Maine Voters Seek to Block DOJ Access to Confidential Registration Data

Two registered Maine voters filed a motion to intervene in the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the state Tuesday, aiming to stop what they call a “radical” federal overreach into their personal privacy.

The motion accuses the DOJ of trying to force Maine to turn over unredacted voter rolls as part of an “unprecedented nationwide campaign to compile sensitive personal information on voters in a centralized database.”

John Schneck, a former state legislator, and Marpheen Chann, a Cambodian-American community leader who works to enfranchise naturalized citizens, are seeking to join the case as defendants, citing fears that the DOJ’s demands would expose their sensitive personal information — including names, birth dates, driver’s license and Social Security numbers — to federal authorities.

“This legal assault intrudes not only upon Maine’s constitutional prerogative to maintain and protect its own voter registration list,” the motion states. “It directly intrudes upon the privacy rights of individual Mainers who have good reason to fear their personal information being handed over to the federal government.”

Schneck and Chann are asking the court to let them intervene because they believe neither the DOJ nor Maine’s current defense team can fully represent their personal interests. While the state has so far resisted the DOJ’s demands, the motion notes that officials “must consider the ‘broader public-policy implications’ of the issues presented in this suit, unlike Proposed Intervenors, who are solely concerned with protecting their privacy, ‘full stop.’”

The motion also highlights that Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) has not definitively ruled out providing the DOJ with the requested data in the future. Bellows’ letter to the DOJ, included in the court record, stated she was denying the request “at this time” but left the door open to reconsidering if further assurances were provided.

The DOJ’s lawsuit, filed last week, accuses Maine of violating federal law by refusing to turn over full, unredacted copies of their statewide voter registration lists. The department cites the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to justify its demands.

But the proposed intervenors argue that none of those laws entitle the DOJ to unrestricted access to sensitive voter data.

While most state officials — Democrats and Republicans alike — have refused to hand over their full voter rolls, the DOJ has pressed forward with its lawsuits. Schneck and Chann’s motion points out that “only one state — Indiana — has so far given the DOJ everything it sought.”

The proposed intervenors are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.