PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Ken Block, the two-time gubernatorial candidate, computer whiz and data investigator for the controversial group that published "America the Vulnerable: The problem of Duplicate Voting," is filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging federal election-law violations by the state of Rhode Island.

Block alleges that the Rhode Island election officials have adopted rules that are in conflict with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and that may help explain why the state's voter files do not have the most basic "personally identifying information" — a driver's license or Social Security number — for more than 30 percent of the voters who took part in Rhode Island's 2016 general election.

By his count, that includes "22,000-plus'' people who registered for the first time since the Help America Vote Act took effect.

Based on his analysis, the number of voters registered since Jan. 1, 2003 — for whom this kind of information is lacking is especially high in Central Falls. By his count, it is missing for 21 percent of those voting in Central Falls last year, who registered to vote since the HAVA voter-registration requirements took effect.

In the complaint, Block asks the Justice Department to investigate his findings and then order Rhode Island to comply with federal law as it did, by consent decree, in New Jersey nearly a decade ago.

"The 2018 elections are just over a year away, and the State of Rhode Island has an election system with a serious integrity problem,'' Block wrote. "It is incumbent on your Office to impartially determine if the findings of this letter, and the attached graphics showing disparities within similarly sized legislative districts, violate the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and ensure next year’s elections are fair and equitable to all."

"The variance between HAVA requirements and Rhode Island’s implementation of the rules is stark ... [which] begs the question of whether Rhode Island’s State Election Officials, charged with compliance, intentionally or ignorantly ran afoul of HAVA,'' Block wrote.

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea issued a statement Thursday morning:

“We first received notice of Mr. Ken Block’s complaint to the US Department of Justice at 10 a.m. this morning through the Providence Journal’s reporting. His complaints are in response to changes in 2008 to the Board of Elections Rules and Regulations for voter registration.

"We have also been looking into the information required of first-time registrants by [HAVA]. HAVA specifies that anyone registering to vote for the first time must provide either a driver's license number or the last four digits of their social security number if they have them.

"We’ve already had conversations with the Board of Elections about updating their rules and regulations, trainings, and procedures for voter registration.

"Since taking office, the work we have done to modernize elections has greatly improved the quality of the information we collect for eligible voters. For example, we implemented online voter registration last year, which requires first-time registrants to provide a Rhode Island driver’s license or state ID to complete their voter registration. This information is also captured for voters updating their voter information online.

"As for Mr. Block’s concerns with Automatic Voter Registration, information is only updated when tied to a Rhode Island driver’s license or state ID record. This means that the data required by HAVA for first-time registrants, is automatically included in the voter’s registration."

The right-leaning Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity also weighed in on Thursday, calling on state officials to initiate an independent investigation.

"This shocking data means our current registration practices may need to be amended, with individuals appropriately held accountable, if voters are to maintain confidence in our State's elections integrity," said the center's CEO, Mike Stenhouse.

"Today, our Center calls on the Governor to publicly respond," he added. "... That the voter registration process in Rhode Island may have been corrupted is a very serious issue. Whether or not this has led to actual voter fraud is one of the reasons a thorough and nonpartisan investigation is required."

Block's complaint starts with this contention: "The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires states to only register voters who provide either driver’s licenses or Social Security numbers on their voter registration forms.

"Only if a voter has not been issued either form of documentation is a state then allowed to accept other forms of identification,'' but "states are required to verify the data collected above with either the DMV or Social Security Administration prior to allowing the registration to be finalized.''

Based on his back and forth with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, Block deduced that Rhode Island only performs the mandated verification for voters who register by mail.

He traces this selective verification to a rule change "only two months ahead of the 2008 General Election," that was followed by "an unprecedented explosion of voters who registered to vote without (personally identifying information) in the two months before the 2008 elections."

Block also questioned whether Rhode Island’s new automatic voter-registration law conforms to HAVA legal requirements.

According to Block, the Department of Justice filed a complaint against the State of New Jersey in 2006 for "near identical actions'' that was settled by consent decree.

"Beyond adherence to HAVA, an important cure mandated against the State of New Jersey was that they backfill missing dates of birth from voter registration records. Apparently, the State had a large number of registrations that also lacked dates of birth. ... As an aside, in the 2016 general election in New Jersey, 31,394 votes were cast by voters with dates of birth in the voter registration data older than 1/1/1900, with 31,260 of those voters with a date of birth of 1/1/1800.''

Block did the computer analysis of voting records for the Government Accountability Institute, a nonprofit led by GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer and co-founded by former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon that led to the publication of a controversial report on the potential for voter fraud.