Democratic Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read responded Friday to a Justice Department letter about preserving election records, telling Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter to “read the Constitution,” after McCotter’s letter misspelled his last name as “Reed.” McCotter cited a congressional statute to “remind” Read, in a letter Thursday, that he must retain ballots, voter registration forms and other election records for 22 months. The letter comes as the federal government continues its scrutiny of the midterm elections. Read said in a written response: “As secretaries of state across the country know, effective election administration requires professionalism, competence and attention to detail. It is in that spirit that I will point out to you that my name is spelled READ, as in ‘read the Constitution.'” The Justice Department told CNN in a statement: “Election integrity is, and remains, a top priority. To bring cases of illegal voting and registration, the Department relies on state voting records. We are simply reminding them of their obligation under federal law to preserve these documents.” The Justice Department has put increasing pressure on election officials across the country, particularly to combat noncitizen voting. On Friday, a federal judge imposed a sweeping emergency order that halted the Justice Department’s efforts and prevented it from threatening election officials with criminal prosecution. This post has been updated.
