The Honorable Loretta Lynch
Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Re: Request for U.S. Department of Justice Investigation into Disproportionate Adverse Impact of Voter Purge on Hispanic Population Dear Attorney General Loretta Lynch:
Hispanic Federation writes to urge the United States Department of Justice to take immediate action to address the New York City Board of Election’s unjustified voter purge that removed a total of 122,454 voters from the registration rolls in Brooklyn.
A mid-June analysis released by WNYC, which overlaid census data with the locations of purged voters, showed that the purge has disproportionately affected Hispanic voters. The analysis also showed that the purge was possibly illegitimate. In New York State, voters can be legitimately purged if they change addresses, pass away, or are convicted of felonies. Investigative reports show very little, if any, correlation between recently purged voters and these stated legitimate reasons for purging.
This purge merits investigation. Our country’s anti-discriminatory laws and policies were designed to scrutinize government practices that disparately impact members of protected classes versus non-members of the protected class. Further, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act states that government actions undertaken with discriminatory intent must be remedied and followed by “appropriate legislation.” Without investigation or oversight, we are neglecting to uncover the nature of the circumstances that led to this massive disenfranchisement.
We maintain that the U.S. Department of Justice should review local Board of Election practices for discriminatory intent and implement provisional oversight through federal election monitors in order to prevent the further disenfranchisement of Latino and other voters in New York City. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Jose Calderon
