The Department of Justice (DOJ) has initiated legal actions against 18 states and one county in Georgia to obtain voter data. These actions are part of an effort by the administration to access voter registration lists and associated records.
Litigation Against States
The DOJ has filed lawsuits against an additional four states: Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada. These recent filings bring the total number of states sued by the department to 18. These states are predominantly Democratic-led, and all were lost by President Trump in the 2020 election.
The lawsuits seek complete, unredacted copies of voter registration lists, which include driver's license numbers and portions of voters' Social Security numbers. The DOJ states its intention for this information is to verify state compliance with federal laws regarding the maintenance of accurate voter rolls. Most states have cited privacy restrictions in their refusal to provide the requested data.
Official Statements
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, issued a statement: "At this Department of Justice, we will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws. If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will."
Dhillon also referenced the processing of voter records through a citizenship lookup tool operated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Action in Georgia's Fulton County
In addition to state-level lawsuits, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Fulton County, Georgia. This action seeks to compel local election officials to release all ballots and records from the 2020 election. Fulton County has been cited in claims by former President Trump and his allies regarding alleged irregularities in the 2020 election. This legal action follows the dismissal of an election interference case against Mr. Trump and his allies, which had been brought by county prosecutors.
State-Level Pushback
Officials in Colorado have expressed opposition to the administration's pursuit of voter data. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, stated: "We will not hand over Coloradans' sensitive voting information to Donald Trump. He does not have a legal right to the information. I will continue to protect our elections and democracy, and look forward to winning this case."
The lawsuit against Colorado coincides with former President Trump's announcement on social media regarding a pardon for Tina Peters. Ms. Peters, a former Colorado county clerk, is serving a nine-year sentence following a conviction for granting unauthorized access to voting equipment during an investigation into the 2020 election. A presidential pardon does not apply to state-level convictions; the authority to pardon state crimes rests with Colorado's governor.
Separately, the Department of Justice recently announced a review of Colorado's prison system.