The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sept. 25 that they were suing six states, including California, for not providing voter roll information it had previously requested.
California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania are being sued by the DOJ, claiming that the states are violating civil rights and national voter registration laws, USA Today previously reported.
The Democrat-led and swing states join the likes of Oregon and Maine, which the DOJ sued earlier in the month.
The department requested copies of voter rolls with nonpublic information, such as partial Social Security numbers, from dozens of states. The move comes after President Trump’s March executive order alleging that prior administrations failed to keep noncitizens off the voter rolls.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible, and secure ‒ states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”
Why does the Trump administration want voter roll information?
At the heart of the DOJ’s legal action is a demand for access to voter registration records that include nonpublic data, such as partial Social Security numbers. The department argues that this information is essential to verify the integrity of voter rolls and to ensure that noncitizens are not improperly registered.
California Secretary of State responds
California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber shot back in a statement, calling it a fishing expedition. “This lawsuit, like those filed against multiple other states, is a fishing expedition and pretext for partisan police objectives,” Weber said. “The sensitive data of California citizens should not be used as a political tool to undermine the public trust and integrity of elections.”
Weber has served as Secretary of State since 2021 and was nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom. She also served on the state’s Elections and Redistricting Committee and in the State Assembly.
What does California’s voter roll look like?
The latest Report of Registration by the Secretary of State was released on Sept. 26.
As of Sept. 5, California has 23,061,263 eligible voters. The data is broken down by party affiliation, showing that nearly 45% are registered as Democrats and over 25% are Republicans, with the rest being other or no parties.
Party affiliation breakdown:
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Democratic- 10,367,511; 44.96%
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Republican- 5,824,460; 25.26%
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No party preference- 5,199,706; 22.55%
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American Independent- 934,308; 4.05%
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Libertarian- 233,539; 1.01%
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Peace and Freedom- 147,394; 0.64%
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Unknown/Other- 241,295; 1.04%
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California sued for voter roll data, Secretary of State responds
