WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Thursday announced the filing of federal lawsuits against six states — California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania — for failure to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” said 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.”
A request was made by letter in July by the DOJ to New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan at that time cited NH RSA 654:45, which mandates that the statewide voter database — which contains information about how people registered to vote, as well as other sensitive information — “shall be private and confidential” and not subject to any records requests.
The U.S. Department of Justice followed through with the threat of legal action in announcing the lawsuits on Thursday.
“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.”
According to the lawsuits, the Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with the enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which were designed by Congress to ensure that states have proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs. The Attorney General also has the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA) at her disposal to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of the statewide voter registration lists.
These lawsuits were filed on Sept. 25, 2025, in the federal districts of the respective states.