Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has continued to refuse requests from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over to the feds the state’s voter rolls and other information about how elections are run.
On Monday, Secretary Bellows published her second formal response to the DOJ’s requests, replying to a letter sent to her by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon on August 18.
This comes after the Secretary of State told the DOJ to “go jump in the Gulf of Maine” earlier this summer in response to their initial request for these records.
While she has argued that the Department is seeking to obtain protected personal identifying information, the DOJ has countered that it needs the requested information to ensure that the state is in compliance with election law.
In her first official letter to the Department, Bellows questioned the scope of the DOJ’s request and pushed back on what she viewed as “federal interference” in the state’s election process.
She maintains this position in her recent correspondence, questioning the request’s compliance with federal law and raising concerns about the implications that turning this data over would have for Mainers’ privacy.
To date, the DOJ has asked about two dozen states for voter registration information as part of a broader effort to ensure election integrity nationwide.
Other states — including New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota — have also turned down the DOJ’s election information requests.
Monday’s letter from Bellows represents a second formal rejection of the Trump Administration’s request, which has since been expanded to include all original, completed voter registration applications from December 1, 2023 to July 1, 2025.
“To be clear, that means copies of all voter registration applications completed and submitted by prospective voters during that period,” Assistant Attorney General Dhillon wrote. “When providing a copy of the requested completed applications Maine must ensure that they are provided in unredacted format.”
Bellows sharply rejected this latest request in her letter to the DOJ, indicating that she does not see a purpose for the federal government to seek this information.
“It is difficult to understand what possible legitimate investigative purpose could be served by such an undifferentiated request for all registration applications in a 19-month period,” Bellows wrote. “In any event, under Maine law, original voter registration applications are maintained by registrars in each of Maine’s roughly 480 municipalities.”
According to Maine Public, the DOJ’s August 18 letter to Bellows asserted that all information shared with them would be kept secure but argued that federal law preempts state privacy laws.
During an interview with the outlet, Bellows called the DOJ’s requests a “fishing expedition” that she says ignores the US Constitution’s entrustment of election administration to the states, as opposed to the federal government.
“The DOJ demands are really a sideshow,” Bellows said. “It is beyond their purview and we hope that they will drop these demands. If they don’t, we’ll wait to see them in court.”
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Although Bellows indicated a willingness in her letter to further consider the DOJ’s request if her stated concerns are addressed, she closed her correspondence by confirming her refusal to turn over the records at this time.
“If DOJ is willing to provide additional information addressing my concerns above, I will carefully consider that information,” she wrote. “At this time, however, I am unable to comply with the DOJ’s requests for unredacted information concerning all Maine voters.”
Click Here to Read Secretary Bellows’ Full Letter
Maine Public has shared a statement from Assistant Attorney General concerning this matter.
“Clean voter rolls and basic election safeguards are requisites for free, fair, and transparent elections,” Dhillon said. “The DOJ Civil Rights Division has a statutory mandate to enforce our federal voting rights laws, and ensuring the public’s confidence in the integrity of our elections is a top priority of this administration.”
