The U.S. Department of Justice sued New Jersey and four other states for failing to hand over voter rolls. Critics say the litigation is a step toward potential manipulation of midterm elections in President Donald Trump’s favor.
The lawsuit filed Thursday brings to 29 the number of states — led by Republicans and Democrats alike — from which the Trump administration is seeking such information. Trump, who offers no evidence to his claims that U.S. elections have been tilted against him, has called for nationalized voting to ensure accountability.
“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “This latest series of litigation underscores that this Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance and secure elections across the country.”
The filing marked Trump’s second lawsuit against New Jersey this week. On Monday, Bondi claimed in federal court that Gov. Mikie Sherrill violated the law when she signed an executive order to ban immigration enforcement agents from operations on state property.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said her office will fight both lawsuits.
Groups including the ACLU, the NAACP and the Brennan Center for Justice have condemned Trump’s attempts to seize voter data, calling it a move to maintain Republican control of government.
Personal information
It’s up to states to maintain voter rolls, or registrations of those who are eligible to participate in elections. Trump claims the rolls contain the names of millions of people who are ineligible to vote and should be purged. The states say that’s not true, and that voters’ personal information would be compromised if they comply with the administration’s data requests.
Judges have dismissed similar lawsuits against California, Oregon and Michigan. In January in the California case, U.S. District Judge David Carter of the Central District of California, Southern District, ruled that handing over the information “stands to have a chilling effect on American citizens like political minority groups and working-class immigrants who may consider not registering to vote or skip casting a ballot because they are worried about how their information will be used.”
Trump’s fellow Republicans control Congress, and midterm elections in November will determine whether they remain in power. Democrats, should they gain seats, are certain to begin the process of removing Trump from office.
In addition to New Jersey, the Justice Department on Thursday sued Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia.
“As several courts have already held, the Department of Justice’s request for voters’ personal information, including their driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, is baseless,” Davenport said in a statement. “We are committed to protecting the privacy of our state’s residents, and we will defend against this lawsuit in court.”
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