Coalition Working to Protect Sensitive Voter Information Seeks to Intervene in Lawsuits Filed by DOJ in New York and Maine

Washington, DC — Today, the League of Women Voters of New York State — represented by Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law (Brennan Center) — filed a motion to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain the complete list of all registered voters in New York without proper basis and purpose. The DOJ is attempting to obtain voters’ sensitive data, including private information such as driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers — data beyond what’s typically publicly available.

This filing comes on the heels of an earlier motion to intervene, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Maine in United States v. Bellows, et al., where the DOJ is seeking the same data regarding Maine voters.

"Maine elections are safe, secure, transparent, and accessible," said Jill Ward, president of the League of Women Voters of Maine. "The action initiated by the Department of Justice to access voter data would only serve to erode trust in the democratic process. It would needlessly compromise voter privacy and open the door to abuse of these sensitive records. We are committed to protecting Maine voters’ information and preserving the integrity of Maine elections."

“New Yorkers take pride in our state’s long commitment to fair and transparent elections,” said Erica Smitka, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New York State. “The Department of Justice’s attempt to collect sensitive voter data without cause undermines that trust and puts every voter’s personal information at risk. The League of Women Voters of New York is proud to stand up for voters—to protect their privacy and trust in the democratic process.”

“The Department of Justice should be protecting voters, not putting their personal information at risk,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “There is no justification for the federal government to demand access to sensitive voter data under the guise of election security. These actions erode public trust and undermine democracy. The League will always work to protect voters’ privacy and ensure every American can cast their ballot free from intimidation or misuse of their data.”

The DOJ has a responsibility to protect the freedom to vote, but its recent actions would infringe upon these freedoms. The DOJ’s improper overreach into state data at the behest of the Trump administration would not make our elections any safer or more secure. It could instead jeopardize voters’ personal information and discourage them from participating in the democratic process.

As recent reporting shows, this threat to voters is compounded by the potential for this requested information to be misused by other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for immigration enforcement.

Our elections already have numerous safeguards in place to make sure only U.S. citizens participate — a responsibility that election officials take seriously.

“This overreach by the federal government is an attempt to seize personal information and take control over our elections when the Constitution gives the power to regulate and administer elections to the states or Congress,” said Brent Ferguson, director of strategic litigation at Campaign Legal Center. “Voters should have confidence that their information is secure. Attempts by the DOJ to retrieve sensitive voter data are an attack on Americans’ privacy and freedoms, including the freedom to vote.”

“The DOJ’s demands for the voter files are one element of the Trump administration’s concerted effort to undermine American elections,” said Eileen O’Connor, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. “If its requests succeed, the department could amass a federal database of personal information about every registered voter in the country. The government could misuse this data to concoct more false claims about election fraud, target political opponents, or try to force states to remove voters from the rolls.”

Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can exercise their freedom to vote, and the League of Women Voters, Campaign Legal Center and the Brennan Center intend to work together to protect that freedom.

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The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters’ right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials.

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