Justice Department Escalates Election Data Demands, faces Legal Pushback
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The Justice Department is intensifying its efforts to access voter data across the country, filing lawsuits against Massachusetts and Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a broader examination into election integrity. These actions, initiated on Thursday, have sparked immediate resistance from state officials who decry the federal government’s requests as intrusive and perhaps aimed at undermining voter confidence.
The legal battles represent the latest chapter in a contentious debate over access to voter data, fueled by persistent, unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. massachusetts secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has staunchly refused to comply with the federal request, vowing to fight the lawsuit in court. Galvin stated he has “absolutely no intention” of handing over voter names and details to the federal government,asserting a pattern of misuse of citizen data for “outrageous fishing expeditions.”
“DOJ has provided no meaningful justification for needing access to every Massachusetts voter’s personally identifiable information,” Galvin, an eight-term Democrat and the country’s longest-serving chief state elections official, explained. he emphasized that state laws prioritize voter privacy and that his office will vigorously defend those protections.
The Justice Department, however, maintains that states have a “statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution.” According to Harmeet K.dhillon, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, “If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will.”
Scope of the Federal Data Request
The Justice Department’s request for voter data is far-reaching, extending to at least 40 states, according to the brennan Center for justice. While most states have provided publicly available voter list information – excluding sensitive data like Social Security and driver’s license numbers – or declined to share registration lists altogether, Indiana and Wyoming have fully complied with the request, providing their complete statewide voter registration lists.
Concerns are mounting among Democratic secretaries of state,who recently sought clarification from the Trump administration regarding the purpose of the data collection. These concerns were amplified by reports that the Department of Homeland Security had already obtained voter data and intended to integrate it into a federal program for citizenship verification.
“I see this as part of an attempted federal takeover of federal elections,” said Eileen O’Connor, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center’s voting rights and elections program. She also highlighted the potential security risks associated with consolidating voter data in a single location,noting that it would be “just a hacker’s dream.” A memorandum of understanding offered by the DOJ to Colorado officials revealed plans to potentially share the information with outside contractors for “list maintenance verification procedures.”
Fears of Voter Purges and Disenfranchisement
Critics argue that the Justice Department’s actions lay the groundwork for potential voter purges and efforts to cast doubt on future election results. Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, suggested the lawsuits are intended to “lay the groundwork to cast doubt on the midterm elections or elections in the future that [Trump] doesn’t like,” warning of the “potential disenfranchisement of eligible voters.”
The lawsuit against Fulton County, Georgia, specifically targets the 2020 election, seeking access to used and void ballots, ballot stubs, signature envelopes, and associated digital files. This action follows the recent dismissal of a state-level election interference case against Trump and others in Georgia, which unraveled after the Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, was removed due to a conflict of interest stemming from a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor.
The Justice Department maintains its investigation into “unexplained anomalies in vote tabulation and storage related to the 2020 election” is ongoing. In its lawsuit against Massachusetts, the department asserts it is seeking to “ascertain Massachusetts’s compliance” with federal law, including the National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to maintain “accurate” voter lists. The department also contends that Massachusetts is violating the Civil Rights Act by withholding the requested information.
The legal clash underscores the deep divisions surrounding election administration and the ongoing efforts to navigate the complex balance between federal oversight and state control.
