Supreme Court Brief Shows Noncitizens Registering to Vote in Elections
Public Interest Legal Foundation launches defense of election integrity
(Washington DC) – April 21. The Public Interest Legal Foundation has filed a brief with the
United States Supreme Court on behalf of the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) as amicus
urging it to take a case and demonstrating that noncitizens are illegally registering to vote in
American elections. Actual voter registration forms showing noncitizens registering to vote are
attached to the filed brief.
The case is Kobach, et al. v. Election Assistance Commission, et al. (Case no. 14-1164). It is an
appeal from a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision denying requests of Kansas and Arizona to
the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to modify the instructions for the federal
registration form to include the state proof-of-citizenship requirements. The EAC refused to
amend the instructions for individuals using the federal form to register in Kansas and Arizona.
The ACRU brief provides the Supreme Court with documentary evidence that noncitizens are
registering to vote, violating both state and federal law. Registrants stated on the forms that they
were not citizens of the United States, but were nevertheless registered to vote. Kansas and
Arizona are seeking modifications to the instructions for using the federal form so that these
violations of the law will not be repeated. The Justice Department has argued that the existing
federal registration form is adequate.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), (formerly Act Right Legal Foundation), is a
501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. PILF exists to assist states,
local governments and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness
in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right
to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. “The brief filed today
for ACRU is the first of many efforts to oppose organized efforts to undermine the integrity of
elections,” said J. Christian Adams, who serves as President and General Counsel of the
charitable organization. “We are grateful for True the Vote’s efforts to find these failures.”
Two PILF lawyers authored the ACRU brief, Kaylan Phillips and Noel Johnson. Joseph
Vanderhulst also serves as counsel at PILF.
The completed voter registration forms of self-professed non-citizens were obtained through a
public records request to the Harris County (Texas) voter registrar by the Houston-based voters'
rights organization True the Vote. The documents were a small sampling conducted by True the
Vote regarding the adequacy of voter registration procedures using a federal form without
additional citizenship qualifications.
Media inquiries, contact [email protected].
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