NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell defended his reasoning for denying the Department of Justices’ request for voter information.
Mitchell indicated the city received a “non-binding request” from the Rights Division of the Department of Justice for a list of registered voters, as the DOJ was looking to monitor polling locations in the hopes of assessing the city’s compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
“This request came as a surprise as the city has no reason to believe that it has failed to comply with these provisions,” he said.
Mitchell indicated that the only explanation the DOJ gave for their reasoning was because of the percentage of New Bedford’s residents with limited-English proficiency.
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Mitchell said he did not understand how the city’s voter lists could indicate how well the city is “properly affording” non-English speakers to understand their ballots.
“While voter lists are ordinarily available upon request, I am concerned that the Department’s inquiry is not designed to determine compliance with the Voting Rights Act and is rather a pretext for unwarranted federal intrusion into a locally administered election,” he said.
“Given the well-established track record of the current presidential administration to question the validity of elections without a good faith basis, I am concerned that the disclosure of the voter lists might chill voter interest in the upcoming elections and cause some to question their integrity. Accordingly, we have decided not to produce the voter lists to the Department.”
The Massachusetts primary election is Sept 1., while the general election is November 3.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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