Feds sue Pa. over failure to release voter information

The Department of Justice on Thursday sued Pennsylvania and five other states accusing them of failing to turn over voter information.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, alleges Attorney General Pam Bondi has requested voter information unsuccessfully from Pennsylvania three times since June.

“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” Bondi said in a news release. “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.”

Similar lawsuits were also filed Thursday against California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and New Hampshire. Last week, two other complaints were lodged against Oregon and Maine.

All eight states being sued have Democratic governors, except for New Hampshire, which is led by a Republican.

Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania’s secretary of the commonwealth, said in a statement Thursday the request by the federal government is illegal.

“The Justice Department’s demand for voters’ personal information, including driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, is unprecedented and unlawful, and we will vigorously fight the federal government’s overreach in court,” Schmidt said. “The Department of State will aggressively defend the privacy of Pennsylvania voters against this baseless lawsuit …”

Escalating requests

According to the complaint filed Thursday, the attorney general’s Civil Rights Division first requested Pennsylvania’s voter roll data on June 23.

The letter sought information and documents detailing the process used by the department “by which registrants who are ineligible to vote due to non-citizenship are identified and removed from the statewide voter registration list.”

It also asked for a description of the process used by Pennsylvania officials to “carry out its list maintenance obligations” under the Help America Vote Act, which requires all states to create a standardized statewide voter registration list.

The lawsuit alleges Schmidt’s response a month later did not explain whether non-citizens were identified and what steps were taken to remove them.

However, according to the 11-page letter sent back to the Justice Department, Schmidt laid out in explicit detail Pennsylvania’s voter registration process, which is controlled by the state’s 67 individual counties.

“Although it is our local election officials who are responsible for maintaining their voter lists, the Pennsylvania Department of State works diligently with these 67 counties to help them ensure that all electoral processes are fully compliant with federal and Pennsylvania laws, including HAVA.”

The letter went on to talk about non-citizens.

“An individual who states that they are not a U.S. citizen is not qualified to vote, and their application would be required to be rejected by the county voter registration commission,” the letter said. “False statements misrepresenting an applicant’s citizenship on a voter registration form are crimes punishable under both state and federal laws.”

The letter also noted that neither state nor federal law requires a person applying for voter registration to provide documentary proof of citizenship.

Apparently dissatisfied by Schmidt’s response, additional requests were sent by Justice Department officials in July and August.

In the additional letters, the federal government also asked for information regarding ineligible voters who have been adjudicated incompetent or are convicted felons.

In the final letter, sent Aug. 14, the Justice Department clarified that in seeking the voter registration list, it was requesting all fields of the Pennsylvania database, including full name, date of birth, address, driver’s license number or the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers.

‘Sensitive information’

In a response seven days later, Schmidt wrote that his office is aware of no precedent for “such a broad request for such sensitive information,” and that his duty is to safeguard that data.

“This request, and reported efforts to collect broad data on millions of Americans, represent a concerning attempt to expand the federal government’s role in our country’s electoral process,” he wrote. “Because your letters do not provide any legal justification for the department to disregard this sacred obligation, we are unable to share such confidential information with you.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a news release that states must comply with federal election laws.

“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,” Dhillon said.

Reuters reported this month that the Justice Department is in talks with Homeland Security Investigations about transferring the sensitive voter roll data for use in criminal and immigration-related investigations.

Legal experts have raised privacy concerns about the federal government’s demands for voter information and its possible disclosure to Homeland Security Investigations.

President Donald Trump and his allies have for years spread unfounded claims that immigrants living illegally in the United States are voting in large numbers. Numerous studies have found election fraud to be extremely rare in the United States.

Reuters contributed to this story.