Case 5:25-cv-00548-CAR Document 1 Filed 12/18/25 Page 1 of 11

HARMEET K. DHILLON
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

ERIC V. NEFF
Acting Chief, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division

BRITTANY E. BENNETT
CHRISTPOHER J. GARDNER
Trial Attorneys, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division

U.S. Department of Justice

4CON – Room 8.141
150 M Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
Telephone: (202) 704-5430
Email: [Link]@[Link]
Email: [Link]@[Link]

Attorneys for Plaintiff, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA,

Plaintiff,
COMPLAINT
v.
Case No. 5:25-cv-548
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, in his
Official Capacity as Secretary of State
for the State of Georgia,

Defendant.
COMPLAINT

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INTRODUCTION

1. Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (“CRA”) imposes a “sweeping”

obligation on election officials, Kennedy v. Lynd, 306 F.2d 222, 226 (5th Cir. 1962),

to “retain and preserve … all records and papers which come into [their] possession

relating to any application, registration, payment of poll tax, or other act requisite to

voting in such election,” 52 U.S.C. § 20701 (emphasis added).

2. Title III likewise grants the Attorney General the sweeping power to

obtain these records: “Any record or paper required by [section 301] to be retained

and preserved shall, upon demand in writing by the Attorney General or [her]

representative directed to the person having custody, possession, or control of such

record or paper, be made available for inspection, reproduction, and copying at the

principal office of such custodian by the Attorney General or [her] representative….”

52 U.S.C. § 20703. The written demand “shall contain a statement of the basis and

the purpose therefor.” Id.

3. If the custodian to whom the written demand is made refuses to

comply, the CRA requires “a special statutory proceeding in which the courts play

a limited, albeit vital, role” in assisting the Attorney General’s investigative powers.

Lynd, 306 F.2d at 225. The Attorney General or her representative may request a

Federal court to issue an order directing the officer of election to produce the

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demanded records, akin to “a traditional order to show cause, or to produce in aid

of an order of an administrative agency.” Id.

4. In this “summary” proceeding, In re Gordon, 218 F. Supp. 826, 826-

27 (S.D. Miss. 1963), the Attorney General need only show that she made a “written

demand” for records covered by Section 301 of the CRA and that “the person

against whom an order for production is sought … has failed or refused to make

such papers ‘available for inspection, reproduction, and copying,’” Lynd, 306 F.2d

at 226 (quoting 52 U.S.C. § 20703). The court does not adjudicate “the factual

foundation for, or the sufficiency of, the Attorney General’s ‘statement of the basis

and the purpose’ contained in the written demand” or “the scope of the order to

produce.” Id.

I. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

5. This Court has jurisdiction over this action under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331,

1345, and 2201(a); and 52 U.S.C. § 20705.

6. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) because

a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the United States’ claims

occurred in this District, and the Defendant is located in and conducts election

administration activities in this District.

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II. PARTIES
7. Plaintiff is the Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General

has authority to enforce various federal election statutes, including the CRA, see 52

U.S.C. § 20703; the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”), 52 U.S.C.

§ 20510(a); and Title III of the Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”), 52 U.S.C.

§ 21111.

8. Defendant Secretary of State of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, is sued in

his official capacity as chief state election official responsible for coordinating

Georgia’s responsibilities under the NVRA. See 52 U.S.C. § 20509; O.C.G.A. § 21-

2-210. Raffensperger is sued in his official capacity only.

BACKGROUND
9. This proceeding arises from the Attorney General’s investigation into

Georgia’s compliance with federal election law, particularly the NVRA and HAVA.

10. Both the NVRA and HAVA require States to maintain and preserve

certain records and papers that fall within the scope of Section 301 of Title III of the

CRA.

The National Voter Registration Act

11. The NVRA requires each state to “designate a State officer or employee

as the chief State election official to be responsible for coordination of State

responsibilities” under the NVRA. 52 U.S.C. § 20509. Defendant Raffensperger is

the chief election official of the State of Georgia.

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12. The NVRA requires States to “conduct a general program that makes a

reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of

eligible voters by reason of” the death of the registrant, or “a change in the residence

of the registrant, in accordance with subsections (b), (c), and (d)[.]” 52 U.S.C. §

20507(a)(4).

13. The NVRA also requires States to maintain, with exceptions not

relevant here, “all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities

conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of

eligible voters….” 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i)(1).

The Help America Vote Act

14. HAVA requires all States to maintain and administer “a single, uniform,

official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list” that

contains “the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in

the State and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the State.”

52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(1)(A).

15. HAVA further establishes “[m]inimum standard[s] for accuracy of State

voter registration records,” 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(4), and prohibits States from

processing voter-registration applications without obtaining and verifying certain

identifying information from the applicants, namely, a Driver’s License number for

those who possess a valid one, the last four digits of a social security number for

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those who do not possess a valid Drivers’ license, and for those who have neither a

unique identifier. 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(5)(A).

The Civil Rights Act

16. Congress empowered the Attorney General to request records pursuant

to Title III of the CRA, codified at 52 U.S.C. § 20701, et seq.

17. Section 301 of the CRA requires state and local officials to retain and

preserve records related to voter registration and other acts requisite to voting for

any federal office for a period of twenty-two months after any federal general,

special or primary election. See 52 U.S.C. § 20701, et seq.

18. Section 303 of the CRA provides, in pertinent part, “[a]ny record or

paper required by Section 20701 of this title to be retained and preserved shall, upon

demand in writing by the Attorney General or [her] representative directed to the

person having custody, possession, or control of such record or paper, be made

available for inspection, reproduction, and copying at the principal office of such

custodian by the Attorney General or [her] representative….” 52 U.S.C. § 20703.

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
19. On July 9, 2025, the Attorney General contacted Secretary

Raffensperger seeking information regarding Georgia’s compliance with federal

election law. See Letter from Attorney General to Secretary Raffensperger (“July 9

Contact”).

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20. On August 7, 2025, the Attorney General sent a letter renewing the July

9 request and requested a copy of Georgia’s statewide voter registration list (“VRL”)

within fourteen days of the date of the letter (the “August 7 Letter”). The August 7

Letter also requested that Georgia provide a current electronic copy of its

computerized statewide voter registration list, containing “all fields” (“SVRL”),

required under Section 303 of HAVA.

21. The Attorney General’s August 7 Letter asked Secretary Raffensperger

to produce the requested information and records by encrypted email or via the

Department’s secure file-sharing system, Justice Enterprise File Sharing (JEFS).

22. On August 14, 2025, the Attorney General sent another letter clarifying

the request in the August 7 Letter. The August 14 Letter specified that:

“Given responses from other states thus far, we want to clarify that the Justice
Department’s request to provide an electronic copy of the statewide VRL
should contain all fields, which means, your state’s VRL must include the
registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s
license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number
as required under the Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”) to register individuals
for federal elections. See 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(5)(A)(i).”
See August 14 Letter.

23. The August 14 Letter explained to Secretary Raffensperger that “HAVA

specifies that the ‘last 4 digits of a social security number . . . shall not be considered

to be a social security number for purposes of section 7 of the Privacy Act of 1974.’”

5 U.S.C. § 552a note; 52 U.S.C. § 21083(c). In addition, any prohibition of

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disclosure of a motor vehicle record contained in the Driver’s License Protection

Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)(1), is exempted when the disclosure is for use

by a government agency in carrying out the government agency’s function to

accomplish its enforcement authority as the Department is now doing.

24. Finally, after numerous attempts to contact Secretary Raffensperger, in

response, on December 8, 2025, Secretary Raffensperger sent a letter refusing to

provide Georgia’s SVRL stating:

“Georgia law prohibits the disclosure of voters’ full date of birth, social
security number, and driver’s license number. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-225(b).
Accordingly, in compliance with state law, and in consultation with the
Georgia Attorney General’s office, the voter list provided excludes ‘sensitive
information that implicates special privacy concerns.’ Project Vote, Inc. v.
Kemp, 208 F. Supp. 3d 1320, 1344 (N.D. Ga. 2016).”
December 8 Letter.
25. The December 8 Letter provided some responses but only redacted

voter registration information in violation of federal law.

COUNT ONE
VIOLATION OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1960, 52 U.S.C. § 20703

26. On August 14, 2025, the Attorney General sent a written demand to

Secretary Raffensperger for the production of specific election records pursuant to

52 U.S.C. § 20703.

27. The written demand “contain[ed] a statement of the basis and the

purpose therefor.” 52 U.S.C. § 20703.

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28. On December 8, 2025, Secretary Raffensperger refused to provide the

records requested.

Wherefore, the United States respectfully requests this Court:

A. Declare that Defendant’s refusal to provide the election records upon a

demand by the Attorney General violates Title III of the Civil Rights Act

as required by 52 U.S.C. § 20703;

B. Order Secretary Raffensperger to provide to the Attorney General the

current electronic copy of Georgia’s computerized statewide voter

registration list, with all fields, including each registrant’s full name, date

of birth, residential address, and either their state driver’s license number,

the last four digits of their Social Security number, or HAVA unique

identifier as required by 52 U.S.C. § 21083 within 5 days of a Court order.

DATED: December 18, 2025 Respectfully submitted,

HARMEET K. DHILLON
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

/s/ Brittany E. Bennett

BRITTANY E. BENNETT
Ga. Bar No. 717377
CHRISTOPHER J. GARNDER
Ga. Bar No. 163932
Trial Attorneys, Voting Section

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Civil Rights Division

U.S. Department of Justice
4 Constitution Square
150 M Street NE, Room 8.141
Washington, D.C. 20002
Telephone: (202) 704-5430
Email: [Link]@[Link]

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on December 18, 2025, a true and correct copy of the
foregoing document was served via the Court’s ECF system to all counsel of record.

/s/ Brittany E. Bennett

Brittany E. Bennett
Trial Attorney, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
4 Constitution Square
150 M Street NE, Room 8.141
Washington, D.C. 20002
Telephone: (202) 704-5430
Email: [Link]@[Link]

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