HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department sued six more states on Thursday, saying the states refused to turn over voter registration lists with complete information as the agency mounts a to get detailed voter data.
It also accused the states of failing to respond sufficiently to questions about the procedures they take to maintain voter rolls.
The department’s newest lawsuits targeted California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania after last week and has said it is mounting a nationwide effort to ensure that states are complying with federal requirements to maintain voter rolls.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible, and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”
All eight states being sued are led by Democratic governors, except for New Hampshire, which is led by a Republican.
An Associated Press tally found that the Justice Department has asked at least 26 states for voter registration rolls in recent months and in many cases asked states for information on how they maintain their voter rolls.
Some states have sent redacted versions of their voter lists that are available to the public.
But the department said the states were breaking federal law by refusing to supply all of their information on registered voters, including a voter’s full name, date of birth, address, state driver’s license number and the last four digits of their Social Security number.
That, and insufficient answers about voter list maintenance procedures, make it impossible for the Justice Department to determine whether the states are complying with federal law, the department told the courts.
Some states — such as Michigan — have declined or demurred on the , citing their own state laws or the Justice Department’s failure to fulfill federal Privacy Act obligations.
The Justice Department’s outreach has raised alarm among some election officials because the agency doesn’t have the constitutional authority to run elections. That power is granted to states and Congress. Federal law also protects the sharing of individual data with the federal government.
Election officials also raised concerns that federal officials are trying to use the sensitive data for other purposes, such as searching for noncitizens on the rolls.
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