Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday there’s a “possibility” that the Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to intervene in dozens of cases where judges have ruled against the federal government’s efforts to gain broad access to state voter rolls ahead of November’s midterm elections.“Absolutely, it’s a possibility,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” when asked whether he’d appeal the 22 cases the Justice Department has lost so far to the Supreme Court.“Election integrity is something that President Trump ran on, and the American people elected him.It’s something that every American should care about,” the attorney general added.
“And so the idea that the Department of Justice is trying to investigate issues around elections to make sure they’re fair and make sure they’re conducted the right way is not something that we should be running away from.That’s something we should be running right towards.”The cases stem from an executive order Trump signed asking states to turn over their voter rolls, including voters’ names, dates of birth, residential addresses, state driver’s licenses and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.
The federal government has said it’s gathering the data to allow the Justice Department to investigate any “deficiencies” or “anomalies,” including whether any noncitizens are registered to vote.While some states have voluntarily complied with the administration’s request for voter roll data, the Justice Department has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., for refusing to comply.Federal judges, like in Oregon and Michigan, have agreed with at least 22 states that have sought to block the federal government from gaining access to their voter rolls.Elections have always been run by states, and the federal government does not typically keep track of voter rolls.Some of the states fighting the federal government in court are led by Republicans, including Idah...