Justice Department sues Michigan for not providing voter rolls

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The Justice Department is suing the state of Michigan alongside five other states for failing to produce statewide voter registration rolls, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday.

Michigan was sued alongside California, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

The Justice Department claims that it has the authority to demand voter registration rolls through the National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “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.”

“States are required to safeguard American elections by complying with our federal elections laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Clean voter rolls protect American citizens from voting fraud and abuse, and restore their confidence that their states’ elections are conducted properly, with integrity, and in compliance with the law.”

The suits were filed on Thursday in each state’s federal court.

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