PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The United States Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Oregon and Maine on Tuesday, accusing the states of violating federal election laws by not sharing state voter rolls, the department announced.

The DOJ’s lawsuit against Oregon is filed against the state and Secretary of State Tobias Read, alleging the state failed to provide copies of Oregon’s voter rolls and information on how Oregon’s voter list is maintained.

“States simply cannot pick and choose which federal laws they will comply with, including our voting laws, which ensure that all American citizens have equal access to the ballot in federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “American citizens have a right to feel confident in the integrity of our electoral process, and the refusal of certain states to protect their citizens against vote dilution will result in legal consequences.”

DON’S MISS: DOJ supports lawsuit challenging Oregon’s voter roll maintenance

The lawsuit filed against Oregon alleges the state violated the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 by refusing to share a current unredacted copy of the state’s voter registration list along with information about how voter lists are maintained and failing to disclose registration information on any ineligible voters.

When asked for a response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Secretary Read’s office told KOIN 6 News that his office has not received the lawsuit, noting they were not sent a press release about the suit either.

“If the President wants to use the DOJ to go after his political opponents and undermine our elections, I look forward to seeing them in court,” Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said. “I stand by my oath to the people of Oregon, and I will protect their rights and privacy.”

A spokesperson for Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield told KOIN 6 his office had just received the lawsuit and will discuss it with Secretary Read.

The lawsuit comes after Oregon rejected a potential agreement to share voter data with the DOJ in August.

At the time, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office told KOIN 6 News that the office received at least two requests from the DOJ in the last month asking for information on Oregon voters and the workers who maintain Oregon’s voter rolls.

This included a July 10 letter sent from two members of the United States Department of Justice to Secretary Read.

In the letter, the DOJ requested a phone call with Read “to discuss a potential information-sharing agreement that would provide the U.S. Department of Justice with information on, among other things, individuals who have registered to vote or have voted in your state despite being ineligible to vote, who may have committed other forms of election fraud, who may have provided false information to state authorities on voter registration or other election forms, or who may otherwise have engaged in unlawful conduct relevant to the election process.”

The DOJ letter went on to say, “we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections.”

In another letter sent July 16 from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Gates, the Trump administration requested information on Oregon’s procedures for complying with the National Voter Registration Act — a 1993 law that set voter registration requirements for federal elections, such as requiring states to offer voter registration opportunities at state motor vehicle agencies.

The letter also asked for voter registration information of individuals identified as non-citizens or convicted felons.

In a July 23 letter responding to the first letter, Secretary Read rejected the DOJ’s request to enter an information-sharing agreement.

“As I’m sure you know, our country’s founding fathers specifically tasked the states, not the federal government, with administering free, fair, and secure elections. Our office is required by the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1), the Oregon Constitution (Article VI, Section 2), and Oregon law (ORS 246.110 et seq.) to do everything in our power to protect the integrity of our elections and the rights of Oregonians. I take that responsibility seriously,” Read wrote.

The Oregon Secretary of State continued, “After I swore my oath to serve the people of Oregon in January, my team began taking immediate, aggressive action to shore up our elections system, and, to date, we have not conclusively determined that any individual engaged in unlawful conduct relevant to election processes. Therefore, there is no data to share.”

Read added that the DOJ does not cite any legal authority for the information they are requesting, noting, “I do not see how I can fulfill my duty to protect the integrity of Oregon’s election system while engaging in data-sharing agreements with the U.S. DOJ or other federal agencies at present.”

“At best, I do not trust that this current administration is capable of protecting Oregonians’ personal data, given the recent, high-profile leaks of state secrets and reckless gutting of federal agencies. I have a responsibility to the citizens of this state to protect their privacy,” the secretary continued.

“At worst, I am concerned that this administration will use any data we provide to unlawfully and unjustly violate Oregonians’ rights. I have no interest in collaborating with an administration that is engaged in the illegal detention and deportation of both non-citizens and U.S. citizens alike. I will not provide information that could lead to parents being separated from their children,” Read added.