Free state of Florida slaps Biden admin with lawsuit over alleged refusal to ‘ensure voter-roll integrity’

Some efforts to purge voter rolls have been met with resistance by the Biden administration and one state is fighting back.

Florida contends in a lawsuit that the administration is not doing its part to verify immigration records, hindering efforts in the Sunshine State to ensure election integrity and keep noncitizens from voting.

“Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking legal action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for refusing to verify immigration records for the State of Florida to ensure voter-roll integrity,” a press release from Attorney General Ashley Moody read.

The message notes that Florida has “identified registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens, and DHS refuses to provide information necessary to determine their immigration status. Attorney General Moody is taking legal action to ensure noncitizens are not on the voter rolls.”

The Florida Department of State identified some individuals on the voter rolls who were not citizens but needed the assistance of the federal government to verify immigration records. But DHS reportedly refused to comply, setting off the lawsuit.

I am taking legal action against @DHSgov @SecMayorkas for refusing to comply with Florida’s demand to verify immigration records of voters and ensure voter integrity.https://t.co/QBVpdseQXB

— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) October 17, 2024

“Because the federal government is refusing to comply with these obligations and frustrating Florida’s ability to maintain the integrity of its elections, Florida files this suit,” the lawsuit states.

A request made to DHS’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by the state to verify the individuals was denied.

“Thus, Florida has identified a subset of individuals for whom it cannot verify citizenship or immigration status through SAVE and for whom DHS refuses to verify citizenship or immigration status through other means,” the state said.

“Voting is a right granted to American citizens—not illegal immigrants or other noncitizens,” Moody said in a statement.

“The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls. I am taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Mayorkas to ensure Florida is able to maintain the integrity of our state’s voter rolls,” she added.

“The Florida Constitution is clear that only citizens can vote in our elections,” Florida Secretary of State Cory Byrd said in a statement.

“Florida is calling on the federal government to dismantle the barriers blocking the states from obtaining critical information needed to prevent non-citizens from voting in our elections. We are going to prevail in our effort to uphold the law and uphold the Constitution’s guarantee of one citizen, one vote,” Byrd said.

Alabama and Virginia have sparked the ire of Biden’s Department of Justice for trying to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. The DOJ is suing both states over their efforts.

It’s unbelievable to me that, just 25 days before a presidential election, the DOJ is suing the Commonwealth for enforcing a law that has been on the books for nearly two decades to keep our voter rolls accurate by removing noncitizens. This is unprecedented, and I stand by my… pic.twitter.com/xoy3Tb3lDj

— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) October 15, 2024