{"id":1894,"date":"2026-01-14T14:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T00:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/?post_type=press&p=1894"},"modified":"2026-01-14T14:34:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T00:34:59","slug":"voting-rights-groups-hawaii-voters-file-motion-to-protect-voters-privacy","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/press\/voting-rights-groups-hawaii-voters-file-motion-to-protect-voters-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Voting Rights Groups, Hawai\u2019i\u00a0Voters File Motion to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy"},"template":"","class_list":["post-1894","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Lawsuit challenges DOJ demand for sensitive voter data\u00a0","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":"","related_issues":[447],"related_work":false,"location":14},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"
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Today,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Common Cause, the ACLU National Voting Rights Project, the ACLU of\u00a0Hawai\u2019i, and\u00a0two\u00a0Hawai\u2019i\u00a0voters filed a motion to intervene in\u00a0<\/span>United States of America v.\u00a0Nago<\/span><\/em>\u00a0to prevent the Department of Justice from obtaining\u00a0Hawai\u2018i\u00a0voters\u2019 personal data.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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In September, the DOJ asked Hawai\u2018i to turn over voters\u2019 full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver\u2019s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers \u2014 highly sensitive data that is protected under state and federal law. Hawai\u2018i\u00a0<\/span>Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago appropriately <\/span>declined to share\u00a0this\u00a0sensitive data protected under\u00a0state law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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The advocates and voters argue the DOJ\u2019s request threatens voter privacy and could enable voter disenfranchisement. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Voters joining the case include a naturalized citizen and <\/span>former governor Neil Abercrombie.\u00a0All individuals have an interest in this case because their backgrounds place them at heightened risk of DOJ targeting, a threat that extends to countless other<\/span>\u00a0Hawai\u2019i\u00a0voters.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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\u201cUnelected bureaucrats in Washington have no business accessing Hawai\u2018i voters\u2019 sensitive personal information,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>said\u00a0Camron Hurt, Common Cause\u2019s\u00a0Hawai\u2018i\u00a0State\u00a0Director.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHanding this data over to the federal government violates the law and would put voters\u2019\u00a0private information\u00a0in the hands of dangerous election conspiracy peddlers. Common Cause is fighting to protect the rights of\u00a0Hawai\u2018i\u00a0voters and to prevent the potential misuse of their data.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cVoters in\u00a0Hawai\u2018i\u00a0and across the country deserve to know their personal information is secure and used only for its intended purpose of\u00a0maintaining\u00a0accurate\u00a0records,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>said Maryam Jazini\u00a0Dorcheh, Senior Director of Litigation at Common Cause<\/span><\/strong>. <\/strong>\u201cWe are committed to defending voters\u2019 rights and privacy in\u00a0Hawai\u2018i\u00a0and nationwide, and this case is one of many where we are stepping in to ensure those protections are upheld.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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\u201cThe federal government has clearly signaled that this demand for data is about consolidating authoritarian power, not any legitimate government use,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0said\u00a0Emily Hill, ACLU-HI Senior Staff Attorney.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe Hawai\u02bbi Constitution protects our right to privacy, prohibiting the state from turning over our\u00a0private information\u00a0unless explicitly\u00a0required to\u00a0by federal law -- which in this case, it\u00a0is not. As the federal government continues to target our immigrant neighbors, the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone opposing their agenda, Hawai\u02bbi must not hand them information that further erodes our constitutional rights. We stand together with our friends from Common Cause and other groups here in Hawai\u02bbi who believe in protecting our democracy.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Common Cause previously\u00a0<\/span>filed a lawsuit in Nebraska<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to protect state voter data and has joined with the ACLU Voting Rights Project to file motions to intervene as defendants in DOJ lawsuits against\u00a0<\/span>Colorado<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Georgia, Illinois,\u00a0<\/span><\/a>Maryland<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Massachusetts<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Minnesota,<\/span><\/a>New Mexico<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Pennsylvania,<\/span><\/a>Rhode Island,<\/span><\/a>Washington DC,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Wisconsin<\/span><\/a> to\u00a0protect sensitive data in those states.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

View the\u00a0<\/a>Hawai\u2019i filing here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nVoting Rights Groups, Hawai\u2019i\u00a0Voters File Motion to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy - Common Cause Hawaii<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/press\/voting-rights-groups-hawaii-voters-file-motion-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Voting Rights Groups, Hawai\u2019i\u00a0Voters File Motion to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/press\/voting-rights-groups-hawaii-voters-file-motion-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Hawaii\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T00:34:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/RightsRestoration_21.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1680\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1120\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/press\/voting-rights-groups-hawaii-voters-file-motion-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/hawaii\/press\/voting-rights-groups-hawaii-voters-file-motion-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\",\"name\":\"Voting Rights Groups, Hawai\u2019i\u00a0Voters File Motion to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy - 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