US Justice Department sues 6 more states, including NY and California,
in its quest for voter data
[September 26, 2025]
By MARC LEVY
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department sued six more states
on Thursday, saying the states are illegally blocking the agency's
wide-ranging effort to scrutinize detailed voter data in a brewing court
fight over what states say is the private, protected information of
residents.
The Justice Department also accused the states of failing to respond
sufficiently to questions about the procedures they take to maintain
voter rolls as states called the department's request for voters'
personal information unprecedented and illegal, and vowed to fight it.
The department's newest lawsuits targeted California, Michigan,
Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania after it sued Oregon
and Maine last week and has said it is mounting a nationwide effort to
ensure that states are complying with federal requirements to maintain
voter rolls.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Every state has a
responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate,
accessible, and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will
see this Department of Justice in court.”
All eight states being sued are led by Democratic governors, except for
New Hampshire, which is led by a Republican.
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.
Some states have sent redacted versions of their voter lists that are
available to the public or declined or demurred on the voter
registration data requests, citing their own state laws or the Justice
Department’s failure to fulfill federal Privacy Act obligations.
Minnesota’s secretary of state, Steve Simon, said in a statement
Thursday that Minnesota’s elections are “fair, accurate, honest and
secure” and that the Department of Justice isn't entitled to the
information.
“We have been very clear with the DOJ about our position that state and
federal law do not allow our office to provide them with private voter
data unless they provide information about how the information will be
used and secured," Simon said.
The Justice Department never responded to Minnesota's inquiries about
that before it sued Thursday, Simon said.
California's secretary of state, Shirley Weber, said in a statement that
the Department of Justice “failed to provide sufficient legal authority
to justify their intrusive demands” and its lawsuit has no basis in any
previous department practice or policy.
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Pennsylvania's secretary of state, Al Schmidt, called the
department's demand for voters’ personal information “unprecedented
and unlawful” said his agency will fight the federal government’s
“overreach.”
In its lawsuits, the department said the states were breaking
federal law by refusing to supply all of their information on
registered voters, including a voter's full name, date of birth,
address, state driver’s license number and the last four digits of
their Social Security number.
That, and insufficient answers about voter list maintenance
procedures, make it impossible for the Justice Department to
determine whether the states are complying with federal law, the
department told the courts.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said her agency gave the
Justice Department what it is legally entitled to, the public
version of Michigan’s voter file. But she said she told the
department it couldn’t have the private, personal information of
more than 8 million state residents because it is protected by state
and federal law.
Benson called it an “illegal and unconstitutional power grab” and
said the department rebuffed questions about why it wants the
information.
“I have asked them these questions. Other secretaries of state –
both Democrats and Republicans – have also asked them these
questions. They refuse to give us a straight answer," Benson said.
The Justice Department’s outreach has alarmed some election
officials because the agency doesn’t have the constitutional
authority to run elections. That power is granted to states and
Congress. Federal law also protects the sharing of individual data
with the federal government.
Election officials suggest that federal officials want the sensitive
data for other purposes, such as searching for noncitizens on the
rolls.
Benson and Nevada's secretary of state, both Democrats, have said
they will work together with other state election officials to
oppose the department's requests.
___
Associated Press writer Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine,
contributed to this report.
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