HARTFORD – State Attorney General William Tong called the U.S. justice department’s lawsuit against the state for failure to produce its full voter registration list “meritless and deeply disappointing.”
“We tried to work cooperatively with DOJ to understand the basis for their request for our voters’ sensitive personal information,” Tong, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Rather than communicating productively with us, they rushed to sue. The State of Connecticut complies with federal law, and takes its obligations under federal laws very seriously, and we will vigorously defend the state against this meritless and deeply disappointing lawsuit.”
The federal lawsuit is one of 23 filed by DOJ against states and the District of Columbia for failing to abide by the agency’s directive. DOJ filed suits against Connecticut and Arizona on Jan. 6.
“This Department of Justice has now sued 23 states for failing to provide voter roll data and will continue filing lawsuits to protect American elections,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Accurate voter rolls are the foundation of election integrity, and any state that fails to meet this basic obligation of transparency can expect to see us in court.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division reiterated the need for the lawsuits.
“Accurate voter rolls are essential to ensuring that American citizens’ votes count only once, and only with other eligible voters,” he said. “The Justice Department is committed to safeguarding fair and free elections and will hold states accountable when they refuse to respect our federal elections laws.”
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.
State Senate Republicans fell in line with the Trump administration’s lawsuit.
“Good. Here in one-party Democrat rule Connecticut, the home of ‘Wanda from Bridgeport’, there is a refusal to enact election integrity safeguards,” said Sens. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) and Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield).
Nearly a year ago, Republicans urged Bondi to investigate Bridgeport’s election and voting apparatus to determine whether fraudulent practices are being replicated elsewhere in Connecticut, according to their statement.
“We appreciate any effort to restore public trust in our election system which has been severely undermined by the absurd scandals in Bridgeport,” they said.
