Justice Department reviewing voter rolls nationwide, citing compliance concerns

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has begun reviewing voter registration rolls across multiple states, with federal officials warning that some jurisdictions are not fully complying with federal election laws.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the U.S. Department of Justice is using existing legal authority to examine state voter registration systems and ensure they meet federal requirements, including provisions under the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

“We already have tools on the books that we are using here at the DOJ, some for the first time regarding our attorney general’s right under the 1960 Civil Rights Act to access and review these voter rolls,” Dhillon said in an interview with Real America’s News.

According to Dhillon, the effort involves comparing state voter rolls with federal databases and sharing findings with state officials to address potential inaccuracies.

“We’re helping clean up the voter roll, comparing them with some federal databases, returning returns back to the states to help them do their jobs,” she said.

She said cooperation varies across the country, with some states participating voluntarily while others have resisted federal involvement.

“Some of the states are doing that voluntarily. Some of them are resisting doing their jobs, and they’re, you know, I think obvious reasons for why they’re resisting,” Dhillon said.

The Justice Department is also holding what Dhillon described as “pre-litigation discussions” with several states over practices that may conflict with federal law, in an effort to resolve issues before pursuing formal legal action.

She pointed to concerns about voter verification procedures in certain states, including Minnesota’s system that allows one voter to vouch for multiple others regarding residency.

“Some states have some funky record-keeping loopholes, if you will, like Minnesota’s vouching standard that allows one voter to vouch for up to eight other voters regarding their address, which is inconsistent with the federal law,” she said.

Federal officials are also reviewing voter registration practices in states including North Carolina and Arizona, citing what Dhillon described as “irregularities” that may allow individuals to be added to voter rolls without proper verification of citizenship.

“That’s a violation of federal law for federal elections,” she said.

Dhillon characterized the initiative as largely administrative but significant in scope, saying it reflects a shift in enforcement priorities.

“It’s just a lot of record keeping and admin-type work that simply prior administrations haven’t wanted to do,” she said.

She also criticized previous administrations for taking legal action against states that attempted to update their voter rolls.

“Prior administrations, particularly Democratic administrations, have actually sued states that have tried to clean up their voter rolls voluntarily,” Dhillon said.

On election integrity, she emphasized the importance of lawful participation.

“Every citizen is entitled to know that the vote they cast is going to count only with other American citizens and only once and only in that one state,” she said.

“Yet that is not the standard that we’ve been applying in this country,” she added. (Source: IANS)