PROVIDENCE — The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington, asking a judge to force them to hand over voter records that include driver’s license numbers and partial social security numbers.

The lawsuit is the latest of the DOJ’s efforts to compel states to hand over the records. Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore said in September he would hand over the public voter list, but not the list that includes private data the DOJ was requesting.

“One of my most important responsibilities as the chief state election official is safeguarding the data privacy of Rhode Islanders, who entrust us with their personal information when they register to vote,” Amore said Tuesday after the lawsuit was filed. “I will continue to fight to protect it.”

Amore’s office said the Trump administration has “not been forthcoming on how they will use Rhode Islanders’ private voter data, and they have not provided valid legal justification to obtain it,” said LeeAnne Byrne, Amore’s chief of staff.

She said Amore is concerned that Trump will try to “challenge the clear Constitutional role of states to administer elections in order to undermine voter confidence.”

On Tuesday evening, the DOJ said in a press release that they would continue to file “proactive election integrity litigation” until states comply.

“Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the press release.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said states that refuse to turn over the data are interfering with the DOJ’s “mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results.”

The Justice Department has requested voter data from at least 40 states, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

In its lawsuit, the DOJ said it was seeking to investigate Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the “motor voter” law from 1993 that allowed states to register voters when they apply for driver’s licenses, along with the 2002 Help America Vote Act.

The goal is to “ascertain Rhode Island’s compliance with list maintenance requirements,” the suit says.

Trump has long claimed that illegal voting is happening in the US, including noncitizen voting.

The New York Times reported in September that the Justice Department is trying to compile a national voter roll, “buttressing an effort by President Trump and his supporters to try to prove long-running, unsubstantiated claims that droves of undocumented immigrants have voted illegally.”

Elections — including federal elections — are run by individual states, which also maintain the voter rolls in their own states. In his letter to the DOJ in September refusing the request, Amore said Rhode Island maintains the list according to the law and has removed more than 100,000 voters since 2023.

Amore also recently sent out a letter to active voters asking them to confirm their voter registrations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. If someone received a letter for a person who no longer lives there, they were asked to send it back and note that the person is not at the address.

Cities and towns are currently processing the responses to that letter, Byrne said. Voters whose letters were returned as undeliverable will be moved to inactive status in the coming weeks.

The ACLU of Rhode Island said the DOJ’s demand posed a “major threat to the privacy of Rhode Island voters.”

“Drivers’ licenses and social security numbers provided as part of the voter registration process are sensitive pieces of information that deserve to be protected,” the ACLU said Tuesday. “This latest attempt to collect enormous amounts of data should be of concern to anyone who wants to prevent the misuse of personal information by the federal government.”

Amore has 21 days to respond to the DOJ’s lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Providence.

Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.

Those costs aren’t the only ones on the minds of those surveyed: “A majority of Rhode Islanders believe prices have increased on regularly purchased items over the past year and will continue to increase in the coming year,” according to a report on the poll’s findings.

“Only 13 percent of Rhode Island residents think their household is better off financially than a year ago, 40 percent think their household is worse off, and 47 percent think their household finances are about the same,” the report states. “The percentage who feel worse off (40 percent) has declined somewhat since May (45 percent).”

The poll surveyed 711 state residents between Nov. 13 and 17, with a margin of error of 3.7 percent. Thirty-four percent of those polled are registered Democrats and 15 percent are registered Republicans, while 51 percent are not registered with either party.

“Most Independents (88 percent) and Democrats (84 percent) are very or somewhat worried about winter energy costs while 61 percent of Republicans are very or somewhat worried,” the report states.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration shows residential heating oil prices in Rhode Island rose to about $3.88 per gallon the last week of November, up from $3.52 per gallon the same time last year.

The price of natural gas in Rhode Island was about $31.28 per thousand cubic feet in September, according to the most recent data from the agency. Data for September 2024 was not available on Monday but natural gas cost $25.04 per thousand cubic feet in October 2024.

However, winter electricity rates for customers of Rhode Island Energy, although higher than the summer season, have dropped 9 percent compared to the previous year, at 14.77 cents per kilowatt hour compared to last winter’s rate of 16.387 cents per kilowatt hour.

The company’s electricity customers can also expect to save about $32 a month this winter, after the state’s Public Utilities Commission approved bill credits last week.

Still, the savings fall short of those included in a proposal initially filed by Rhode Island Energy as part of a “hold harmless commitment” intended to shield customers from costs associated with National Grid’s sale of the Narragansett Electric Company to PPL Corporation in 2022.

The proposal, which was withdrawn last month, would have saved customers between $20 and $30 a month on electric bills and $40 to $50 a month on gas during the first three months of 2026. The company said the proposal “faced unexpected and unwarranted opposition seeking to change the terms that were reached through a lengthy process.”

Rhode Island Energy also announced last week the company filed a proposal to increase its gas and electricity distribution rates next year for the first time since 2017. Customers who receive both gas and electricity from the utility provider would see a monthly increase of about $36 beginning Sept. 1, 2026, if approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

According to the poll, 79 percent of Rhode Islanders surveyed also said “prices of things they regularly purchase have risen significantly (49 percent) or slightly (30 percent) in the past twelve months.”

“Nearly all Democrats (98 percent) say prices of items they regularly purchase have risen in the past 12 months while smaller majorities of Independents (66 percent) and Republicans (57 percent) feel that way,” the report states.

Looking ahead, 64 percent of those polled said they expect prices for regularly purchased items to increase in the next year due to “tariffs (34 percent), poor economic stewardship (23 percent), because prices always seem to increase (12 percent), or because of general inflation (10 percent).”

The majority of Democrats and independents surveyed believe prices will rise over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 37 percent of Republicans believe prices will decline, compared to 33 percent of those registered with the party who said they think prices will go up.

“Rhode Islanders are generally downbeat on the state and national economies, as a majority feel that the economy is getting worse,” the poll’s report states.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.

Monday, December 01, 2025

GoLocalProv Business Team

Whether it is inflation, tariffs, lifecycles, or a souring economy — three different small food businesses have announced their closure in the past week

Hometown Poké and Bubble Tea announced on Sunday on social media that it has closed its East Greenwich location.

“Hey there poke people, you may have heard that we solemnly closed our East Greenwich location this past week. Two years in that beautiful space flew by in a flash. Unfortunately, our sales couldn’t cover the operating costs so we made the difficult decision to close this chapter in our story and move on,” said the company.

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“We are proud of the work we put into the East Greenwich location and the friends we made along the way. We became a general contractor and took an empty office and transformed it into a lovely little poke & bubble tea shop. It was an amazing experience to share our food with the South County community. Thank you to the businesses and customers who have reached out with the kindest words.”

The company’s Providence location remains open.

More Closings

Hometown Poké’s announcement comes after Narragansett burger joint Crazy Burger Cafe & Juice Bar announced on Friday that it had closed.

It won awards and was featured on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Earlier this fall, it announced it was for sale.

Then, on Friday, it announced on social media:

I am saddened to tell you that Crazy Burger is now closed. We ran out of money before we were able to sell the business so we’re forced to close the doors.

It’s difficult to express the gratitude we’ve had for all your love and support over the last 30 years and we will miss serving you one and all we wish you all the best over the holiday season.

Fire Works Catering owner Mark Garofalo announced on Saturday – that they were closing after 22 years.

The business is a full-service, off-site caterer and describes itself as “committed to providing you with unsurpassed food, value, professionalism, and reliability.”

“After more than 22 years, Steph and I have decided to close the doors to Fire Works Catering at the end of this year,” said Garofalo.

“There are too many people to name here that have worked for or with us to make it the success that it was,” he continued. “But please know that I thank you from the bottom of my heart and sincerely have enjoyed working with you over the years. 

“Our last day will be December 31st. I have no plans yet but I do have some irons in the fire,” Garofalo added. “I’ll keep you all up to date as soon as I have more news.”

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