WA Secretary of State Sued for Withholding Sensitive Voter Registration Data
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs after he refused to hand over the state’s full, unredacted voter registration database, according to court filings and local reporting.
The lawsuit was filed Dec. 2, 2025, seeking personal voter data — including names, addresses, dates of birth and partial Social Security or driver’s license numbers — to review whether the state is complying with federal election laws like the Civil Rights Act, NVRA and HAVA.
Hobbs, who leads Washington’s elections, says he hasn’t even been formally served and that both state and federal law bar releasing such sensitive information.
The DOJ’s effort is part of a larger legal push to compel multiple states to turn over voter rolls, prompting backlash from state officials who argue the demands threaten voter privacy and blur election authority lines.
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