{"id":2243,"date":"2025-12-23T11:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T16:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/?post_type=press&p=2243"},"modified":"2025-12-23T13:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T18:22:15","slug":"voting-rights-groups-massachusetts-voter-seek-to-protect-voters-privacy","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press\/voting-rights-groups-massachusetts-voter-seek-to-protect-voters-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Voting Rights Groups, Massachusetts Voter Seek to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2243","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Lawsuit\u00a0challenges DOJ demand for sensitive voter data\u00a0","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":"","related_issues":[462],"related_work":false,"location":24},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":true,"person":null,"name":"Maya Majikas","role":"","phone":"","email":"mmajikas@commoncause.org"},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"BOSTON, MA\u00a0<\/b>\u2014 Yesterday, the ACLU of Massachusetts and the ACLU National Voting Rights Project filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Common Cause, Jane Doe Inc., and a Massachusetts voter in United States of America v. Galvin to prevent the Department of Justice from obtaining Massachusetts voters\u2019 personal data.\r\n\r\nIn July, the DOJ asked Massachusetts to turn over voters\u2019 full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver\u2019s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers \u2014 highly sensitive data protected under state and federal law. Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin appropriately\u00a0declined to share<\/a> this sensitive data.\r\n\r\nIn their motion to intervene, the advocates and voter argue that the DOJ\u2019s request threatens voter privacy and could enable voter disenfranchisement.\r\n\r\nJuan Pablo Jaramillo, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is also represented in the case. Jaramillo has an interest in this case because his status as a naturalized citizen may place him at a heightened risk of being targeted for voter disenfranchisement, a threat that extends to countless other Massachusetts voters.\r\n\r\n\u201cUnelected bureaucrats in Washington have no business accessing\u00a0Bay Staters\u2019\u00a0sensitive personal information,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Geoff Foster, Common Cause\u2019s Massachusetts Executive\u00a0Director.<\/b> \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\u00a0Massachusetts\u00a0is fighting to protect the rights of\u00a0our 29,000 plus members and all\u00a0Bay State\u00a0voters and to prevent the misuse of their data.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cVoters in\u00a0Massachusetts\u00a0and across the country deserve to know their personal information is secure and used only for its intended purpose of maintaining accurate records,\u201d\u00a0said Maryam Jazini\u00a0Dorcheh, Senior Director of Litigation at Common Cause<\/b>. \u201cWe are committed to defending voters\u2019 rights and privacy in Massachusetts and nationwide, and this case is one of many where we are stepping in to ensure those protections are upheld.\u201d\r\n\r\n\"We are representing Common Cause, Jane Doe Inc.,\u00a0and\u00a0Mr.\u00a0Jaramillo\u00a0as proposed intervenors in this matter to help stop an alarming and unlawful overreach by the federal government,\"\u00a0said Jessie\u00a0Rossman, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.<\/b> \"The DOJ has no legitimate purpose to collect\u00a0unredacted, sensitive and private information on millions of voters across Massachusetts. The Trump administration's attempts to compel production of this data threatens to chill the exercise of the fundamental right to vote, which is a preservative of all other rights in this country.\u202f We will fight such abuses every step of the way.\"\r\n\r\n\u201cFederal overreach of this kind threatens voters\u2019 privacy and their fundamental right to participate in our democracy,\u201d\u00a0said Ari\u00a0Savitzky, senior staff attorney with the ACLU\u2019s Voting Rights Project.<\/b> \u201cThe Department of Justice is using the civil rights statutes as\u00a0pretext\u00a0to try to hoover up private voter data and use it for improper ends.\u00a0Voters\u2019 rights are at\u00a0stake\u00a0and their voices must be heard.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cAt JDI, we know that privacy is foundational for survivor safety. Demands that threaten privacy protections for Massachusetts voters place survivors and other vulnerable communities at real and immediate risk. These safeguards are not optional \u2014 they are fundamental to survivor safety, public\u00a0trust, and meaningful civic engagement. We are proud to join our state\u00a0partners in resisting these dangerous and chilling demands,\u201d\u00a0said Hema Sarang-Sieminski, Executive Director, Jane Doe Inc.\u202f<\/b>\r\n\r\nJane Doe Inc. works with coalition members and a host of public and private partners to create policies and explore innovative solutions that improve the lives of sexual and domestic violence survivors.\r\n\r\nCommon Cause previously\u00a0filed a lawsuit in Nebraska<\/a>\u00a0to protect state voter data and joined with the ACLU Voting Rights Project to file motions to intervene as defendants in DOJ lawsuits against\u00a0Colorado<\/a>,\u00a0New Mexico<\/a>,\u00a0Maryland<\/a>,\u00a0Rhode Island<\/a>,\u00a0Pennsylvania<\/a>, and\u00a0Minnesota<\/a> for\u00a0failing to turn\u00a0over their voters\u2019\u00a0private data.\r\n\r\nView the full motion to intervene\u00a0here.<\/a>\r\n

###<\/p>\r\n"}},{"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, Massachusetts Voter Seek to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy - Common Cause Massachusetts<\/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\/massachusetts\/press\/voting-rights-groups-massachusetts-voter-seek-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, Massachusetts Voter Seek to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press\/voting-rights-groups-massachusetts-voter-seek-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Massachusetts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-23T18:22:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/RightsRestoration_1.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\/massachusetts\/press\/voting-rights-groups-massachusetts-voter-seek-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/massachusetts\/press\/voting-rights-groups-massachusetts-voter-seek-to-protect-voters-privacy\/\",\"name\":\"Voting Rights Groups, Massachusetts Voter Seek to Protect Voters\u2019 Privacy - 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