JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Mississippi officials are challenging a 2021 executive order signed by President Joe Biden that directs federal agencies to participate in voter outreach and registration.

Current law allows for states and federal agencies to enter into agreements to assist in voter registration efforts, but Secretary of State Michael Watson (R-Miss.) said the executive order goes too far.

“The states are in charge of voter registration and cleaning our voter rolls. This is what we’re supposed to be doing, not the federal government,” Watson said.

His office has been working against Biden’s order since 2022. Watson filed multiple Freedom of Information Acts and found that several Mississippi counties had agreements with the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

“You think about the U.S. Marshal’s Service, who do they come in contact with? Illegal immigrants, many times. And so, what the guidance was, was No. 1: educate them on how to register to vote. No. 2: help them register to vote, and No. 3: if they so choose, help them vote by mail. In Mississippi, theoretically, by the law, we should catch every one of them. The problem is, what if one somehow slips through?” he questioned.

Watson did not say whether illegal immigrants attempted to or had registered to vote in Mississippi. Previous legal challenges to the order have been dismissed due to a lack of standing.

Matt Steffey, a professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, said the lawsuit has a slim chance of being found unconstitutional.

“It doesn’t seem on its face to be an overreach. It would be if it was only to register Democrats. That, the constitution doesn’t permit, the mechanisms of government to take sides,” Steffey said.

“It isn’t a question of, ‘Do we want people to register to vote?’ Absolutely, but there are laws that we have to follow in this country and in this state,” said Watson.

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