Louisiana leads 13 states in
opposition to the President’s federal electioneering plan
BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana
Attorney General Jeff Landry is leading a 13-state coalition calling for Joe
Biden to rescind his Executive
Order 14019 which authorizes the executive branch to utilize all federal
executive agencies' power, resources, and reach to carry out voter registration
and voter mobilization activities. The coalition’s opposition is based in law,
noting that the U.S. Constitution does not provide this power to the executive
branch and arguing that this responsibility falls on state legislatures.
“The government’s job is to
provide an equal opportunity for all eligible citizens to exercise their right
to vote, ensure that every legal vote is counted, and keep the process
transparent and secure,” said Attorney General Landry. “It is not the
government’s job to entice people to vote.”
In their letter to the President,
Attorney General Landry and his colleagues explain that regulating the
registration process has been a state legislative function and that Biden’s
plan attempts to grant political appointees who lead the hundreds of federal
agencies with offices across the country the power to intervene in elections in
unprecedented ways.
What’s more: the letter highlights
the real concern of third-party organizations improperly injecting themselves
into the election process by using Biden’s Executive Order to circumvent state
election laws. These federally-backed third party-organizations may create the
appearance of corruption, thus undermining the integrity and public trust in
elections.
Attorney General Landry, who
fought successfully against this in the 2020 election cycle when the Center for
Tech and Civil Life tried to inject private funds into the Louisiana election
system, added: “Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the Executive Order is its
command for federal agencies to support ‘approved’ third-party organizations as
they conduct voter registration efforts by allowing them to do so on federal
agency premises in states across the country.”
“The Executive Order provides no
details as to which groups will be approved, who will approve them, and what
criteria will be used for approval,” continued Attorney General Landry. “Obviously,
there is a legitimate concern that only those groups aligned with the political
party of the current administration, Joe Biden’s political party, will receive
approval and be granted this unprecedented support and access.”
“The Executive Order appears to
create a get-out-the-vote campaign that benefits one party over the other,”
concluded Attorney General Landry. “I am proud to stand with my fellow
attorneys general for election integrity and against this unethical, illegal,
and unconstitutional Executive Order. We must protect our election system to
ensure fair and transparent elections, untainted by undue influence.”
#
Joining Attorney General Landry in the letter are the attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.