Letter to the Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice

Letter

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today issued a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. requesting an investigation into voter irregularities that occurred during the Memphis and Shelby County elections held on August 5.

A copy of the letter is listed below:

August 11, 2010

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am writing to ask that the Department of Justice Civil Rights Voting Section launch an investigation into voter irregularities that occurred during the City of Memphis and Shelby County elections held on August 5, 2010. Thousands of voters were mistakenly turned away from the polls because of inaccurate voter rolls. I respectfully request that your Department investigate whether the inaccurate rolls were the result of negligence or intentional criminal misconduct.

Shelby County held its primary elections on May 4, 2010, with an early voting period running from April 14th through April 29th. Shelby County's general elections were held along with the primary elections for the City of Memphis on August 5, 2010, with early voting from July 16th through July 31st. However, during the August 5th elections, early voting information from the May 4th elections was entered into the electronic polling records instead of the tallies from the July early voting period. Consequently, thousands of people who had voted early in the May elections but had not yet voted in the August elections were erroneously turned away from the polls on August 5th.

The integrity of elections is critical to our democracy, and it is vital that we understand how these inaccurate records were developed. If there was an intentional effort to disenfranchise voters, criminal charges must be pursued. Even accidental errors that result in significant confusion and the lost opportunity to vote can undermine voters' confidence in the system and should be investigated and corrected.

I respectfully request that the Department of Justice investigate the inaccurate voter rolls used during the August 5, 2010 elections in the City of Memphis and Shelby County and determine if there was any misfeasance or malfeasance. I appreciate your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Steve Cohen

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