressing voter registration raises no genuine constitutional problem,” he acknowledged that it would be problematic for federal agencies that have not been appropriately designated by states as “voter registration agencies” under the National Voter Registration Act to engage in voter registration efforts.
The trouble is that federal agencies
have reportedly been working toward the satisfaction of Biden’s order without authorization in various states of strategic importance.
Here is a brief overview of where Republican states stand on EO 14019 and what they have done thus far to date to combat the problem.
Letters, lawsuits, and lines in the sand
Louisiana
In September 2022, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry led a coalition of Republican attorney generals — from Indiana, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Mississippi, Utah, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Nebraska, Montana, and Alabama — in demanding that Biden rescind his EO.
Their
joint letter noted that the EO “appears to be a get-out-the-vote effort designed by the Left, to benefit the Left, all paid for by federal taxpayers. It is illegal, unethical, and unconstitutional.”
After the Biden administration failed to respond, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry penned a
follow-up letter to the Democratic president on March 4, highlighting how he had ignored the multi-state imploration as well as her colleagues’ concerns “about the overreach, intrusion in state election administration, interference in the election process, and possible intimidation of individuals applying for federal benefits at federal agencies that this executive order represents.”
Secretary Landry emphasized that Biden’s initiatives “would do nothing but undermine the states and the voters.”
When pressed on actions taken and planned by Louisiana regarding EO 14019, Joel Watson, deputy secretary of state for communications, told Blaze News that Landry “believes that said EO is a violation of the Constitution’s Election Clause.”
Watson indicated that “[f]uture actions are pending” but that he was not presently at liberty to go into detail on them.
Tennessee
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett was one of 15 Republican secretaries of state who
signed an Aug. 3, 2022, letter to Biden requesting that he rescind EO 14019.
“Executive Order 14019 was issued without Constitutional authority nor Congressional approval,” said the letter. “Involving Federal agencies in the registration process will produce duplicate registrations, confuse citizens, and complicate the jobs of our county clerks and election officials. If implemented, the Executive Order would also erode the responsibility and duties of the state legislatures to their situational duty within the Election Clause.”
Hargett said in a statement to Blaze News, “The Biden Administration’s implementation of Presidential Executive Order 14019, which allows ineligible voters to be provided with voter registration services, has made it more difficult to keep voter rolls clean of ineligible voters.”
“We will continue to ensure the votes of eligible voters are not diluted by ineligible voters,” added Hargett.
Wyoming
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray told Blaze News that “Executive Order No. 14019 is blatantly unconstitutional, and violates the authority of the states to administer elections under the United States Constitution. Not only is it unconstitutional, it is outrageously wrong.”
Gray noted that Wyoming joined a coalition of eight other states — West Virginia, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Wyoming — in filing an
Amici curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on May 28 “asking the Court to rule that Executive Order No. 14019 is unconstitutional, and violates the authority granted to the states to administer elections by the United States Constitution.”
The corresponding case,
Keefer v. Biden, was first brought by 26 Pennsylvania state representatives and one state senator challenging Biden’s EO as well as Gov. Josh Shapiro’s enactment of automatic voter registration.
The plaintiffs
claimed that the EO and Shapiro’s registration schemes violated the Constitution’s Electors and Elections Clauses and that the president “does not have the power to regulate the time, place, and manner of Presidential or Congressional elections in Pennsylvania.”
They also argued that the “President of the United States does not have the power to usurp the authority of Pennsylvania legislators with regard to the registration of Pennsylvania voters, as Article VII, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution clearly places the duty of ‘regulating the registration of electors’ on the General Assembly.”
After proving unsuccessful in lesser courts, the plaintiffs
asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their case in April with an appeal still pending in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Indiana
Blaze News
previously reported that in late June, Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales (R) put federal agencies operating inside his state on notice that they are not permitted to engage in voter registration or other election activity without state authorization.
Extra to the National Voter Registration Act, Indiana Code 3-7-17 requires that such agencies are specifically designated by the state as “voter registration agencies” to lawfully provide or offer voter registration services and the like.
Morales noted in his June 28 letters, “To my knowledge, your agency is not a designated voter registration agency.”
“If your agency has been distributing voter registration forms or assisting the public with voter registration or absentee voting forms, you are requested to discontinue such action immediately, as the unauthorized conduct of such activity is likely violative of Indiana and federal law,” added Morales.
Unfortunately, it appears as though elements of the Biden administration have disregarded Morales’ notices.
Lindsey Eaton, communications director for Morales, told Blaze News this week that the “Indiana Secretary of State’s Office has received a very low number of responses to the letters. It’s concerning as these letters were sent more than a month ago.”
“This is beginning to become a pattern of the Biden Administration continuing to hide information related to the implementation of his executive order,” continued Eaton. “Secretary of State Diego Morales is currently looking at other avenues that could force federal agencies to discontinue covering up actions under the Biden administration. Secretary Morales is committed to protecting Indiana’s elections.”
Missouri
JoDonn Chaney, director of communications for Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, told Blaze News that his state has been
ranked very high in election integrity assessments, adding “we run elections just fine.”
“Any interference from the federal government would just make our elections worse,” said Chaney.
‘This executive order undermines state sovereignty and threatens the integrity of our elections.’
Chaney alluded to EO 14019 as a prime example of a federal initiative that would do just that.
In the interest of protecting the integrity of elections in Missouri as well as to preclude the Biden-Harris administration from infringing on the state’s rights to manage its own election procedures, Ashcroft filed a
lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on July 31 challenging EO 14019.
“Missouri has a robust and effective election system in place, and it is the responsibility of the states, not the federal government, to manage voter registration and election procedures,” Ashcroft
said in a statement.
Ashcroft added, “This executive order undermines state sovereignty and threatens the integrity of our elections. This legal action is not about partisan politics; it is about maintaining the balance of power between the states and the federal government as intended by our Founding Fathers.”
Extra to Biden, the lawsuit names the heads of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, and several others as defendants.
The complaint raises various concerns but emphasizes Missouri’s interest “is in the need to maintain a current accurate vote roll that includes only the names of citizens eligible to cast a ballot and to assure that the ballots actually cast and counted are those cast by citizens eligible to cast a ballot.”
According to the suit, the implementation of EO 14019 will “undermine this interest and the Plaintiffs’ ability to fulfill their responsibility to oversee fair, just, and honest elections.”
Chaney stressed to Blaze News, “We will strongly oppose any federal interference in Missouri elections.”
Georgia
In Georgia, President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are presently
polling within a point of one another. Biden narrowly won the state in 2020 — by a margin of 0.23% and 11,779 votes.
Kara Murray, spokeswoman for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, told Blaze News in a statement that Carr “has continued to defend Georgia’s commonsense election law, which strengthens security, expands access and ensures transparency for all Georgians.”
Regarding EO 14019, Murray said, “We agree that President Biden’s Executive Order is unconstitutional, and we will continue to fulfill our duty and ensure that Georgia is protected from any illegal actions by the federal government.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was among the 15 top election officials who previously denounced Biden’s EO and raised alarm about the scheme.
Alabama
Republican leaders and election officials in Alabama have been particularly vocal about EO 14019 and the threat they believe it poses to the integrity of elections in the state.
Earlier this summer, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen raised the alarm about federal policies that provide voter registration forms to foreign nationals as well as to the dead.
The secretary
claimed that the Biden-Harris administration is “knowingly and purposefully enacting policies that result in supplying non-citizens with a mechanism to register to vote in our state and all 49 other states.”
Allen further noted that his office has attempted on several occasions to gain “clarification from the White House regarding the Biden Administration’s efforts to expand the NVRA through the implementation of Presidential Executive Order 14019” — attempts that have apparently been in vain.
“It is obvious to me that this EO is an attempt to federalize an expansion of voter registration policies originally established by the NVRA. I have requested access to public records and information related to those plans and their implementation within our state,” Allen said in a statement. “Those requests have been ignored.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office indicated in a statement to Blaze News that the Biden-Harris administration has also “rebuffed requests from Secretary Allen to cooperate with him to remove noncitizens who may be registered to vote in Alabama.”
‘A ton of damage has been done already.’
“The States have primary responsibility for registering voters, determining their eligibility, and conducting elections. But through EO 14019, the Biden-Harris Administration has forced federal agencies to flood every State with voter registration forms. Many of the recipients are not eligible to vote,” said Marshall’s office.
Whilst pushing this scheme, the White House has “opposed efforts like the
SAVE Act that would ensure those voting in our elections have the documents to prove their citizenship.”
The Alabama AG’s office noted that it is “working with Secretary Allen on additional ways to safeguard our elections this November.”
Virginia
In response to questions about what the Old Dominion is doing about EO 14019, a spokesman for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told Blaze News that the governor “believes we need to continually invest in our election system to improve the process, restore faith in elections and address any concerns.”
“Election security isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s an American and Virginian issue — we must ensure we are adequately maintaining voter lists, abiding by election security procedures and taking election crimes seriously,” continued the spokesman. “In Virginia, Governor Youngkin is taking critical steps to improve the election process and ensure it’s resilient.”
The spokesman referenced various actions Youngkin has taken to bolster election security, including ratifying legislation to ax outside interference in elections; to provide absentee results by precinct so voters can see who is voting absentee in person and by mail and where they’re coming from; and to remove dead voters from voter rolls every week.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor was among those who called for the repeal of EO 14019 in 2022. However, the public information officer for the Oklahoma State Election Board — the elections administrator for the state — told Blaze News, “We are not very familiar with that EO.”
While apparently not overly familiar with the EO, the election board’s information officer noted that “it is a crime for someone to knowingly cause an unqualified person to become a registered voter or to knowingly submit a voter registration application containing false or fraudulent information. Any evidence of such would be referred to the appropriate district attorney for investigation.”
West Virginia
West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment. It is, however, clear that Warner takes the “federal overreach” seriously.
Months before signing the Aug. 3, 2022, letter with his Republican peers demanding that Biden rescind EO 14019, Secretary Warner called out the order solo, telling Biden “it is not necessary or appropriate for voter registration services to be mandated or offered at every federal government agency without a state requesting such assistance under its own authority,”
stressing that the order constituted an “improper federal overreach.”
Warner also led the nine-state delegation asking the Supreme Court in June to strike down the order.
While other states with Republican trifectas as well as swing states with Republican election officials have ostensibly moved the needle on countering EO 14019, Blaze News did not hear back from relevant officials in Nebraska, Montana, Arkansas,
Texas, New Hampshire, South Dakota, North Dakota, Ohio, Nevada, and Idaho by the deadline.
Not too late to act
Blaze News circled back to Mike Howell, executive director of the Oversight Project, for additional insights into what actions have been taken by states to-date and the value in stepping up this late in the game.
When asked which have been the most effective actions taken by states to-date in the way of kneecapping EO 14019 and its execution, Howell said, “The Indiana Secretary of State took overt action to kick the Feds out for the purposes of using tax-payer dollars and government authority to act as Kamala Harris’ get-out-the-vote operation.”
“We’re at the stage now where more states should be stepping up and taking overt action instead of just asking questions and complaining,” added Howell.
Howell indicated it is not too late for state officials with gumption to make a meaningful difference.
“A ton of damage has been done already, but it’s not too late to at least mitigate this constitutional disaster where the incumbent administration is using their power and our money to ensure their own re-election,” said Howell. “This is an assault on ‘democracy’ that the United States hasn’t seen before.”
This sense of urgency has evidently caught on in recent weeks and months.
In July, the America First Policy Institute, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), Republican Texas Reps. Ronny Jackson and Beth Van Duyne, and others
filed a lawsuit against Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and several other big names in the Democratic administration over the EO, claiming Biden and his cabinet officials “have usurped States’ role in registering voters and redirected federal resources to partisan voter mobilization efforts, in violation of federal law.”
The Trump campaign, the Michigan Republican Party, and the Republican National Convention also
sued the Biden administration, Whitmer, and Benson last month over the “BidenBucks” scheme.
That Democrats swapped out Biden for Harris makes little difference, suggested Howell.
“The left has reconstructed the election system in the United States as a competition between machines to collect ballots as opposed to votes. It doesn’t really matter who the candidate is for that machine to work,” said Howell.
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