FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]
09/16/25
DASS Statement on Trump’s DOJ Suing Oregon and Maine’s Secretaries of State for Protecting Voter’s Privacy
WASHINGTON – Executive Director of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State Ariel Hayes issued the following statement after the Trump DOJ sued the states of Oregon and Maine – along with their Secretaries of State, Tobias Read and Shenna Bellows – for refusing to hand over sensitive voter information without legal or constitutional authority:
“Trump’s Department of Justice is trying to force states and their respective Secretaries of State to fulfill unprecedented voter data requests without providing any transparency or legal reasoning. This isn’t just a clear violation of voter privacy – it’s a major federal overreach and an attempt by a corrupt Department of Justice to attack Trump’s political opponents and undermine our electoral process.
“Secretaries of State have a duty not only to safeguard our elections, but to protect the private information of voters who make them possible. These lawsuits by the DOJ are designed to intimidate election officials and open the door for Trump and his allies to weaponize sensitive voter information for partisan gain – not to defend our democracy.
“Democratic Secretaries of State aren’t afraid and they won’t back down. They will continue to follow the law, defend the Constitution, and protect voters from partisan overreach. Their courage sends a clear message: our democracy will not be hijacked by fear or abuse of power.”