OLYMPIA, Wash – The United States Department of Justice wants the state of Washington to hand over complete voter registration information and has filed a federal lawsuit to get it.
The DOJ filed suit Tuesday against Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.
The suit claims the DOJ has the right to all voter registration information because of the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
The DOJ claims Washington is violating the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.
The suit says the DOJ asked Washington to provide a current electronic copy of its statewide voter registration list.
Hobbs refused, saying state law prohibits release of that information.
The DOJ wants a federal judge to compel the state to hand over “the current electronic copy of Washington’s computerized statewide voter registration list, with all fields, including each registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, and either their state driver’s license number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.”
4 News Now reached out to Hobbs’ office for comment.
“Our only knowledge of this lawsuit is through media requests and reporting,” said Charlie Boisner, Director of External Affairs. “I’d recommend asking the Department of Justice how they intended to notify us and if they’re taking similar actions against other Secretaries of State, both Republican and Democrat alike, who are also protecting the private information of their voters. While we wait to be officially receive a service of process, we eagerly await Ms. Dhillon’s response to our Sep. 23 questions on how she intends to use the requested information.”
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