US DOJ suing Wisconsin, other states over requested voter information
MADISON, Wis. - The U.S. Justice Department sued three states, including Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia on Thursday, Dec. 18 for not turning over requested voter information to the Trump administration.
The latest lawsuits were filed against Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia and the District of Columbia. The Justice Department has now filed 22 lawsuits seeking voter information as part of its effort to collect detailed voting data and other election information across the country.
Request for voter info
What we know:
The latest round comes one week after the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted against the Justice Department's request for the data. Both Republican and Democratic commissioners voiced concerns about the request last week, saying it would be illegal under Wisconsin law to provide the voter roll information that includes the full names, dates of birth, residential addresses and driver’s license numbers of voters.
Spokespeople for the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the state Department of Justice, which would defend the commission, did not immediately return messages. The Illinois State Board of Elections declined to comment.
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A spokesperson for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.
But the agency’s general counsel, Charlene McGowan, last week sent a letter to the Justice Department saying she was attaching "Georgia’s complete list of registered voters." She noted that "Georgia law prohibits the disclosure of voters’ full date of birth, social security number, and driver’s license number," so the voter list provide excludes such sensitive information.
An Associated Press tally found that the Justice Department has asked at least 26 states for voter registration rolls in recent months, and in many cases asked states for information on how they maintain their voter rolls. Other states being sued by the Justice Department include California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
DOJ sues additional states for not handing over voter data
Some state officials worry about how the voter data may be used and whether the Justice Department will follow privacy laws in protecting it.
Last week, the Justice Department sued Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada.
The Justice Department said 10 states are either in full compliance or working toward it.
The Trump administration has characterized the lawsuits as part of an effort to ensure the security of elections, and the Justice Department says the states are violating federal law by refusing to provide the voter lists and information about ineligible voters.
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The lawsuits have raised concerns among some Democratic officials and others who question exactly how the data will be used, and whether the department will follow privacy laws to protect the information. Some of the data sought includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
"The law is clear: states need to give us this information, so we can do our duty to protect American citizens from vote dilution," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. "Today’s filings show that regardless of which party is in charge of a particular state, the Department of Justice will firmly stand on the side of election integrity and transparency."
The Source: The Associated Press provided this article.