A group of 14 U.S. senators including Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama signed a letter to the United States Department of Justice and specifically to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey asking him to calm fears that people who have undergone or are undergoing a foreclosure will not be allowed to vote. All of the senators who signed the letter are Democrats, and all of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee signed the letter.

The controversy arose after a story on Michigan Messenger last week in which the Macomb County Republican Chair James Carabelli indicated that foreclosure lists will be used to challenge voters. The Republican Party of Michigan has since denied the story.

The letter begins by stating the following:

“We are extremely concerned about recent allegations regarding plans to challenge voters on Election Day based on lists of homeowners facing foreclosure. If officials in any jurisdiction plan or attempt such a tactic, it must be prevented.”

The letter asks Mukasey to answer two specific questions, in order “to [ensure] that homeowners with missed mortgage payments do not also miss the chance to exercise this precious right”:

1. What steps, if any, will you take to ensure that eligible voters are not intimidated or harassed at the polls because they are facing foreclosure?
2. Will you train federal election monitors to ensure that voters are not intimidated or harassed based solely on the fact that they have received a foreclosure notice, and to stop such tactics should they occur?

The letter was signed by both of Michigan’s senators, Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing. Neither Levin nor Stabenow returned e-mails for comment in time for publication.

“In the middle of the worst economy in recent memory, with so many Americans fighting to stay in their homes, these allegations suggest a mean-spirited and desperate attempt to suppress the vote,” said Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island U.S. attorney and attorney general. Whitehouse is also the author and sponsor of legislation to combat voter caging, an activity designed to identify voters for challenge at the polls.

On Tuesday, the Obama for America campaign, the Democratic National Committee and residents of Macomb County filed suit in U.S. Federal District Court to stop the use of foreclosure lists in voter challenges.