Gov. Janet Mills accused the Trump administration on Friday of engaging in "government by intimidation" as it seeks detailed information about voters and food stamp recipients in Maine.
Earlier this week, the Department of Justice sued Maine and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows over her office's refusal to share complete copies of the state's voter registration files. The DOJ said it needs the data as well as other information to ensure that the state is accurately maintaining its list of registered voters and to protect election integrity. But Bellows has accused the Trump administration of going on a "fishing expedition" that violates state privacy laws.
Mills, who is a former attorney general, said she is confident that current Attorney General Aaron Frey will successfully defend the state against the DOJ lawsuit. Mills pointed to a California judge's decision this week that the Trump administration cannot withhold federal dollars from states — including Maine — that refuse to hand over the Social Security numbers and other personal data of food assistance recipients.
"Why do they need all of that data?" Mills said in Belfast, where she was touring several businesses. "It's unreasonable, it's oppressive — administratively oppressive. And it's just an invasion of privacy. It's government by intimidation and we can't let that happen."
The DOJ has sent requests to dozens of state seeking information about voters, voter list maintenance and election administration. Maine is one of more than two dozen states that have received request for complete copies of the voter registration lists. DOJ had also demanded that Maine provide copies of all original, completed voter registration applications submitted between Dec. 1, 2023, and July 1, 2025.
“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," Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said earlier this week when announcing the lawsuits against Maine and Oregon. The lawsuit accuses Bellows of violating the National Voter Registration Act and several other federal laws by refusing to comply with the request.
Bellows, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor next year, has accused the DOJ of failing to provide adequate legal justification for what she describes as overly sweeping requests involving voters' sensitive information. She has also repeatedly said that the U.S. Constitution empowers the states, not the federal government, to administer federal elections.
Earlier this week, Bellows questioned the motives behind the DOJ lawsuit.
"The Department of Justice, which as the ability to investigate people and put them in jail, should not have the right to know the partisan affiliation of every single voter in the country," she said. "That's not something they've ever had."
Multiple states, run by both Democrats and Republicans, have refused similar requests from the DOJ. But so far the department has only filed suit against Maine and Oregon.
