Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is pushing back hard against a federal lawsuit seeking voter information, even as she continues to refuse to address a growing list of unanswered election integrity questions inside her own state.
The State of Maine on Friday filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Portland seeking to dismiss a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit that demands access to sensitive voter data. The case, United States of America v. Shenna Bellows, centers on whether the federal government can compel Maine to turn over personal voter information.
[RELATED: Maine Files Motion to Dismiss DOJ Lawsuit Over Refusal to Turn Over Voter Registration Information]
Bellows framed the lawsuit as an unconstitutional power grab, arguing that election administration belongs to the states. She cited an earlier effort during the first Trump administration, when states across the political spectrum declined to provide voter data.
“Maine elections are free, safe and secure,” Bellows said, accusing the DOJ of using “bully tactics” and attempting to wrest control of elections away from the states.
But while Bellows is eager to lecture Washington about transparency and constitutional authority, she has remained silent on several unresolved election controversies unfolding in Maine.
Among them: repeated questions about roughly 250 ballots that reportedly surfaced in Newburgh inside an Amazon package, an incident Bellows has never publicly explained.
[RELATED: Chair of Newburgh Board of Selectmen Voices Frustration Over Lack of Updates in Ballot Investigation]
She has also declined to address ongoing concerns surrounding the residency status of Lewiston City Councilor Iman Osman, despite sustained public debate over whether residency requirements were properly met. She marched with Osman on Saturday at rally in Lewiston on Saturday.
Adding to the controversy, Bellows’ office has offered no explanation for why the address of a migrant immigration center appears on at least one bus driver’s license, nor how many registered voters may be tied to that same address, a question that has raised alarms among election integrity advocates.
Critics say the contrast is striking: a secretary of state aggressively resisting federal scrutiny while refusing to answer basic questions from Maine voters.
The Department of Justice has not yet publicly responded to the motion to dismiss. The case now moves forward in federal court, where a judge will decide whether the lawsuit survives, even as key questions about Maine’s own election system remain unanswered.
