By Fox23.com News Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced Tuesday that the state has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over a request for voter registration data, on behalf of State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax.
We first told you last month when the DOJ sued five states, including Oklahoma, for failing to produce full voter registration lists upon request.
The settlement requires the Oklahoma State Election Board to comply with the DOJ’s request for voter registration data while protecting the privacy of the information that is shared.
Ziriax said the state complies with both federal and state election laws and has been willing to work with the DOJ.
“From the beginning, I have been willing to cooperate with the DOJ,” Ziriax said. “Oklahoma has long been a national leader for ensuring election integrity and promoting facts about elections — and this will continue to be so.”
“This settlement is a positive step forward for election integrity,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Clean voter rolls are essential for there to be confidence in our elections and we commend Oklahoma for being a willing partner in that effort by producing the requested data.”
Oklahoma House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson shared the following statement in response to the settlement:
“Oklahoma has the most safe, secure, and fair election system in the country,” said Leader Munson. “We have been fortunate that our State Election Board Secretary has stood with Oklahomans to protect private voter information by following state law. However, I am disappointed, yet not surprised that Oklahomans’ private information will now be turned over to the federal government by our Attorney General to further the agenda of the President. Every state leader–elected or not–should prioritize protecting Oklahomans’ voter information at all costs and not be willing to cave to the President. This decision is a betrayal to Oklahomans by the state’s highest position in law enforcement.”
