Officials in Connecticut and Arizona are defending their decision to refuse a request from the U.S. Justice Department to turn over detailed voter information. The department's Civil Rights Division announced the lawsuits Tuesday, bringing to 23 the number of states it is suing to obtain the data. It also has filed suit against the District of Columbia. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes says releasing the information would violate both state and federal law. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong says the state had tried to work with the DOJ to understand the basis for its request, which includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
