The State of Maine and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows have filed a motion to dismiss the case brought recently by the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) over the state’s refusal to turn over voter registration information requested earlier this year.
The lawsuit alleges that Maine and Secretary of State Bellows have violated several federal laws, including the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA).
These alleged violations are said to stem from Bellows’ refusal “to provide data regarding the removal of ineligible individuals and to produce an unredacted, computerized state voter registration list.”
[RELATED: DOJ Sues Maine Over Refusal to Turn Over Voter Registration and Election Information]
Bellows’ new motion urges the court to dismiss this lawsuit, arguing that the federal government’s request “stretch[es] its enforcement authority over these modest list-maintenance provisions well past its breaking point,” pointing out that the DOJ has “still has not fully explained” the purpose for requesting this information.
“Were this not enough (and it is), DOJ’s demand also blatantly violates the federal Privacy Act of 1974, the post-Watergate law enacted to prevent precisely the sort of secret compilation of data on Americans’ First Amendment activities that DOJ appears to be attempting here,” the motion adds.
The defendants then goes on to break down in detail how they believe the DOJ has failed to state a claim in their case on several fronts, including under the NVRA, HAVA, and CRA.
Maine also argues that the DOJ’s complaint “establishes that its demand does not comply with the Privacy Act,” as well as that the DOJ “failed to conduct the privacy impact assessment required by the E-Government Act.”
Click Here to Read the Full Motion to Dismiss
“The first Trump administration requested voting data from states, and not a single one complied, regardless of the political leanings of the state,” Bellows said in a written statement announcing the motion Monday.
“Now the DOJ is attempting to go even further, instituting bully tactics, threats and lawsuits all in an aim to wrest control of election administration and oversight away from the states as the U.S. Constitution dictates,” wrote Bellows.
“Maine elections are free, safe and secure, and we will continue to fight the gross federal overreach so that they remain so,” she added.
Click Here to Read Bellows’ Full Statement
When this challenge was first brought by the DOJ in the fall, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division issued a statement speaking to the situation.
“States simply cannot pick and choose which federal laws they will comply with, including our voting laws, which ensure that all American citizens have equal access to the ballot in federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Dhillon.
“American citizens have a right to feel confident in the integrity of our electoral process,” Dhillon said, “and the refusal of certain states to protect their citizens against vote dilution will result in legal consequences.”
