The Public Interest Legal Foundation has sent letters to election officials in all 50 states regarding the DOJ's July 28 guidance for state election audits and argument against returning to pre-COVID election procedures. J. Christian Adams, a former DOJ attorney and now president of the PILF, explains that the guidance handed down essentially warns states they can't go back to those procedures without inviting the scrutiny of the Civil Rights Division.
"What we told the state election officials is that [the DOJ] is flat wrong. [In the department's eyes] the pre-COVID procedures are presumptively valid [and legal]," Adams tells AFN. "[But] states should not be afraid to return to what their law says ought to be the procedures that govern elections."
In addition, Adams says the DOJ has "overstated" its power related to ongoing efforts by states to conduct election audits.
"The Justice Department seems to think that audits are bad – and that's why they sent a threatening letter to Arizona, which once again contained inaccurate legal conclusions involving the power of states to conduct audits," he continues.
"And that's why [we] sent letters to state election officials saying there's nothing in federal law to prevent an audit from taking place. States have the power to run their own elections free of intimidation from Washington, DC," he emphasizes.
In the letter sent to state election officials, Adams adds this – describing it as "the bottom line":
"Current leadership at the Civil Rights Division is trying to prevent any audits because they are satisfied with the results of the 2020 election and would prefer not to raise any questions about potential problems."
The PILF leader encourages state officials who are contacted by the Civil Rights Division to understand "they aim to hurt (or sue) your state, not help it." He adds: "… Our suggestion is to not speak with them [and allow us] to guide you through the inquiry."
