(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Justice announced it is suing Michigan as one of six states that refused to provide their voter registration rolls.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible, and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”
California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania were all sued by the DOJ. Each lawsuit was filed in the federal districts of the respective states.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was named in Michigan’s lawsuit. Benson said she will not comply in a statement released Thursday.
“It’s important for every Michigander to understand what’s at stake here – the U.S. Justice Department is trying to get us to turn over the private, personal information of more than 8 million state residents,” she said. “That includes people’s driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personally identifiable information. I told them they can’t have it.”
Benson has maintained that she is following state and federal laws.
“I’m required to follow the law,” she said. “State and federal law include strict privacy protections that keep people’s personal data confidential and keep everyone safe from identity theft.”
Benson has provided the DOJ with the public version of the voting records, but the DOJ says that is not enough. The federal government argues that the U.S. Attorney General is charged by Congress under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to ensure that each state has proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs.
“States are required to safeguard American elections by complying with our federal elections laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Clean voter rolls protect American citizens from voting fraud and abuse, and restore their confidence that their states’ elections are conducted properly, with integrity, and in compliance with the law.”
The lawsuit alleges that Benson provided “insufficient responses” in reply to their requests for voter information. Filed in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan, the lawsuit is seeking immediate judicial relief.
If a court sides with the DOJ, Benson would be forced to release the records. She says this is not information the federal government is entitled to.
“States can and must hold the line. Only state and local election officials – not the president, the DOJ, or any other federal agency – have the right to people’s private voter information,” Benson said. “The people of Michigan have entrusted this department with their personal data, and I will stand up to this illegal and unconstitutional power grab.”
Last week, similar lawsuits were also filed against Maine and Oregon.
