EPIC Underscores Importance of Privacy in Voter Intimidation Case

August 25, 2022

EPIC submitted an amicus brief this week in National Coalition on Black Civic Participation v. Wohl, a federal case concerning voter intimidation and privacy. The suit was brought by voters against several defendants who placed deceptive robocalls shortly before the 2020 election. The robocalls specifically targeted Black voters, falsely warning them that their personal information would be forwarded to debt collectors, law enforcement, and the CDC if they chose to vote by mail. The voters allege that this constitutes voter intimidation under the Ku Klux Klan Act and the Voting Rights Act. EPIC’s amicus brief explains the history of voter privacy in the United States. By showing how voter privacy is central to American self-governance, EPIC’s brief shows that the defendants’ robocalls fall into a clear pattern of intimidation that the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act are meant to prevent. “Voters must know that their voting decisions will not be used to subject them to economic, physical, or other types of harm in order to make a truly independent decision,” EPIC wrote. EPIC has a long history of working on voter privacy issues and in 2016 co-authored The Secret Ballot At Risk: Recommendations for Protecting Democracy.

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