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7h ago

Justice Department Sues Oregon and Maine Over Access to Unredacted Voter Rolls

The suits open a test of federal authority to obtain sensitive voter data under election laws.

FILE - The Department of Justice seal is seen during a news conference at the DOJ office in Washington, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
PORTLAND, ME - NOVEMBER 8: Voters fill out their ballots in the patriotic voting booths at Merrill Auditorium with a hour and 20 minutes to go before the polls close. (Photo by Brianna Soukup/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
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Sign directs voters to a polling station on Election Day in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/ File Photo

Overview

  • The DOJ alleges both states violated the NVRA, HAVA and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 by refusing to provide unredacted statewide voter lists and details of list maintenance, including information on ineligible registrants.
  • Federal officials say Oregon and Maine previously gave identical information to a private organization while declining the department’s requests.
  • Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows rejected the demands on privacy and state‑authority grounds and said they will contest the cases in court.
  • The department has sought similar files from at least two dozen states and, according to Reuters, plans to share compiled data with Homeland Security Investigations for criminal and immigration-related probes.
  • In a related move, the DOJ ordered Arizona to preserve election records dating to 2020 as it considers potential HAVA litigation over voter registration verification.