Posted:

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

LINCOLN - Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined a coalition of nine attorneys general in challenging the Biden-Harris administration's unlawful plan to repurpose federal tax dollars for voter registration and threatening to diminish state authority over elections.

Executive Order 14019, signed by President Biden in 2021, unlawfully directs federal agencies and departments to use money given to them by Congress to conduct voter registration activities. Information on the Executive Order's implementation was not public until August this past year. The federal government has limited authority to regulate voter registration, as that power is granted primarily to the States.

"The Biden Administration's order appears to be a politicized get-out-the-vote campaign facilitated by taxpayer dollars given to one-sided third-party 'partners.'" Attorney General Hilgers said. "It is unlawful, and we will fight it."

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, asks the court to declare the executive order unconstitutional and unlawful and enjoin all agencies from implementing the order.

EO 14019 exceeds any authority executive entities have under federal law, violates the Constitution, threatens States' attempts to regulate voter registration, and undermines the voter registration systems set up by the States, which will impact federal, state, and local elections.

Attorneys general from Iowa, South Dakota, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina also joined the lawsuit led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.