RELEASE:
Mississippi County Sued in Federal Court for Corrupted Voter Rolls
Noxubee County Has Persistently Corrupted Rolls and History of Fraud
(Alexandria, VA) – November 9. The Public Interest Legal Foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Noxubee County Election Commission in Mississippi because it has more voters on the rolls than living citizens. The lawsuit alleges a violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in that the Noxubee County Election Commission failed to reasonably maintain voter rolls.
Noxubee County for years has had more registered voters on the rolls than people alive. The complaint states: “Noxubee County, Mississippi had 9,271 registered voters, despite having a voting age population of only 8,245 according to the United States Census. Thus, more than 110 percent of living citizens old enough to vote are registered to vote in Noxubee County in 2015.”
The plaintiff in the case is the American Civil Rights Union. The plaintiff originally sent the defendant a notice letter in June 2014 describing potential violations of federal election law, asking to review election records, and seeking a cure. The defendant never replied to the letter.
Corrupted voter rolls in Noxubee County are not simply a recent phenomenon. During the 2010 federal general election, “about 113 percent of living citizens eligible to vote in Noxubee County were registered to vote,” the complaint alleges. The trend continued in 2012 and 2014.
The United States District Court in Mississippi previously found systemic and widespread voter fraud in Noxubee County elections.
“Corrupted voter rolls provide the perfect environment for voter fraud. Failure to clean the rolls aggravates longstanding problems of voter fraud in Noxubee,” said Joseph Vanderhulst, Counsel with the Public Interest Legal Foundation. “Mississippians should not have to wonder if their legitimate vote was cancelled by a vote cast by an illegitimate vote in Noxubee County next year.”
This enforcement action is the second case in the Public Interest Legal Foundation’s efforts to clean corrupted voter rolls around the nation ahead of the 2016 Presidential election. The Obama Justice Department has shut down enforcement of Section 8 of the NVRA and thus allowed voters rolls to contain millions of ineligible voters.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), (formerly Act Right Legal Foundation), is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. PILF exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. Media inquiries: media@publicinterestlegal.org.
11/16/15
Magnolia Tribune
