Overview

• California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania were sued on Sept. 25 after similar actions against Oregon and Maine last week, bringing the recent total to eight states.
• Justice Department complaints cite the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to compel statewide voter lists and list‑maintenance records.
• The suits seek sensitive fields such as full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers, which several states say they cannot legally disclose.
• State officials, including Michigan’s Jocelyn Benson and Minnesota’s Steve Simon, say they provided only public files and plan to contest what they call unlawful overreach, while Pennsylvania’s Al Schmidt vowed to fight in court.
• An Associated Press tally found requests went to at least 26 states, and Reuters reported DOJ discussions with Homeland Security Investigations about potential data transfers, fueling concerns about privacy and non‑election uses.