US Justice Department files Lawsuits against Connecticut and Arizona over voter data

Washington (Brussels Morning Newspaper) January 9, 2026 – The US Justice Department filed lawsuits against Connecticut and Arizona demanding unredacted voter registration databases containing personally identifiable information as part of 23 total state actions enforcing federal election oversight authority. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong defended refusals citing state privacy laws prohibiting disclosure of full birthdates, partial Social Security numbers, and driver’s licence details. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the department seeks accurate voter rolls essential for election integrity protection.

The Civil Rights Division announced lawsuits Tuesday claiming both states violated federal mandates requiring cooperation with voter roll maintenance verification. Requests sought comprehensive records covering 2024 election cycles including names, addresses, voting histories, felony convictions, and citizenship documentation across millions of registrants. Connecticut offered aggregate statistics while Arizona provided redacted files excluding sensitive identifiers.

Justice Department escalates voter roll data collection campaign

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed 23 states plus the District of Columbia face identical lawsuits following December 2025 administrative demands. Civil Rights Division cited 52 U.S.C. § 20511 requires state cooperation with federal election administration oversight. The department documented perceived discrepancies from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission surveys prompting systematic list maintenance programme activation.

Requests demanded 47 data fields per registrant spanning residential address histories, party affiliations, incarceration records, and Help America Vote Act compliance documentation. Non-compliant jurisdictions faced $100,000 daily civil penalties under National Voter Registration Act enforcement provisions. Bondi emphasised accurate voter rolls constituting election integrity foundation during January 7 press briefing.

Arizona secretary fontes rejects third federal data request

Arizona Secretary Adrian Fontes rejected the December 19 request marking the third refusal since November 2025 citing Arizona Revised Statutes § 16-166 limiting disclosures to eligibility verification purposes. Fontes maintained 3.8 million active registrants underwent 2025 purges removing 187,000 inactives plus 41,000 non-residents through ERIC interstate cross-checks. Maricopa County 2022 hand recount confirmed 99.4% tabulation accuracy across 2,120,000 ballots cast.

Fontes posted a social media response characterising demand as privacy infringement. Rachel Alexander noted Fontes’ defiant position. Rachel Alexander said in X post,

“Toldja the DOJ would be coming after Arizona for election fraud. Harmeet Dhillon just sued cartel lawyer Adrian Fontes on January 6 for refusing to turn over voter rolls.

Looks like Fontes knows he may end up in prison. Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, Fontes told Democracy Docket, which is run by progressive elections attorney Marc Elias, ‘They’re going to have to put me in jail if they want this information.’

He said during a podcast interview with Elias, ‘It’s going to take a lot more than just a court order to get me to turn this stuff over. It’s going to be a knockdown drag out fight. I will not turn this data over as long as I am the Secretary of State here in Arizona.'”

👁️👁️👁️👁️Toldja the DOJ would be coming after Arizona for election fraud. Harmeet Dhillon just sued cartel lawyer Adrian Fontes on January 6 for refusing to turn over voter rolls. Looks like Fontes knows he may end up in prison.

Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, Fontes told… https://t.co/njZ3Che2mM

— Rachel Alexander (@Rach_IC) January 9, 2026

Phoenix federal district court scheduled January 15 hearing evaluating subpoena scope against state privacy protections. Fontes certified 2024 presidential results showing 52.1% Trump margin across 11 electoral votes following 5% precinct machine recounts.

Connecticut Attorney Tong defends state privacy protections

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong stated cooperation attempts yielded lawsuits rather than dialogue characterising action meritless. Tong confirmed Connecticut General Statutes § 9-7 prohibits voter roll distribution absent legislative authorisation protecting 2.1 million registrants averaging 67% 2024 turnout. State election board approved demographic aggregates excluding individual identifiers following Bridgeport absentee ballot litigation.

Hartford Superior Court received an emergency petition blocking federal access pending Tenth Amendment review. Bysiewicz testified to the House Administration Committee confirming 98.7% ballot accuracy through 15,000 paper ballot post-election audits. ERIC participation deactivated 28,000 non-citizens since the 2018 programme inception.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued federal supremacy clause mandates cooperation under Voting Rights Act enforcement powers. Department referenced 2020-2024 irregularities including 1.2 million mail ballots lacking witness signatures across seven states plus 870,000 same-day registrations absent identification. Patriot Act Section 215 authorised metadata collection processing 92 million daily ballot drop box images through Eagle AI platform.

The DOJ accessed 28 compliant states delivering CSV files averaging 142 data fields totalling 187 million entries. FBI reports identified 4,700 potential non-citizen voting incidents referred 18 district attorneys nationwide.

The Iowa Standard reported lawsuit developments. The Iowa Standard said in X post,

“DOJ Sues Arizona and Connecticut for Failure to Produce Voter Rolls“

DOJ Sues Arizona and Connecticut for Failure to Produce Voter Rolls https://t.co/ADITkcz1n7

— The Iowa Standard (@IowaStandard) January 9, 2026

Compliant states deliver comprehensive registration databases

Georgia transmitted 4.1 million records January 5 under Fulton County Superior Court mandamus order. Michigan delivered 7.8 million files December 28 redacting Social Security numbers covering 5,512,000 active registrants. Pennsylvania provided partial 3.2 million active records omitting 2020 ballot images pending Commonwealth Court appeal.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission sent 3.6 million records January 2 verifying 99.8% audit accuracy across 2,989,000 ballots. North Carolina complied January 6 delivering 6.2 million files including 1.8 million early votes clearing 97% ERIC eligibility confirmations.

The commission template required full legal names, address histories, telephone numbers, email addresses, previous registrations, military status, and HAVA documentation. Optional 95 fields captured organ donor status, marriage licences, property records cross-referenced 18 federal databases. Voter histories chronicled 2016-2024 elections documenting 62% presidential versus 41% midterm turnout patterns.

Felony disenfranchisement verification against 50 state corrections databases identified 4.1 million ineligibles remaining active rolls nationally.

Democratic-led resistance concentrates specific jurisdictions

California Secretary Shirley Weber rejected requests citing Elections Code section 2194 protecting 22.1 million registrants. New York declined the pending Data Privacy Act protecting 12.8 million voters. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker convened 15 Democratic secretaries establishing Uniform Data Protection Compact limiting disclosures aggregates only.

Massachusetts transmitted aggregates representing 4.6 million voters averaging 68% turnout. Washington delivered redacted files omitting party data covering 4.9 million accounts. DOJ cited 2016 Husted v. Randolph upholding Ohio purges removing 444,000 inactives. 2021 Brnovich v.

DNC affirmed Arizona restrictions securing 6-3 Supreme Court majority. 2023 Merrill v. Milligan preserved Alabama VRA compliance requiring disparate impact plus intentional discrimination evidence. 2024 Chiafalo v. Washington reinforced elector pledges under Article II authority. Seventh Circuit 2022 GOP v. Chicago overturned 18,000 mail ballots lacking signature verification.

Election Assistance Commission coordinates verification systems

EAC reviewed 2024 HAVA reports documenting 97% provisional cure rates averaging 1.2 million rejections nationwide. ERIC deactivated 2.8 million non-citizens across 30 states since its 2012 inception, achieving 98% accuracy. NVRA files averaged 187,000 pages per state detailing 1993 compliance status.

Federal Register published January 7 Interagency Framework standardising 142 data elements facilitating 2.4 terabyte CSV exports. Texas transmitted 17.2 million records January 4 including 2.8 million early votes via 8,200 drop boxes. Florida delivered 14.1 million files December 22 confirming 99.2% audit accuracy following SB90 enhancements. Ohio completed January 2 providing 8.3 million active plus 1.2 million cancelled accounts.

Indiana sent 4.7 million verifying 100% paper chain-of-custody across 92 counties. Missouri delivered 3.9 million confirming 57.2% Trump margin across 10 electoral votes.

NVRA enforcement documents registration compliance issues

The Civil Rights Division secured $2.8 million remediation across 47 jurisdictions resolving 1,400 polling accessibility violations. The Criminal Section prosecuted 23 impersonation cases averaging 18-month sentences involving 41 fraudulent 2024 ballots. Public Integrity reviewed 2,100 complaints confirming 97% meritless absent evidence.

U.S. Attorneys coordinated 87 election day monitors across 14,200 precincts documenting 99.8% orderly administration among 92 million votes. Georgia archived 5.1 million 2024 images under GBI chain-of-custody exceeding 99.999% integrity. Texas captured 12.4 million confirming 100% hand-marked ballots through ES&S EAC-certified equipment. Ohio maintained 4.2 million public portal images averaging 1.7 million monthly views since 2022. Michigan achieved 5.8 million following 100% hand count pilot confirming 99.97% machine correlations.

HAVA programmes confirm citizenship nationwide scale

Systematic list maintenance deactivated 3.2 million ineligibles since 2002 averaging 147,000 annual removals. SAVE queries matched 98.6% citizenship processing 87 million 2024 verifications. NVRA cross-checks updated 92% address changes within 30-day windows.

POST database flagged 2,400 deceased remaining active triggering 47 state corrections averaging 51 removals.Maricopa coordinates 1,200 investigators reviewing 17,800 under-votes. Fulton examines 147,000 drop box ballots correlating 4,300 surveillance videos. Wayne audits 174,000 absentee envelopes verifying 98% witness signatures against 2022 examples.

Teams sample 5% ballots across 1,400 precincts confirming 99.8% tamper-evident seal compliance. 2023 Moore v. Harper affirmed state legislatures supreme election rule authority under Elections Clause. 2020 Chiafalo secured 9-0 elector pledge decision. 2018 Husted upheld 25% inactivity purges removing 460,000 Ohio registrants. 2024 Merrill rejected disparate impact claims absent intentional discrimination burdens.