Updated at 5:35 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas for refusing to turn over the state’s voter registration database.
The suit was filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Burlington by the department’s Civil Rights Division. It claims Copeland Hanzas, in her official capacity, violated the National Voter Registration Act when she declined a written request in August to share voter data with the Department of Justice.
“This proceeding arises from the Attorney General’s investigation into Vermont’s
compliance with Federal election laws,” the suit says.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Department of Justice said it had sued Vermont and five other states — Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington — for refusing to turn over voter data.
“Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
“At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws,” added Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.
At the time of the initial request, Copeland Hanzas, a former Democratic lawmaker, said state law did not allow her to share personal information about voters. She also noted that elections are conducted by states, not federal agencies.
“The policy of my office is very clear: our office has no plans to share Vermont voter data with the federal government,” Copeland Hanzas said in an August 13 press release.
In a September follow-up letter to Copeland Hanzas, the feds sought the name, date of birth and address, as well as a driver’s license number or last four digits of a Social Security number, for every registered voter in the state.
Copeland Hanzas responded with a letter indicating that state law does not allow her to turn over “personally identifying information” about voters. She also noted that the feds did not provide sufficient assurance that the data would be kept confidential.
On Tuesday, Copeland Hanzas’ office had no comment on the merits of the suit.
“We’re aware of it, but our attorneys haven’t even confirmed receipt,” spokesperson Bryan Mills said.
A number of states have refused to turn over similar data out of a concern that the Department of Justice will provide the information to the Department of Homeland Security. Before this week, the feds had sued at least eight other states for refusing to comply, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
The suit asks the court to order Copeland Hanzas to turn over the data and award the Department of Justice “additional relief as the interests of justice may require.”
Attorney General Charity Clark had not yet been served but said in a statement on Tuesday that her office “looks forward to defending Secretary Copeland Hanzas in this case.”
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