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DOJ Sues Six More States to Obtain Unredacted Voter Registration Lists

The department is invoking federal election statutes to compel unredacted data, prompting privacy objections.

Overview

  • Federal lawsuits filed Tuesday target Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington for refusing to provide full statewide voter rolls.
  • The Justice Department seeks files with names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and last‑four Social Security digits, citing the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the NVRA, and HAVA.
  • State election officials say they provided public lists but withheld sensitive data under state privacy laws, with Rhode Island’s Gregg Amore and Washington’s Steve Hobbs vowing to defend voter information.
  • DOJ filings argue state disclosure limits do not apply to federal inspections and ask courts for quick orders compelling delivery, sometimes within five days, under a summary‑proceeding standard.
  • The campaign now spans at least 14 sued states after earlier cases against California and others, requests have gone to at least 26 states by AP’s count, and a California hearing on Dec. 4 signaled the dispute could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.