The Justice Department filed new federal lawsuits this week against four states as part of what it describes as a nationwide effort to enforce federal election laws and ensure the integrity of voter registration systems.
The Civil Rights Division sued Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada for failure to produce statewide voter registration lists upon request, bringing the department’s nationwide total to 18 lawsuits.
"States have the statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
"At this Department of Justice, we will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws," Dhillon said.
"If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will," she added.
Congress has charged the attorney general with enforcing the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, which are intended to ensure states maintain proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs.
The Justice Department also cited the Civil Rights Act of 1960 as authority to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of statewide voter registration lists.
The filings followed an earlier enforcement action announced Dec. 2, when the Civil Rights Division sued six states, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, over similar allegations.
"Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in that earlier announcement.
"The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards," Bondi said.
Democratically led states have pushed back against the lawsuits, arguing the Justice Department is seeking access to sensitive voter data beyond what the law allows.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson claimed the states have legal standing to refuse to provide the data.
"It’s important for every Michigander to understand what’s at stake here — the U.S. Justice Department is trying to get us to turn over the private, personal information of more than 8 million state residents," Benson said.
"That includes people’s driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personally identifiable information," she said.
"I told them they can’t have it," Benson added.
"This kind of request is not normal. Why is this happening now? Why does the federal government want access to everyone’s personal information?" Benson said.
"I have asked them these questions. Other secretaries of state — both Democrats and Republicans — have also asked them these questions. They refuse to give us a straight answer," she added.
The DOJ’s Dhillon said, "At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws."
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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