RI Labor and Retiree Groups Ask to Join DOJ Voter Data Case
A retiree group, a union and two individuals moved to intervene in DOJ's challenge of Rhode Island for failing to submit sensitive voter data to the federal government. The motion came the same day as the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Rhode Island also asked to be added as defendants (see 2512090055).
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Rhode Island is one of seven states DOJ is attempting to compel to turn over voter registration lists. A suit was filed against California in September (see 2512010046), and Rhode Island’s case (1:25-cv-00639) was one of six additional suits filed on Dec. 2 (see 2512030049).
The court document was jointly filed by labor union SEIU District 1199NE, the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans, and two individuals: Carolyn Betensky and Michael Mezera.
The Rhode Islanders want “to defend against the federal government’s overreach,” the document said. The groups seek “to preserve the privacy rights of its members,” while Betensky and Mezera “seek to protect the privacy of their own sensitive personal information and prevent the improper disclosure of such information to DOJ.”
The proposed intervenors “have a clear interest in ensuring the continued privacy of their personal information, and that interest is directly threatened and could be severely impaired by this suit,” the document added.
In the California case, U.S. v. Shirley Weber, a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general has asked permission to file an amicus brief supporting the state. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) also claimed DOJ’s efforts may violate the Privacy Act (see 2512030049).