Voting rights groups claim new law violates National Voter Registration Act
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Several voting rights groups sent a “notice of violation” to the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office and the Indiana Election Division on Wednesday, alleging that a new state law violates the National Voter Registration Act.
“U.S.-born citizens would not face the same barriers while naturalized citizens would be required to jump through additional hoops to register to vote,” said Julia Vaughn, the executive director of Common Cause Indiana in a Thursday release. “Indiana already struggles with low voter turnout — it doesn’t make sense to impose new barriers.”
The pertinent portion of House Enrolled Act 1264 from 2024 doesn’t go into effect until July 1. It requires the state’s National Voter Registration Act official — in this case, the co-directors of the state’s election division — to “compare the statewide voter registration system with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles list of temporary credentials …”
That official “shall” notify the local county that “the registered voter may not be a citizen of the United States.” The law further dictates that the registered voter must provide proof of citizenship within 30 days of receiving a notice or the county will cancel that registration.
“The reality is that non-citizens are not voting in our elections and the citizenship check provision of 2024’s HEA 1264 will be harmful for voter access,” said Ami Gandhi, with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
“By relying on flawed data matching processes that use outdated BMV records, and requiring citizenship verification under tight deadlines, this law increases the risk of wrongful voter purges. This is a violation of the (NVRA) and creates unnecessary hurdles that only naturalized citizens — and no U.S.-born citizens — will have to endure to exercise their right to vote.”
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the NVRA had a three-pronged goal: increasing the number of registered eligible voters, protecting the voting process’ integrity and enhancing voter participation.
But the voting rights groups said it was also meant to protect citizens from “discriminatory and unfair registration laws, particularly those that negatively impact eligible voters from historically marginalized communities.”
“Requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote disproportionately impacts communities of color,” said Sadie Harper-Scott, the president of NAACP Indiana State Conference. “Many eligible voters, including Black people and people of color, may not have access to the documents that are being required in HEA 1264. This will suppress voter participation, not protect democracy.”
Thursday’s press release concludes by saying that if the state fails to respond and correct violations within 90 days, the coalition “may” file a lawsuit.
Groups signing the letter include: Common Cause Indiana, the League of Women Voters of Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power, the NAACP Indiana State Conference, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and attorneys William R. Groth and Daniel Bowman of Bowman & Vlink, LLC.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.