Reply #36: NY: Justice Sues [View All]

Justice Sues New York

by Dan Tokaji

snip

One of the things to keep an eye on the fine print on what sort of "matching" is required, and the circumstances under which voters' names are removed from the list. While DOJ is right to take action against New York, in my opinion, there's reason to be concerned that DOJ may use its enforcement authority to compel database maintence practices that exceed what HAVA requires, and could result in barriers to the vote -- for example, in people being erroneously struck from registration lists on the ground that there are duplicate registrations or that their information couldn't be "matched" due to a transcription error.

The Brennan Center has recently issued a report on database matching, which highlights the need for attention to this area. According to that report, some states are rejecting registration applications that can't be matched against motor vehicle or social security records, even though data entry errors may be responsible for discrepancies. It's especially important to keep a close eye on the present DOJ's use of its HAVA enforcement power, given its dubious record of enforcing voting rights laws in an apparently partisan manner, which I've discussed here and here.

snip

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/2006/03/justice-sues-new-york.html