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Maine's top elections official tells DOJ to 'jump in the Gulf of Maine' over voter data request
https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2025-07-29/maines-top-elections-official-tells-doj-to-jump-in-the-gulf-of-maine-over-voter-data-requestMaine is among a growing number of states that have received letters from the DOJ requesting copies of voter registration lists and other information about state elections systems. The July 24 letter to Bellows asks for a complete copy of Maine's statewide voter registration list as well as for a list of election officials responsible for maintaining that list.
The department also asked for detailed information about the state's efforts to update the voter rolls and for a list of registered voters who were deemed ineligible to vote since 2022 because they were found to be non-citizens or "incompetent."
-snip-
"But what the DOJ is asking is unprecedented," Bellows said. "It's an abuse of power and it contravenes what the founders set forth in the Constitution. And as a defender of voter privacy, to protect the freedom to vote, that's why we're saying today, 'No, you've gone too far.'"
The Democrat also channeled a former Republican secretary of state from Mississippi who, in 2017, told the first Trump administration to "jump in the Gulf of Mexico" after it requested voter roll information from states.
The department also asked for detailed information about the state's efforts to update the voter rolls and for a list of registered voters who were deemed ineligible to vote since 2022 because they were found to be non-citizens or "incompetent."
-snip-
"But what the DOJ is asking is unprecedented," Bellows said. "It's an abuse of power and it contravenes what the founders set forth in the Constitution. And as a defender of voter privacy, to protect the freedom to vote, that's why we're saying today, 'No, you've gone too far.'"
The Democrat also channeled a former Republican secretary of state from Mississippi who, in 2017, told the first Trump administration to "jump in the Gulf of Mexico" after it requested voter roll information from states.