DOJ filed federal lawsuits against 18 states and Fulton County seeking detailed voter registration lists and election records, including ballots, absentee-ballot envelopes and digital files from the last presidential election.The Civil Rights Division says the suits rely on the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to demand production, inspection and analysis of statewide voter lists, and DOJ says it has pursued earlier enforcement actions against other states.Critics in Democratic-led states — including
Jena Griswold,
Francisco Aguilar and
Jocelyn Benson — warned the requests could expose sensitive data such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers and be misused by
Donald Trump;
Harmeet K. Dhillon and
Pamela Bondi defended
DOJ authority while election official
Robb Pitts said the ongoing focus on past votes is exhausting.