Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer and prominent critic of President Trump, urged Americans not to "overreact" to the Supreme Court's Friday emergency ruling that permits the administration to move forward with its new immigration database ahead of the midterm elections.
The high court, in an unsigned order, lifted a lower court's injunction that had blocked the administration from distributing the overhauled online system to states, which they could use to search for ineligible voters. The decision, which did not include a vote count, was opposed by the court's three liberal justices.
Eisen, who served as ethics czar under President Obama, pointed out that the majority opinion acknowledged the provision of the National Voter Registration Act that bars states from implementing systematic voter removal programs within 90 days of an election. However, the justices noted that limited "individualized inquiries" could still proceed.
"Page 6 of the decision makes clear that we are in the 90 day statutory window when mass changes can't be made to voter lists!" Eisen wrote on social media. "It's a s--- decision for the reasons the 3 dissenters say but we can deal w/it."
The ruling overturns a lower court decision that had prevented the Trump administration from distributing the new system to states. The majority opinion stated, "The order below prevents the Federal Government from using the program it believes is best suited to the task."
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the 12-page dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Jackson wrote, "In my view, however, the harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the nonexistent harm that the Government experiences when it is prevented from taking an action that it likely lacks the authority to take."
The decision comes as the administration has been pushing to tighten immigration enforcement and voter roll integrity, a move that has drawn criticism from voting rights groups who argue the database could lead to voter suppression. Eisen's comments reflect a broader concern among Democrats that the ruling could affect voter turnout in the upcoming elections, but he maintains that the 90-day protection remains a crucial safeguard.
The Supreme Court's ruling is part of a broader legal battle over the administration's immigration policies, which have been a focus of the president's agenda. As the midterms approach, the decision could have significant implications for how states manage their voter rolls and for the integrity of the election process.
