Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
As the 2026 midterms approach, the Justice Department has demanded that nearly every state and Washington, DC, turn over election-related records, including full statewide voter registration lists and, in some cases, ballots from prior elections or access to voting equipment.
The federal government has sued more than 20 States and Washington, DC, for refusing to comply, prompting concerns about federal overreach into states’ constitutional role in administering elections.
The requests involve highly sensitive personal information and have raised serious privacy and security concerns. At the same time, Congress is advancing election legislation that would tighten voter identification requirements, mandate voter roll purges, and restrict vote-by-mail. Experts warn that together these actions could affect who is able to vote and increase disputes over election outcomes. ACom briefing on Feb 6 examined how these developments could function as wild cards in the midterms and how states and courts are responding.
John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC stated that any electoral reform should be based on the principle of “making voting easier, not harder,” and carefully weigh whether restrictive laws impose a reasonable burden on voters.
He pointed out that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, with their population increasing by more than 38% between 2010 and 2020, currently numbering approximately 24 million, and projected to reach 35 million by 2060; their voting influence cannot be ignored.
In the 2020 election, the number of eligible Asian American voters increased by 1.8 million compared to the previous election, with registered voters growing by 28% and actual voter turnout increasing by 37%; approximately 60% of eligible Asian American voters participated in the election. In several swing states, the number of Asian American voters even exceeded the margin of victory in the presidential election.
He also emphasized that language barriers and restrictions on mail-in voting had a significant impact on the approximately 30% of Asian American voters with limited English proficiency.
Justin Levitt, Professor of Law, Loyola Law School (LMU); former White House Senior Advisor for Democracy and Voting Rights; former DOJ Civil Rights Division official pointed out that election affairs are constitutionally controlled by state and local governments, and the president has no direct power to intervene in the actual operation of elections. He described recent actions at the federal level as mostly “political signals and marketing,” which, while unusual and intimidating, have largely been blocked by the courts and have limited actual impact on grassroots voters.
Danielle Lang, Vice President for Voting Rights & Rule of Law, Campaign Legal Center; Adjunct Law Professor and Leading U.S. Voting Rights Litigator stated that recent court rulings have clearly defined the boundaries of executive authority in election matters. She pointed out that courts have repeatedly ruled that the federal government lacks legal basis for executive orders and the Department of Justice’s requests for large amounts of voter data, and have issued injunctions against these measures. Lang added that the Department of Justice’s attempt to collect voter data on a large scale has been rejected by the courts, which have determined that it does not fall within the scope of the Civil Rights Act.
Also Read: 2020 Census: Asian Americans in Focus
