Common Cause, Washington Conservation Action Education Fund, and a Washington voter have filed a motion to intervene In United States v. Hobbs. The organizations and voters seek to prevent the Department of Justice from obtaining Washingtonians’ sensitive personal data. The intervenors are represented by attorneys from Campaign Legal Center, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Law Office of Amanda Beane PC. 

In September, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the State of Washington to turn over the state’s complete voter file, which includes highly sensitive data like voters’ full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs responded to the Justice Department’s request by directing them to the publicly available voter file but declined to share the private data that they requested citing state and federal law. In response, the Justice Department filed suit in December. 

This lawsuit is one of 30 cases filed against states and Washington, D.C., and is part of the Administration’s broader campaign to undermine elections. Other organizations joining the case include members of Washington Conservation Action Education Fund (WCAEF), a nonpartisan, grassroots membership organization that advocates for environmental justice and democracy in Washington State. WCAEF has a statewide membership network of around 3,500 individuals who support the expansion of political participation in Washington to drive positive policy change to support a healthier environment where people and nature can grow stronger together. 

“This lawsuit in Washington is the latest in a growing pattern of litigation by the Department of Justice targeting states for following laws that protect voters’ data,” sagte Eileen O’Connor, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice and a former attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. “Rather than strengthening elections, these actions are part of a concerted effort to undermine them. By seeking to amass sensitive voter data on a nationwide scale, these lawsuits threaten voters’ privacy and open the door to potential misuse.” 

“The Department of Justice’s continued campaign to seize voters’ highly sensitive private information from states like Washington is a clear attempt to exert control over our elections — even though the Constitution explicitly outlines that the power to regulate and administer elections belongs to the states and Congress,” said Renata O’Donnell, senior legal counsel for strategic litigation at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “While the Justice Department has sued 29 states and D.C. to unlawfully seize their voter data, advocates continue to respond swiftly. Washington state voters should feel confident their sensitive data is secure and they can freely make their voices heard in this year’s elections.” 

“Voters’ personal, private data belongs to the voters, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.,” said Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, Senior Director of Litigation at Common Cause. “We are committed to defending voters’ privacy in Washington and nationwide, filing cases and/or seeking to intervene in more than 10 states to date. We will continue to step in and protect voters’ personal information from being subjected to harm for partisan purposes.”  

“Voters must have confidence that they can vote freely, without fear of government retaliation,” said Alyssa Macy, CEO of Washington Conservation Action and member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. “Voting in Washington state works. A strong democracy makes it possible for our communities to address our most critical environmental challenges and shape policy to meet their needs. That is the foundation of democracy, and of environmental justice.”  

Common Cause previously filed a lawsuit in Nebraska to protect state voter data and joined with the ACLU Voting Rights Project to file motions to intervene as defendants in DOJ lawsuits in 15 other states and Washington, D.C.., Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New-Mexiko, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin.  

The Brennan Center and Campaign Legal Center have filed motions to intervene on behalf of League of Women Voters in Maine and New York, and on behalf of Vermont Public Interest Resource Group in Vermont.