On Thursday, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced the filing of federal lawsuits against New Hampshire and five other states — California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania — for failing to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible, and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”
“States are required to safeguard American elections by complying with our federal elections laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Clean voter rolls protect American citizens from voting fraud and abuse, and restore their confidence that their states’ elections are conducted properly, with integrity, and in compliance with the law.”
Secretary of State David Scanlan has refused to turn over the lists as requested saying they are protected by law. In a letter Aug. 28, to Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Scanlan said he had received the federal government’s most recent request.
“As I stated in my prior response, New Hampshire law prohibits the sharing of this information with the United States Department of Justice in the manner you request. Having reviewed the citations in your August 18, 2025 letter with legal counsel, there does not appear to be any provision under federal law that compels the production of voter registration data superseding the provisions of New Hampshire statutes that I must follow.
“As stated in my prior response, you can obtain each municipality’s most recent public checklist from their respective supervisors or clerks. See RSA 654:31 , II. The statewide, public checklist may also be purchased by a political committee registered in the State of New Hampshire. Alternatively, my office can provide you with copies of the marked paper checklists from the 2024 general and/or primary elections. These records are also public,” Scanlan said.
Scanlan and Gov. Kelly Ayotte weren’t immediately available to comment Thursday night.
CORRECTION: Gov. Kelly Ayotte was mistakenly referred to as attorney general in previous version.