Mark Kelly Spearheads Letter Opposing Voter Roll 'Purge' 90 Days Before Elections

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) spearheaded a recent letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, demanding that the Trump Administration adhere to laws that prevent the purge of voter rolls 90 days before an election.

The Context

The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 prohibits states from clearing voter rolls of ineligible voters no later than 90 days before an election for federal office, better known as a "quiet period."

With the midterms now less than 90 days away – being held nationwide on Tuesday, November 3rd – the Trump Administration's efforts to purge noncitizens from state voter rolls via the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program are in violation of this law.

Moreover, Sen. Kelly's letter demanded the DOJ stop demanding state voter rolls altogether, arguing that "the Trump Administration has done nothing to address concerns that this is all in service of an effort to create a nationwide voter file to be shared across the Executive Branch — and possibly with other unauthorized, partisan actors."

Previous Opposition

In April, Sen. Kelly and Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) wrote to DHS demanding the probe into the 2020 Election in Arizona be dropped, writing, "The election was the subject of multiple failed lawsuits and investigations and audits that revealed no evidence of fraud. Deploying agents who should be focused on targeting criminals to investigate debunked claims of election fraud makes Americans less safe and raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the investigation."

In June, the Arizona Senators introduced the Protect Our Polls Act, which reinforces the prohibition of federal forces at polling places and requires the President to seek Congressional approval with intel, legal justification, and evidence that state or local government cannot handle a threat on their own, at least 48 hours before deploying forces.

"Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. The idea that a president would send troops or armed agents to polling places to intimidate voters is un-American and illegal," said Kelly.