- The Biden Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and US Attorney Michael Easley Jr. are responding to a federal lawsuit pitting state and national Republican groups against the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- GOP groups challenge the guidance the state elections board offered local elections officials about counting mail-in absentee ballots with improper ballot envelopes.
- A "statement of interest of the United States" filed Wednesday challenges the Republicans' reading of the materiality provision of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and US Attorney Michael Easley Jr. are stepping into a legal battle pitting state and national Republican groups against the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The controversy involves rules for mail-in absentee ballot envelopes.
The Republican National Committee and North Carolina Republican Party accuse state election officials of violating state law by telling local elections officials to count mail-in absentee ballots when voters failed to submit ballot envelopes properly.
The case sits now with US Chief District Judge Richard Myers. It is not expected to have an impact on the recently concluded election.
Easley and US Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke filed Wednesday a “statement of interest of the United States” in the case.
“This case presents important questions relating to the enforcement of the Materiality Provision in Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” according to the 18-page document. “Congress has given the Attorney General authority to enforce the Civil Rights Act on behalf of the United States. Accordingly, the United States has a substantial interest in ensuring the Act’s proper interpretation.”
The Biden Justice Department officials objected to the GOP groups’ approach to the Civil Rights Act’s “materiality provision.”
“Contrary to Plaintiffs’ assertion, the Materiality Provision applies to the entire voting process — not just the voter qualification stage,” the statement explained. “The Provision specifically applies to a voter’s error or omission on any record or paper, which can include the failure to seal a ballot secrecy envelope. And rejecting an absentee ballot based on such errors or omissions that are not material to determining whether an individual is qualified to vote denies the right to vote for purposes of the Materiality Provision, even if the voter has an opportunity to cure the ballot.”
The state elections board has filed a motion to dismiss the case. The RNC and NCGOP responded to that motion on Nov. 20.
“The North Carolina General Assembly has enacted several laws intended to prevent tampering with absentee ballots by requiring that absentee voters seal their ballots in container-return envelopes before submitting the ballots to county boards of elections. The North Carolina State Board of Elections … has advised the county boards that they may disregard the clear requirements of those laws and count absentee ballots that are not returned in sealed container-return envelopes,” Republican lawyers wrote in a court filing. “Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit to stop the NCSBE from disregarding the unambiguous requirements of North Carolina law.”
“The NCSBE has filed a motion to dismiss this case, arguing that the Board has done nothing wrong,” Republican lawyers added. “First, it claims that the state absentee-voting laws do not mean what they say. Second, the NCSBE claims that federal law prevents it from enforcing the state law.”
“But just as it has misinterpreted state law, the NCSBE also has misinterpreted federal law. Therefore, the Court should reject the NCSBE’s incorrect interpretations of state and federal law and deny the motion to dismiss,” the court filing continued.
Myers issued an Oct. 31 order denying Republicans’ request to send the case back to state court.
The State Board of Elections and a retirees group working with Democratic operative Marc Elias’ law firm had both opposed returning the case to the state court system.
Myers ruled that the elections board “properly removed this action” from state court to federal court. The board believed that complying with Republican demands in the lawsuit would have violated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Because of the role of federal law in the case, a federal judge has jurisdiction to address the GOP’s complaints, Myers ruled.
The North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, working with the Elias Law Group, intervened in the ballot envelope case to defend the state elections board’s actions.
Republican groups filed the suit in state court. The state elections board moved the case to federal court on Oct. 11.
The suit arose from the State Board of Elections revising its Numbered Memo 2021-03, which implements various laws governing absentee ballots.
According to an RNC news release, the revised memo stated that absentee ballots do not need to be returned in sealed container-return envelopes to be counted. This policy directly conflicts with statutes specifying that they must be returned in sealed container-return envelopes, GOP groups argued.
The RNC said the policy violated North Carolina state law and weakened absentee ballot safeguards.