By Fox23.com News Staff
OKLAHOMA — On Thursday, the Justice Department announced it has filed a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma for failing to produce the state’s full voter registration lists upon request.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also filed lawsuits against Utah, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Jersey for not producing their full voter rolls.
According to the department, this bring the total number of states facing lawsuits for this issue to 29, along with the District of Columbia.
“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” shared Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This latest series of litigation underscores that this Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance and secure elections across the country.”
According to the filed lawsuit, the Attorney General sent a letter to Secretary of the State Election Board Paul Ziriax asking him to send a copy of Oklahoma’s computerized statewide voter list.
This request required all fields of the voter registration list to be provided, which would include Oklahoma voters’ full name, date of birth, address, driver’s license and the last four digits of their social security number.
According to the lawsuit and the Oklahoma State Election Board, Secretary Ziriax sent a letter to the Attorney General stating he would share the voter registration list, but could not share the unredacted version that included private information—such as driver’s license numbers and social security numbers—because of Oklahoma law.
However, the Attorney General is arguing its office has the authority to request these full election records under the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, “The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its oversight role dutifully, neutrally and transparently wherever Americans vote in federal elections. Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work. We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties.”
The Oklahoma Election Board said it will not be providing official comment about the lawsuit because they haven’t been served yet.
