Voting Rights Groups Sue to Stop DOJ from Collecting State Voter Lists
Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times
Voting rights groups have taken legal action to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from gathering and analyzing state voter registration lists. The lawsuit, filed on April 21, aims to halt the DOJ’s efforts in this regard.
The DOJ has initiated legal action against 30 states, including Washington, for their failure to provide voter rolls. The department argues that the U.S. attorney general has the authority, under the Civil Rights Act of 1960, to request election records from states to identify improper voter registrations.
The lawsuit, filed by advocacy group Common Cause and individual members of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, accuses the DOJ of attempting to create a massive voter surveillance and purging system without proper authorization.
The complaint alleges that the DOJ is encroaching on states’ election oversight responsibilities by imposing its own verification procedures to identify ineligible voters.
“Never before has a federal agency centralized this volume of Americans’ voting data in a single system of records,” the complaint states. “And in doing so, DOJ has flouted statutory safeguards designed to ensure transparency and public participation in the federal government’s collection of Americans’ personal information.”
The groups are seeking a court order to compel the DOJ to delete any voter rolls obtained from states and to prohibit the department from compiling or disclosing voter data.
Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet K. Dhillon, emphasized the department’s responsibility to ensure state compliance with election laws. Dhillon stated that the Civil Rights Act empowers the attorney general to demand the production and analysis of statewide voter registration lists for verification.
In response to the DOJ’s actions, Common Cause CEO Virginia Kase Solomon criticized the collection of voter rolls as a partisan power grab. She expressed concerns about the potential misuse of voter data for political purposes.
The Epoch Times reached out to the DOJ for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.