{"id":1859,"date":"2025-10-21T11:02:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/?post_type=press&p=1859"},"modified":"2025-10-21T11:02:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:02:38","slug":"nonpartisan-voting-rights-organizations-file-lawsuit-in-indiana-challenging-unlawful-citizenship-check-laws","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/press\/nonpartisan-voting-rights-organizations-file-lawsuit-in-indiana-challenging-unlawful-citizenship-check-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonpartisan Voting Rights Organizations File Lawsuit in Indiana Challenging Unlawful Citizenship Check Laws"},"template":"","class_list":["post-1859","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":" Lawsuit alleges newly enacted Indiana laws violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":"","related_issues":false,"related_work":false,"location":17},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":true,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7755}"],"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"League of Women Voters of Indiana, Common Cause Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power, and Exodus Refugee Immigration, have <\/span>filed a lawsuit<\/span><\/a> against the Indiana Secretary of State and the Co-Directors of the Indiana Election Division challenging several Indiana laws that target only naturalized citizens\u2014not people born as citizens\u2014with unnecessary burdens and potential disenfranchisement. The lawsuit states these laws violate the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The organizations are represented by Chicago Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights, Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Daniel Bowman and William Groth of Bowman Legal Services, LLC.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe lawsuit challenges new Indiana laws that went into effect on July 1, 2025, that use outdated and inaccurate Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) data in a flawed attempt to verify citizenship. Temporary driver\u2019s licenses or identification cards are issued to noncitizens who are lawfully in the United States. These temporary credentials remain valid until they expire, and cost money to update, so many naturalized citizens continue using their temporary credentials for years after they become citizens and register to vote.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBecause of the unreliable nature of this BMV data, eligible naturalized citizens who still use a valid temporary credential will be required to provide proof of citizenship, an unnecessary requirement that is not imposed on individuals born as citizens who will never be issued a temporary credential.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe lawsuit<\/span> follows a July letter warning state officials that the new laws<\/span><\/a> will mis-identify eligible voters as potential noncitizens in violation of federal law. These individuals must produce proof of citizenship within 30 days of receiving a notice. County voter registration officials must cancel or reject these individual\u2019s applications within 48 hours if they don\u2019t respond during this time period.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cMany individuals Exodus has assisted to obtain citizenship over the years fled from countries where they never had the chance to participate in a democracy. We cannot allow their voices to be silenced again in Indiana,\" said <\/span>Cole Varga, CEO of Exodus Refugee Immigration.<\/b>\r\n<\/b>\r\n<\/b>\u201cThis law is intimidation of certain Hoosier voters and Common Cause Indiana will always stand against intimidation of voters,\u201d said<\/span> Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indiana Executive Director. <\/b>\u201cWe warned legislators this was bad legislation before they passed it, we warned election officials before it took place and now we are taking action to protect Hoosier voters from this intimidation.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cA majority of Asian American eligible voters are naturalized citizens, and for our community members, democracy is precious, because many of us come from countries where the right to vote is not a given,\u201d said <\/span>Melissa Borja, Co-Chair of Hoosier Asian American Power.<\/b> \u201cThese laws unfairly create barriers that prevent our community members from exercising their cherished right to vote and having their voices heard.\"<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThese laws put Indiana voters at risk, particularly our neighbors and members who have worked hard to become US citizens and voters,\u201d said <\/span>Linda Hanson, president of the League of Women Voters of Indiana<\/b>. \u201cEvery Hoosier deserves an election system that treats all eligible voters fairly. The League of Women Voters of Indiana is committed to blocking unnecessary barriers that attempt to disenfranchise certain voters in our communities.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThere is no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting or attempts to register to vote in our elections,\u201d said <\/span>Ami Gandhi, Director of the Midwest Voting Rights Program with Chicago Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights.<\/b> \u201cThis will result in the wrongful disenfranchisement of eligible voters, many of whom are people of color.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cOur democracy depends on every eligible voter being able to cast a ballot free from intimidation or discrimination,\u201d said <\/span>Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States<\/b>. \u201cIndiana\u2019s new laws are part of a broader, troubling trend to undermine the fundamental right to vote. By targeting naturalized citizens, these provisions break federal law and betray the promise of equal participation at the heart of our democracy.\u201d<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\u201cCommon Cause will not stand for these attacks on voters any longer,\u201d said <\/span>Omar Noureldin, Common Cause Senior Vice President of Policy and Litigation. <\/b>\u201cIf legislators in Indiana attack the voting rights of voters, we will push back to protect our members and Indiana voters.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cNew Americans have the same right to vote as native-born citizens,\u201d said <\/span>Ryan Snow, counsel with the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law<\/b>. \u201cAnd yet Indiana has needlessly created a new barrier to voting for new citizens, one which no native-born citizen will ever be subjected to. This is discriminatory and violates federal law.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nPlaintiffs are asking for Indiana\u2019s compliance with federal law and for temporary and permanent injunctive relief preventing Indiana election officials from enforcing these harmful citizenship crosscheck laws.\u00a0 They also seek public records related to the challenged laws, including the list of targeted voters.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRead the <\/span>full complaint here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nNonpartisan Voting Rights Organizations File Lawsuit in Indiana Challenging Unlawful Citizenship Check Laws - Common Cause Indiana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lawsuit alleges newly enacted Indiana laws violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/press\/nonpartisan-voting-rights-organizations-file-lawsuit-in-indiana-challenging-unlawful-citizenship-check-laws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nonpartisan Voting Rights Organizations File Lawsuit in Indiana Challenging Unlawful Citizenship Check Laws\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lawsuit alleges newly enacted Indiana laws violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/press\/nonpartisan-voting-rights-organizations-file-lawsuit-in-indiana-challenging-unlawful-citizenship-check-laws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Indiana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/istockphoto-1250033754-612x612-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"416\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/press\/nonpartisan-voting-rights-organizations-file-lawsuit-in-indiana-challenging-unlawful-citizenship-check-laws\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/indiana\/press\/nonpartisan-voting-rights-organizations-file-lawsuit-in-indiana-challenging-unlawful-citizenship-check-laws\/\",\"name\":\"Nonpartisan Voting Rights Organizations File Lawsuit in Indiana Challenging Unlawful Citizenship Check Laws - 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