The Justice Department on Thursday filed federal lawsuits against five states, accusing them of failing to provide full voter registration lists.
The lawsuits target Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Jersey.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said accurate voter rolls are essential to election integrity, an issue President Donald Trump has emphasized since making false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
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“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” Bondi said in a statement. “This latest series of litigation underscores that this Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said the department will continue to pursue access to records regardless of political affiliation.
Three of the five states sued — Utah, Oklahoma and West Virginia — have Republican governors. The other two, Kentucky and New Jersey, are led by Democrats.
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“The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its oversight role dutifully, neutrally, and transparently wherever Americans vote in federal elections,” Dhillon said. “Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work.”
Bondi said the attorney general has authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to request and inspect election records, including statewide voter registration lists. The department said those records can be analyzed to identify potential improper registrations.
The states named in the latest lawsuits did not immediately respond publicly. Critics of similar requests have raised concerns about how the federal government would use voter data if the rolls are turned over.
The department has said it has made similar requests to more than two dozen states and the District of Columbia.
