Today, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. The suit alleges that Hobbs violated Section 1974(c) of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 by refusing to provide unredacted voter registration data as demanded by the Attorney General. This section empowers the DOJ to request records for the enforcement of federal voting rights laws.
The lawsuit seeks a court order compelling compliance via a “summary proceeding”—a fast-tracked process in which the court verifies whether a written demand was made and refused, without scrutinizing the DOJ’s motives or the data’s use. The DOJ requested that the court order delivery of the full data within five days of any ruling and emphasized that redacted data would hinder its ability to conduct a thorough audit.
According to the lawsuit, the AG is uniquely charged by Congress with enforcing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which Congress designed to ensure that states have proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs. The AG also has the authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA) to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of the statewide voter registration lists.
This lawsuit is part of a broader federal push under Trump’s March 2025 executive order on election integrity, which aims to prevent non-citizen voting and enforce HAVA compliance.
On September 16, 2025, the DOJ sued Oregon and Maine for failing to provide information regarding voter registration lists and maintenance procedures. Similarly, on Sept 25, 2025, the DOJ sued California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.
Sept 8, 2025, the DOJ sent a letter to WA State SoS Steve Hobbs, requesting a “complete” copy of the state’s voter registration database within 14 days. Like the aforementioned other states, the request included personal data for each registered voter: full name, date of birth, residential address, driver’s license number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
To no one’s surprise, on Sept 23, 2025, Hobbs refused to comply with the DOJ request, leading to today’s DOJ lawsuit.
Hobbs must provide unredacted data immediately; refusal blocks federal oversight. Full data is essential to verify HAVA requirements, and the CRA mandates compliance without debate on scope or purpose.
Hobbs’ noncompliance with the data request hinders the DOJ’s review of voter roll maintenance under HAVA, which mandates states to verify voter IDs (e.g., driver’s licenses or partial SS numbers) and maintain accurate rolls.
WAGOP Chairman and State Rep Jim Walsh responded by saying, “This lawsuit is no surprise. Rational people in Washington have been predicting it for months.
Hobbs has been unlawfully withholding voter database information from the DOJ.
“The real issue behind all the rhetoric is that WA illegally registers people to vote, under our state’s dubious automatic voter registration or ‘Motor Voter’ policy. No one checks whether voters who are automatically registered in WA are citizens. Hobbs needs to act more lawfully and more carefully in this case. His claims about protecting people’s ‘privacy’ are specious. Federal law protects privacy more effectively than state law does.
“Washington people understand that the information in voter databases is already public—and that the federal government already has information like Social Security Numbers. The federal government issues those Numbers! Washingtonians want our state’s voter rolls to be audited. That’s what this DOJ request and this lawsuit are all about.
“WA still needs to pass IL26-126, the Voter ID Initiative. It will align state election law and best practices with federal law. And make lawsuits like this unnecessary.”
This lawsuit highlights escalating tensions between the federal government and Democrat-controlled states like Washington over voter registration data amid post-2024 election scrutiny.
Thank you DOJ! Hobbs’ refusal to turn over voter roll data is a clear violation of federal law. The case could be resolved quickly if the court sides with the DOJ, potentially setting a precedent for other states.
Hobbs’ office has not yet publicly responded to the filing as of this afternoon.
Bill Bruch
Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Committee Chairman (5th year), WAGOP Executive Board Member (5th Year), Skagit County GOP Chairman (9th year), Citizen Journalist, Olympic Conference 2021 Activist of the Year Award Winner, Business Owner, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate.
