DOJ sues states over refusal to hand over voter records

On Tuesday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced it had also filed federal lawsuits against six states: Washington, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont, for failure to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request. 

"Our federal elections laws ensure every American citizen may vote freely and fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results. At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws."

"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," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards."

Among those sued by the DOJ was Washington State Secretary Steve Hobbs, over his refusal to turn over statewide voter registration records. The DOJ alleged that Hobbs, a Democrat, violated several federal laws when he rejected the request in September, including the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), according to the complaint.

The request, made September 8, came amid the Trump administration's nationwide effort to establish secure elections. DOJ attorneys launched a review into Washington state's voting policies — which are vote-by-mail only — and requested a current electronic copy of the state's voter registration list. 

The request included voters' full names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The DOJ aimed to assess whether the state is effectively removing ineligible voters and utilizing accurate methods to identify duplicates and verify registrants.

Hobbs rejected the request in a letter, dated September 23, saying Washington law prohibits the release of specific personal information, such as driver's license numbers, birth dates, and partial Social Security numbers.

The DOJ requested that a federal judge order Hobbs to hand over the complete voter database within five days of the court's directive through a secure, encrypted portal. Federal attorneys contended that the court lacks the authority to assess the scope of the DOJ's requested records, asserting that the Civil Rights Act mandates only a "summary proceeding," thereby restricting the court's review to two specific questions: whether the Attorney General issued a written demand and whether the records custodian refused to comply.