The Idaho Attorney General’s Office didn’t take kindly to the latest insinuations by the federal government that the state’s elections aren’t up to snuff.
The DOJ has been trying for months to get an unredacted copy of Idaho’s voter list as part of its effort to ensure noncitizens don’t vote.
It even sued Secretary of State Phil McGrane in April. That lawsuit is currently on hold pending the outcome of similar cases under review by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The agency sent a letter to McGrane last week outlining the federal laws he’s required to follow and the potential fines or prison time he could face if he doesn’t.
“...any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s SVRL or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” the letter reads.
In response, the state attorney general’s office told the DOJ to back off, telling it to “stop threatening your friends in Idaho.”
“Your insinuations of criminal violations of the federal election laws are not well taken,” wrote James Craig, the head of Idaho’s Civil Litigation and Constitutional Defense division.
The reply said McGrane has referred about 15 cases for potential prosecution, yet hasn’t received an update from the DOJ on their status.
He previously sent the feds a copy of Idaho’s public voter rolls. He also purges the state’s list of any unauthorized voters annually.
The DOJ letter urged McGrane to contact them “to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law.
Craig outlined a few suggestions, including dismissing its lawsuit against the secretary and reviewing the cases McGrane sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Notably, unlike your unwarranted efforts against Secretary McGrane, criminal prosecutions of the noncitizens actually responsible for breaking the law will do much to deter future noncitizens from illegally registering to vote,” he wrote.
“We all have the same goals here—to ensure that Idaho’s elections are free, fair, and transparent, and that Idaho’s voter registration list includes only U.S. Citizens and that only eligible U.S. Citizens vote in Idaho’s elections.”
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