The U.S. Department of Justice has just sued Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs for refusing to hand over sensitive personal information on every registered voter in the state. The DOJ is demanding full names, addresses, birth dates, and even partial Social Security and driver’s license numbers — all in the name of investigating so-called “voter roll maintenance.”

This isn’t a routine audit. It’s part of a sweeping federal effort to collect the largest voter data set in U.S. history, without clear protections, oversight, or transparency.

Secretary Hobbs followed Washington law when he refused the DOJ’s request and offered only publicly available data. That includes names, addresses, birth years, and voting history — the same information regularly shared in public records. But he drew the line at giving away full birth dates and sensitive ID numbers, and he was right to do so.

Voter privacy is a cornerstone of public trust in our democracy. If the federal government can demand this level of personal information from every voter in Washington — and potentially store it in a massive, unregulated database — what’s next?

We are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice, President Joe Biden, and Congress to:

• Withdraw the lawsuit against Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs
• Immediately halt the mass collection of sensitive voter data from state election officials
• Enact clear federal safeguards for voter data privacy and transparency in election oversight
• Respect state laws that protect voter information from being unnecessarily exposed or abused

Washington’s election system is secure, transparent, and widely respected. There is no justification for bypassing our laws and violating the privacy of millions of voters.

Sign this petition to stand with Secretary Hobbs and demand that the DOJ back off its overreach. Voter trust begins with data protection.

(Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)