DOJ sues 5 more states in push for sensitive voter roll data

The Justice Department is suing five more states for access to their full voter registration lists, the latest effort by the Trump administration to force states to share personal data about voters ahead of the midterm elections.

Kentucky, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia were all named in lawsuits the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division filed today. With the new suits, the Justice Department has now sued 29 states and the District of Columbia for voter data.

Three federal judges have already ruled to toss out the lawsuits, most recently in Michigan, where U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou said the voting laws the Justice Department cited do not require the state to turn over voter information.

The Justice Department has argued that Attorney General Pam Bondi has the authority to demand the production, inspection and analysis of statewide voter registration lists.

“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This latest series of litigation underscores that This Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country.”

Most of the states the Justice Department has targeted in lawsuits have been Democratic-led. But three of the states named today — Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia — are led by Republican governors. Other GOP-led states, like Nebraska, have turned over sensitive voter data to the Justice Department.

“The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its oversight role dutifully, neutrally, and transparently wherever Americans vote in federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work. We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties.”

The Voting Rights Act, known as the “crown jewel” of the Civil Rights Movement, was first enacted in 1965 to protect voters against discrimination.