DOJ sues Kentucky over voter rolls

(WKYT) - The Department of Justice announced on Thursday it has filed a lawsuit against Kentucky and four other states, alleging failure to produce voter rolls upon request.

The lawsuit names Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, along with other members of the state Board of Elections. According to the DOJ, Kentucky did not produce the full voter registration list when requested.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the action is an effort to “ensure transparency voter roll maintenance and secure elections across the country.”

In a statement, Secretary Adams said:

Kentucky’s elections are a national success story, and the Department of Justice has repeatedly acknowledged in court our successful work to clean up the dirty voter rolls I inherited. Kentucky law protects voters’ personal information, and I will not voluntarily commit a data breach by providing Kentuckians’ personal data to the federal bureaucracy unless a court order tells me to.

WKYT reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment. We have not heard back yet.

The DOJ announced it has also sued Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia and New Jersey over their voter registration lists. This brings the Justice Department’s nationwide total to 29 states and the District of Columbia.