Justice Department sues Georgia over voter registration roll

The U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division announced on Thursday it has filed federal lawsuits against Georgia, two other states and the District of Columbia for failure to produce their full voter registration lists upon request.

This brings the Justice Department’s nationwide total to 22. 

The other two states involved in the suit are Illinois and Wisconsin.

According to the Justie Department, three states — Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee — announced their intent to voluntarily provide their full registration lists, pursuant to the Department's request. This brings the number of states that are either in full compliance or in the process of compliance to 10.

"The law is clear: states need to give us this information, so we can do our duty to protect American citizens from vote dilution," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "Today’s filings show that regardless of which party is in charge of a particular state, the Department of Justice will firmly stand on the side of election integrity and transparency."

According to the lawsuits, the Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with the enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which were designed by Congress to ensure that states have proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs. The Attorney General also has the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA) at her disposal to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of the statewide voter registration lists.