Trump administration sues NH, seven other states over voter files

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is suing New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan, arguing he is illegally withholding the state’s voter file from federal officials.

In a complaint filed Sept. 25 in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire, federal attorneys say Scanlan is violating the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 by not turning the voter file over to the federal government. The department argues it needs the file to ensure that New Hampshire is carrying out necessary maintenance of the list to prevent voter fraud.

The department is also suing California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania over the same request for the voter file.

Scanlan has refused to hand over the state’s voter registration list. In a letter to the federal Department of Justice in June, Scanlan said New Hampshire state law does not allow the list to be shared with a federal department.

“New Hampshire law authorizes the Secretary of State to release the statewide voter registration list in limited circumstances not applicable here,” Scanlan wrote in the June letter.

He referred to RSA 654:31, the state law that allows the list to be given out to political parties, political committees, or candidates for elected office, upon request.

“That said,” Scanlan continued, “each municipality’s public checklist can be obtained from their respective supervisors or clerks.”

After federal officials again asked for the list, Scanlan sent a second letter on Aug. 28 that reiterated the arguments of the first.

In the lawsuit, Trump administration lawyers note that HAVA requires each state to have provisions in its election system “to ensure that voter registration records in the State are accurate and are updated regularly.” The Department of Justice is empowered to enforce that, which can include requesting the voter file, they argue.

The lawsuit asks the federal court to “declare that any state law that prohibits Secretary Scanlan from providing the requested statewide voter registration list is preempted by federal law,” and to order Scanlan to comply.

“The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is tasked with ensuring that states conduct voter registration list maintenance to prevent the inclusion of ineligible voters on any state’s voter registration list for federal elections,” the lawsuit states. “This action seeks to remedy the State of New Hampshire’s violations of federal voting laws.”