On Tuesday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division took a bold step by filing federal lawsuits against six states—Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington—accusing them of refusing to provide their statewide voter registration lists, a requirement clearly stated under federal law.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, adopting a notably stringent stance on election transparency compared to her predecessors, labeled the states’ refusal as a blatant threat to the integrity of elections.
“Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,” she stated emphatically.
Bondi further asserted, “The Department of Justice will continue to file proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with fundamental election safeguards.”
Leading this fervent push for election integrity, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon did not mince words, accusing the noncompliant states of actively eroding public trust in the electoral process.
“Our federal elections laws ensure that every American citizen can vote freely and fairly,” Dhillon remarked. “States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they head to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters can have confidence in the election outcomes. At this Department of Justice, we will not tolerate this open defiance of federal civil rights laws.”
This latest legal offensive against these states brings the total number of states facing DOJ litigation to fourteen.
WATCH:
Good news for America—the @CivilRights Division and @TheJusticeDept has now sued 14 states for unlawfully withholding voter rolls, and we will continue our work enforcing our federal elections laws throughout the nation! pic.twitter.com/6cQMLIdO5P
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) December 4, 2025
Dhillon proceeded to dismantle the various excuses states have conjured to justify their failure to comply, labeling them as baseless, nonsensical, and politically charged.
Harmeet Dhillon:
Mainly, they’re arguing privacy or alleging that the DOJ’s motives for requesting this information aren’t the real reasons behind the request. They often float some ridiculous conspiracy theory, but the law doesn’t require us to justify our requests. Under the federal statutes we’ve cited, we’re entitled to this information, and states don’t get to negotiate.One of the silliest reasons I hear is the claim that ‘Oh, the Social Security number is confidential.’ But how can it be confidential from the very federal government that issues those numbers? That’s just absurd.
What’s more, almost all of these states that are pushing this argument willingly share their voter rolls with non-profit and NGO groups. ERIC is one such entity. So where’s the privacy concern? If they’re okay with sharing this data with organizations that align with their political agendas, why not with the federal government?
We will not be deterred by these excuses. Many states are starting to comply because they recognize that fighting these efforts is a waste of taxpayer money. Ultimately, our goal is to assist all states in improving their operational efficiency.
Each of these states is legally required to maintain clean voter rolls, and they’re not doing their job effectively. This issue spans across both red and blue states. Regrettably, we’ve encountered resistance from both political sides, but our intention is to help. We plan to compare data, eliminate duplicates, root out fraud, and ensure that individuals who shouldn’t be on voter rolls are removed. After that, it’s the states’ responsibility to maintain this integrity.”
WATCH:
Ultimately, @CivilRights under @AGPamBondi wants to help all the states do their jobs better and give American citizens the clean voter rolls they are entitled to! pic.twitter.com/hBYxD4DGgl
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) December 4, 2025
The DOJ lawsuits refer to three key federal laws that mandate transparency in voter rolls:
1. National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)
This law requires states to maintain accurate and updated voter lists, which must be provided upon request.
2. Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
This act mandates that states operate modern and secure voter registration systems—systems that cannot be properly evaluated without federal oversight.
3. Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA)
This legislation empowers the DOJ to inspect and copy voter registration lists and associated election records.
The fourteen states currently facing lawsuits from the Department of Justice for withholding their complete statewide voter registration files include:
- California
- Delaware
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
