The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is suing Utah and four other states for failing to release full voter information lists to the U.S. government. The lawsuit asks the state to provide each voter’s full name, address and either the driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
The lawsuit is filed against Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson for allegedly violating the Civil Rights Act by refusing to provide the requested election records. The other states include Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Jersey.
“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement on Feb. 26. “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.”
Under the Civil Rights Act, the Attorney General has the authority to request full voter registration lists and other election records from any state.
Over the past year, the Trump Administration has filed lawsuits against 24 other states and Washington, D.C., for the same reason.
“Neither state nor federal law entitles the Department of Justice to collect private information on law-abiding American citizens,” Henderson said in a statement posted on X in response to the suit on Feb. 26. “Utahns can be assured that my office will always follow the Constitution and the law, protect voters’ rights, and administer free and fair elections.”
Utah’s 2 million registered voters are 99.9% U.S. citizens, according to the review released by Henderson’s office earlier this year. The review also discovered that some of Utah’s registered voters had incomplete information.
Author: Lainey Porter
Photo: Spenser Heaps, Utah News Dispatch
Editor: Hannah Clove
news@suunews.net
