State Representative John Gillette (R-30) commented on Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon's announcement that the Department of Justice is enforcing voter roll laws and launching investigations, saying that Arizona Democrats will face consequences for their actions.
A post by conservative activist Scott Presler shared the announcement, writing, "HOLY COW! Harmeet Dhillon — Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ — announced that the DOJ is enforcing HAVA guidelines in regards to states complying [with] voter roll cleaning."
HAVA, initially enacted in 2002, provides federal funding to states to ensure they meet voter administration standards, including registration and voting certification.
Additionally, Presler suggested, "They have found hundreds of thousands of dead voters & thousands of non-citizen voters. DOJ sued North Carolina & NC is complying. They have lawsuits against 14 other states, including California. This is going to be one of the single most important actions of President Trump's DOJ. THANK YOU, @AAGDhillon."
In response, State Rep. Gillette commented, "When a state accepts federal money under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), it doesn't only get funding—it cedes investigative jurisdiction to the federal government."
As a result of Dhillon's announcement, he suggested that "in Arizona, this is a serious problem for three officials," claiming AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes, Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes have been refusing to comply with HAVA standards.
"If Arizona's voter rolls contain fraud, illegal registrations, dead voters, non-citizen registrations, or mismatched credentials after being warned and after HAVA funds were used to maintain the system, the federal government doesn't just have the right to investigate," State Rep. Gillette continued, "It has the duty to investigate. If the federal investigation is triggered, it will not stop at faulty voter registration systems."
The Mohave County Representative said that while "Arizona Democrats can argue politics all day, they cannot argue with federal fraud law tied to the money they already spent." "Accepting HAVA funding means accepting federal investigation. And anyone who knowingly concealed problems in our voter-roll systems just turned a state controversy into a federal probe waiting to happen," he concluded.
