Priorities USA Supports Intervention to Protect the Right to Vote for Tens of Thousands of Disabled and Retired Michiganders
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, Detroit Disability Power and the Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans filed a Priorities USA supported intervention to defend against the RNC’s attempts to cancel the voter registrations of tens of thousands of Michiganders, including disabled and retired voters.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is seeking to illegally purge the state’s rolls of countless voters in the lead up to the 2024 general election. This lawsuit is a transparent attempt to exploit the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) in order to prohibit vulnerable Michiganders, including elderly and disabled voters, from exercising their right to vote. Detroit Disability Power and the Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans are seeking to intervene in the lawsuit so that their members and constituents will not be erroneously removed from the voter rolls.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters. Older Michiganders may move after their last day on the job to be closer to family or simply to travel, but that doesn’t mean they are ineligible to vote,” said Jim Pedersen, President of the Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans. “The Michigan Alliance is proud to defend the right of all citizens to vote and reject voter suppression in all of its forms.”
“We must take every measure to protect rights as fundamental as the one to cast a ballot. Disabled voters are still fighting for equal access to many things in our society, including the democratic process,” said Dessa Cosma, Executive Director of Detroit Disability Power. “The proposed purge doesn’t make elections more accessible or fair, but rather runs the risk of disenfranchising people who have much to gain by showing up to vote.”
Motion can be viewed HERE.