The NAACP LDF ain’t having it with Trump’s voter commission, believing it to be an attack on voters of color.
The Washington Post reports that the NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit this week alleging that the administration’s voter fraud commission “was formed with the intent to discriminate against voters of color in violation of the Constitution.”
The group's suit is the seventh federal lawsuit brought against the Trump administration. Other organizations suing the administration over the commission include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Right Under Law and Common Cause. These groups are suing over allegations that range from privacy breaches to noncompliance with federal transparency laws.
“Statements by President Trump, his spokespersons and surrogates … as well as the work of the commission as described by its co-chairs, are grounded on the false premise that black and Latino voters are more likely to perpetrate voter fraud,” the LDF's suit said.
As evidence for this claim, the suit cites events such as Trump’s claim that millions of illegal immigrants cast votes in the 2016 election, as well as the fact that these claims were reiterated by Vice President Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Pence and Kobach now serve as the chair and vice-chair of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, respectively, which the LDF finds problematic.
The LDF also cited what it calls the “virulently racist rhetoric” displayed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which has a connection to two of the commission’s members. Earlier this year, that group published a report that portrayed immigrants as invading aliens from outer space.
Believing the president's claims of illegal voting to be a front for restricting the voting rights of black and Latino voters, the LDF is asking for a federal court ruling that would order the commission to cease all of its activities.
Spokespersons for the commission did not comment on the LDF's legal actions.
The NAACP LDF has made the suit available on its website.
