CRIME & LAW

DOJ Sues States Over Access To Voter Data

Media Bias Meter

Sources: 6

Center 83%

Rigt 17%

Sources: 6

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice sued six states after their secretaries refused federal requests for complete voter registration databases, including dates of birth and partial Social Security or driver’s license numbers. States cited state privacy laws and provided only publicly disclosable fields. DOJ filed suits alleging violations of the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and relying on the Civil Rights Act to inspect statewide lists. The actions increase litigation to at least 14 states and seek to verify compliance with federal voter-roll maintenance requirements. Based on 6 recent articles reviewed and supporting research.

Timeline

Early September: DOJ sends letters requesting full statewide voter registration lists.
Sept. 8: DOJ formally requests specific voter data from Vermont officials.
Sept. 22–23: Vermont and Washington officials decline to provide full requested data, citing state privacy law.
This week: DOJ files lawsuits against six states, increasing total targeted states to at least 14.
DOJ invokes NVRA, HAVA and Civil Rights Act in federal court filings to demand inspection.

Media Bias

Articles Published:: 6
Right Leaning:: 1
Left Leaning:: 0
Neutral:: 5

Who Benefited

Federal enforcement agencies and groups focused on election roll verification benefit by gaining legal routes and access to more detailed voter data to assess compliance with federal voter-roll maintenance laws.

Who Suffered

Registered voters and state officials prioritizing privacy protections suffer heightened risk of sensitive personal data exposure and legal conflicts between state confidentiality statutes and federal information requests.

Expert Opinion

After reading and researching latest news.... DOJ requested full voter registration data in September; multiple secretaries cited state privacy protections and provided limited public fields. Lawsuits invoke NVRA, HAVA and the Civil Rights Act; litigation expands to at least 14 states, increasing federal-state legal scrutiny over voter-roll maintenance and oversight.

Media Bias