Justice Department files statement of interest in Judicial Watch's Illinois voter roll lawsuit

Judicial Watch on Monday announced that the Justice Department (DOJ) has filed a "statement of interest" in its lawsuit against the state of Illinois, which calls for the state to clean up its voter rolls to be in line with federal law.

Judicial Watch filed its lawsuit last year and it is part of a larger string of lawsuits against Democratic-led states to clean up their voter rolls to purge residents who have died, or who are otherwise ineligible to vote.

The DOJ claimed in its filing earlier this month that the case "presents important questions regarding enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)," which requires states to make reasonable efforts to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. States are required to remove the names of people who fail to respond to confirmation notices and do not vote in the next two general federal elections.

“Judicial Watch’s lawsuit demonstrates Illinois voter rolls are a mess and the Justice Department is right to be concerned about the state’s failures to keep them clean,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a news release.

Judicial Watch has also sued California and Oregon over their failure to satisfactorily clean up their voter rolls. 

“It is critical to remove ineligible voters from the registration rolls so that elections are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “Under the NVRA, states have the responsibility to conduct a robust program of list maintenance. The [DOJ] will vigorously enforce those requirements to ensure compliance.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.