NAACP LDF v. Trump

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. v. Trump, No. 1:17-cv-05427-ALC (S.D.N.Y. 2017), was a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The Ordinary People Society, and a coalition of civil rights groups alleged that the defendants, President Donald Trump, the Vice President Michael Pence, and Kris Kobach were in violation of the Fifth and Fifteenth Amendments and the Federal Advisory Committee Act by establishing the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (PEIC) for the purpose of intentionally discriminating against Black and Latino voters in violation of the Fifth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution and the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., et al v. Trump et al
CourtUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Full case nameNAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.; The Ordinary People Society; HEALSTL; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Pennsylvania State Conference; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Florida State Conference; Hispanic Federation; Mi Familia Vota; Southwest Voter Registration Education Project;and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement v.
Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States of America; Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, an advisory committee commissioned by President Trump; Michael Pence, in his official capacity as Vice President of the United States and chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity; Kris W. Kobach in his official capacity as Vice Chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity[1]
DecidedDismissed on February 28, 2018
DefendantDonald J. Trump
Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity
Michael Pence
Kris W. Kobach
Counsel for plaintiff(s)Sherrilyn Ifill
Janai Nelson
Samuel Spital
Rachel Kleinman
Natasha C. Merle
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
LatinoJustice PRLDEF[2][3]
Plaintiff(s)NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
The Ordinary People Society
#HealSTL
Hispanic Federation
Mi Familia Vota
Southwest Voter Education Project
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Florida State Conference of the NAACP
Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP
Citation(s)No. 1:17-cv-05427
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingAndrew L. Carter Jr.

Background

Kris Kobach was the Secretary of State of Kansas from 2011 to 2019. On November 20, 2016, President Trump asked Kobach to co-chair a commission to investigate possible voting irregularities in the 2016 presidential election. Kobach was a defendant in parallel lawsuits filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center[4] and the ACLU.

On June 28, 2017, the Commission requested voter records from each of the states and the District of Columbia.[5] Forty-four states rejected the request to deliver voter records [6] On July 10, 2017, the Commission postponed its request of the states.[7]

The United States Department of Justice represented Trump.

According to the text of the complaint, the suit asked for a permanent injunction halting the operation of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.

Specific allegations
  • The President has neither constitutional nor statutory authority to create a new executive organ for the purpose of launching an investigation that targets individual or groups of voters.
  • President Trump has not appointed a commission for the purpose of consulting with fair-and-balanced advisors; rather, he has appointed a commission stacked with biased members to undertake an investigation into unfounded allegations of voter fraud, even though Congress has specifically delegated the authority to ensure the accuracy of voter rolls to the Election Assistance Commission and state election officials, not the President.
  • Violations of the Fifth and Fifteenth Amendments and Unauthorized Presidential Action

Procedural history

A second amended complaint was filed on October 20, 2017. The government moved to dismiss the case in November 2017. After the government disbanded the commission on January 3, 2018, the case was dismissed on February 28, 2018, at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's request.[8]

See also

References
  1. "FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT" (PDF). S.D,N.Y. September 5, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  2. Complaint (PDF), vol. No. 1:17-cv-05427, S.D.N.Y., July 18, 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. "LATINOJUSTICE AND MALDEF JOIN LDF AND THE ORDINARY PEOPLE SOCIETY IN LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE PRESIDENT'S ELECTION INTEGRITY". August 31, 2017.
  4. "EPIC v. Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, Pence, Kobach and GSA" (PDF). July 3, 2017.
  5. "Letter from Kobach to Secretary of State of Maine" (PDF). June 28, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  6. "Forty-four states and DC have refused to give certain voter information to Trump commission". CNN. July 4, 2017.
  7. "NH fight on voter data release put on hold". New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  8. https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=15994 Civil Rights Clearinghouse page on case
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