DOJ files lawsuits against voter data in 6 additional states

The Trump administration has initiated legal action against six additional states as part of its ongoing effort to obtain nationwide voter information. The Department of Justice filed suits against Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington after officials in those states declined to release documents detailing their full voter registration lists.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that maintaining reliable voter rolls is essential to ensuring fair elections, adding that a number of states have repeatedly failed to meet fundamental requirements for managing voter records. She emphasized that the Department intends to continue pursuing election-integrity cases until states comply with federal standards.

These lawsuits expand on earlier actions taken against eight other states that also withheld voter data from federal authorities: California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

State officials maintain that they are obligated to safeguard personal information, including names, birth dates, addresses, drivers license details, and portions of Social Security numbers. New Mexicos Secretary of State said the state had already shared publicly available voter information with the DOJ prior to the lawsuit.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs likewise provided data that can legally be released to the public but refused further disclosures, saying additional information would conflict with the Civil Rights Act. His office learned of the lawsuit through media reports and had not yet been formally served.

Bondi contends that federal law including the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act authorizes her office to obtain voter data to ensure proper administration of voter registration and maintenance procedures. She also said the Civil Rights Act grants the DOJ authority to request, review, and analyze statewide voter registration lists.

Author: Jackson Miller