GOP AGs fume over Justice Department's plans to 'intrude' in states' elections

FIRST ON FOX - A cohort of authorities attorneys wide are informing nan Justice Department against plans they declare Attorney General Merrick Garland signaled "intrude" connected their states’ authority to carry retired elections.

Led by Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita of Indiana, nan group of 16 GOP prosecutors wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland connected Wednesday criticizing his comments from March 3 astatine nan Tabernacle Baptist Church successful Selma, Alabama, successful which he claimed that "democracy" is nether onslaught by "discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions connected entree to nan ballot."

"The DOJ has nary authority to dictate to nan states successful matters that interest their sovereign correct to guarantee safe, secure, and free elections," nan missive says.

Garland launched nan Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force successful March, saying he doubled nan number of lawyers successful nan Voting Section of nan Civil Rights Division.  

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"The correct to ballot is still nether attack," Attorney General Merrick Garland said past month. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

"The correct to ballot is still nether attack," Garland said past month. "That is why we are challenging efforts by states and jurisdictions to instrumentality discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions connected entree to nan ballot, including those related to mail-in voting, nan usage of driblet boxes, and elector ID requirements."

"That is why we are moving to artifact nan take of discriminatory redistricting plans that dilute nan ballot of Black voters and different voters of color. We are holding accountable jurisdictions that neglect to supply accessible ballot centers for voters pinch disabilities," he said.

The AGs wrote successful their missive that Garland’s actions magnitude to a "weaponization" against nan states, and his "views astir elections are not only a superior threat to nan principles of federalism and separation of powers, but besides to populist and nan norm of law."

"Although we do not cognize precisely nan strategy nan DOJ intends to return pinch its galore predetermination attorneys, we intend to vigorously take sides our predetermination laws. We will not let intimidation and fearmongering to supersede nan will of nan people," they wrote.

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The AGs wrote successful their missive that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s actions magnitude to a "weaponization" against nan states, and his "views astir elections are not only a superior threat to nan principles of federalism and separation of powers, but besides to populist and nan norm of law." (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"The Biden management is weaponizing nan U.S. Department of Justice against nan states," Rokita told Fox News Digital. "These actions airs a nonstop threat to democracy, predetermination integrity and nan norm of law. We will guidelines up and take sides our rightful authority wrong nan model of American federalism." 

"With elector assurance astatine an all-time low," he said. "The U.S. Department of Justice should champion elector information measures alternatively of attacking states that instrumentality them. And the DOJ should respect, arsenic well, nan law provisions giving states nan domiciled of regulating elections."

The AGs said that Garland’s declare that elector ID is an "unnecessary regularisation connected entree to nan ballot" is incorrect.  

"On nan contrary, elector ID laws forestall elector fraud by stopping those who effort to impersonate others astatine nan polls," they wrote. 

The AGs statement that nan U.S. Supreme Court has held that elector ID laws are law and do not enforce a load connected nan electorate. 

They besides wrote that "voter fraud and elector impersonation is very existent and occurs frequently."

The AGs besides took rumor pinch Garland’s declare that immoderate states person imposed "unnecessary restrictions" related to absentee voting, including "mail-in voting" and "the usage of driblet boxes."

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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. (Darron Cummings)

"Numerous information risks beryllium pinch mail-in voting and driblet boxes, and these methods of voting person led to nan proliferation of predetermination fraud," they noted.

Garland besides asserted that nan Voting Rights Act has been "drastically weakened" pinch an "increase successful legislative measures that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to ballot and to elite nan representatives of their choice." 

"This connection is factually incorrect," nan AGs wrote. "The Voting Rights Act is not nether attack. Election information measures passed by authorities governments do not ‘make voting much difficult,’ nor are they dismantling nan correct to vote. 

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"Instead, communal consciousness predetermination laws fortify our electoral process to guarantee free and adjacent elections are conducted among nan states, particularly since elector fraud does exist."

"Across nan country, nan 2020 wide predetermination generated wide disorder and distrust successful nan system," they said. 

"Public assurance successful our predetermination strategy is astatine grounds debased pinch much than 30% of nan electorate believing that nan 2020 predetermination was stolen owed to elector fraud. By utilizing nan DOJ against nan states, you proceed to sow nan seeds of distrust among nan American electorate," they wrote.

The Justice Department did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment.