Overview
- The new lawsuits target Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Jersey, seeking complete electronic voter-registration databases with dates of birth and partial Social Security or driver’s license numbers.
- Justice Department filings cite the Civil Rights Act of 1960 as the basis to demand inspection and copying of election records, with requests in some cases referencing NVRA and HAVA.
- State officials pushed back: Utah’s Deidre Henderson said no law entitles DOJ to collect private voter data, New Jersey’s acting AG Jennifer Davenport called the request baseless, and Kentucky’s Michael Adams said he would not risk a data breach without a court order.
- Earlier DOJ suits were dismissed in California, Michigan and Oregon, with judges citing statutory limits and privacy risks; the department says it has appealed those rulings.
- The latest actions raise the tally to 29 states plus D.C., reflecting a broadened campaign that now includes several Republican-led states after initial focus on Democratic strongholds.