Reps. Price and Butterfield Issue Joint Statement on DOJ/ICE Subpoenas

Statement

On Thursday, September 6, 2018, Congressman David Price (D-NC) and Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) issued a joint statement following news that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina issued subpoenas to the North Carolina State Board of Elections and the 44 counties of the Eastern District to obtain voting records from January 1, 2010 to August 30, 2018 and August 30, 2013 to August 30, 2018, respectively:

"This alarming and unprecedented request from President Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 60 days prior to an election is appalling. In these subpoenas, ICE has failed to demonstrate its legal authority to request voting records and to reveal the rationale for the production of this information. This massive request of voter data seems clearly designed to disenfranchise and intimidate voters and to disrupt the administration of an impending election with major state and national implications.

At a time when the integrity and security of our elections is at risk of attacks from hostile foreign actors, our local election administrators should not be wasting their scarce resources compiling over 20 million voter records in search of fraud that does not exist.

We demand ICE and the Department of Justice rescind their subpoena request immediately. We will request the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the legality and motivations for this action. In addition, we will also request the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives to investigate the legality and motivations for this action."

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