Department of Justice Sues 6 States Over Voter Registration Lists

The Department of Justice is suing six states for allegedly failing to provide the federal government with their voter registration lists, the Justice Department announced on Sept. 25.

The states are California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

States are required by federal law to provide the attorney general with voter registration records upon request, the Justice Department said.

President Donald Trump’s March 25 executive order, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” directed officials to “identify unqualified voters registered in the States.”

In the complaint, the federal government said the six states had expressed concerns about privacy protections for voters and refused to cooperate with requests for the information, including each voter’s full name, date of birth, address, state driver’s license number, and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

The cases have been filed separately in federal district courts in each of the six states.

“States are required to safeguard American elections by complying with our federal elections laws,” said Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, in a statement.

“Clean voter rolls protect American citizens from voting fraud and abuse, and restore their confidence that their states’ elections are conducted properly, with integrity, and in compliance with the law.”

Republicans have raised concerns about non-citizens or other ineligible individuals voting in U.S. federal elections.

In Congress, Republicans have sought to enact bills to combat non-citizen voting by means of the “SAVE Act.” The bill—which stands for the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act“—would require states to demand documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering voters for federal elections. It passed the House of Representatives in April but has seen no action in the Senate, where it needs the support of 60 senators to advance.

Democrats have opposed the bill and other such efforts, saying that there is no widespread problem of non-citizen voting and that the measures would make voting difficult in marginalized communities.

In March, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the SAVE Act “would make it harder for tens of millions of eligible Americans to vote.”

Trump’s March executive order also directs officials to withhold federal funding to states that refuse to comply with federal election laws and requires that the prosecution of election-related crimes be made a priority.

In addition, it seeks to prevent states from counting mail-in and absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day.