DOJ sues Arizona, Connecticut over failure to provide voter information

PHOENIX — The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced Tuesday that it filed lawsuits against the states of Arizona and Connecticut for failing to provide voter information that it requested.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes responded by saying he won’t sign any agreement that asks him to break federal or state law.

The DOJ said it asked Arizona and Connecticut for their full voter registration lists as part of a widespread effort.

“This Department of Justice has now sued 23 states for failing to provide voter roll data and will continue filing lawsuits to protect American elections,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a press release. “Accurate voter rolls are the foundation of election integrity, and any state that fails to meet this basic obligation of transparency can expect to see us in court.”

The suits cite that Bondi is charged by Congress to enforce the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, both of which are intended to ensure states not only have proper and effective voter registration but voter list maintenance programs as well.

It was also noted that Bondi can use the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to request the production, inspection and analysis of a state’s full voter registration lists.

Arizona Secretary of State responds to DOJ suing over voter information

Following the announcement of the lawsuit, Civil Rights Division Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jesus Osete took to X to claim that Fontes failed to respond to the DOJ’s request, adding that he would see Fontes in court.

In a video reacting to Osete’s allegations, Fontes said he’s responded to every request the DOJ has made.

Ok, and in the meantime pound sand… https://t.co/vfuJfiDXmd pic.twitter.com/7I7O4vaf24

— Arizona Secretary of State (@AZSecretary) January 6, 2026

“We’ve refused to sign the MOU (memorandum of understanding) that would ask me to break state and federal law. We refused the letters in August twice,” Fontes, a Democrat, said in the video. “So, I would recommend that Mr. Osete read those correspondences and we will see you, apparently, in court.”

KTAR Senior Web Content Editor Kevin Stone contributed to this report.

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