AG Mukasey's Encouraging Remarks on Ballot Access and Voting Integrity

These remarks appear to be from a conference of DOJ attorneys who deal with election crime issues. Here is an important snippet:

Although, as I just said, ballot access and voting integrity are two sides of the same coin, that shouldn't prevent us from acknowledging that there is sometimes a tension between the two. Take voter identification laws, for example. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court adopted the Department's view that voter ID laws are not facially unconstitutional. As the Supreme Court held, in an opinion by Justice Stevens, such laws serve several compelling interests, including the interest in preventing voter fraud, and the interest in safeguarding public confidence in representative government.

At the same time, the Court acknowledged the undeniable fact that voter ID laws can burden some citizens' right to vote. It is important for states to implement and administer such laws in a way that minimizes that possibility. And it is important for the Department to do its part to guard against that possibility. We will not hesitate to use the tools available to us -- including the Voting Rights Act -- if these laws, important though they may be, are used improperly to deny the right to vote.

We'll see if the actions keep up with the words. But the overall tone of this is a marked shift from the DOJ's earlier position on issues of voter fraud and voter integrity.

Posted by Rick Hasen at July 2, 2008 10:23 AM