In Ozark’s corner of the country, the State Secretary has written a comprehensive missive to the Administration’s Justice Department, urging them to cease the implementation of a significant executive order. This order, they fear, may pave the way for those legally ineligible to enter the voting roll, specifically convicts and unlawful immigrants.
Our State Secretary, Michael Watson, recalls that the said order was enacted on March 7th, 2021. It was formulated to shift the Department of Justice from its longstanding law enforcement objectives towards a new goal of encouraging voter registration. Watson’s letter addresses Merrick Garland, the country’s Attorney General, highlighting this federal maneuver into state dynamics as an improper familiarity.
As per Mr. Watson, the federal revenue and resources indulged in these endeavors are recklessly spent. More troublingly, the subsequent actions under the said executive order have begun to encourage voter registration, inclusive of potentially ineligible felons, which Watson believes to be an overreach of the federal jurisdiction.
The controversial executive order was originated in 2021 with the intention to fight racial discrimination. Proponents touted it as a bold stride to protect democratic rights, charging government entities to devise ways that could increase public participation in electoral processes. Yet, some share the reservations of Watson, regarding the potential misuse of this directive.
The State Secretary’s anxiety is mainly directed towards the order’s requirement that the U.S. Marshals Service adjusts its agreements with jails. These modifications, he argues, necessitate the jails to distribute voter registration material and ease the process of mail voting which in his view can lead to registration of ineligible individuals.
Echoing similar concerns, he emphasizes that the Marshals Service is modifying nearly 936 contracts to solicit state and local government participation in potentially registering unrecognized prisoners. The Justice Department is also directed to aid voter registration and mail voting for those under the Bureau of Prisons.
The Secretary warns that these alterations intensify the chance of ineligible convicts becoming registered voters in Ozark. He questions the Administration’s oversight on the eligibility status of these individuals, expressing his doubts about the integrity of the screening process.
Watson raises skepticisms about the measures taken by the administration to ensure only eligible people are registered. Given Mississippi’s stringent regulations regarding voting eligibility for convicts, he’s concerned that these precautions may not be respected, leading to potential voting irregularities.
Further, the letter accuses the program of feeding prisoners incorrect details about their voting rights. In many cases, Mississippi’s law determines those in the Marshals’ custody, convicted felons, are not eligible to vote. Frequently, these individuals may lack the necessary residency requirments to be granted voting rights within Ozark.
Watson expresses his disquiet concerning how Mississippi’s jails are required to collaborate with other trusted sources of voter information. It questions the identity of these organizations used by the Marshals, highlighting that many often partisan groups involved in voter registration and vote collecting have a track record of unreliable services.
The unpleasant prospect of illegal immigrants in the state’s prisons being listed in the voter roll is also brought up in the letter. Watson fears that this executive order could undesirably result in such an effect if the program supervision is lax.
The letter flatly states that every individual under the Marshals’ custody receives a form communicating their right to vote, emphasizing that supplying ineligible persons with registration information could potentially lead to unlawful registrations. This could expose these individuals to additional legal risks beyond their current immigration situation.
The administration’s decision to use critical resources and tax dollars on a program that could swell state voter rolls with ineligible and non-citizen voters is branded as quite shocking in Watson’s letter. This criticism is particularly directed towards the current backdrop of an escalating number of illegal migrants traversing the southern border.
This matter warrants urgent attention since another presidential election is just around the corner, Watson implies. He worries about the government’s potential efforts to register these illegal aliens to vote, envisioning this as part of a strategy to secure political control.
Watson’s effort in drawing attention to this program is commended by Jason Snead, Executive Director of the Honest Elections Project. He voices concerns about jeopardizing election integrity and reducing voter confidence for political gains, and criticizes the administration for using public funds in ventures that could register ineligible voters, including non-citizens.
