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Justice Department Sues Six States to Force Release of Full Voter Rolls

The department cites federal voting laws to obtain unredacted registration databases, with state officials rejecting the demand on privacy grounds.

Shadows are cast on a sign at the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Voters work on their ballots at a polling place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Nov. 5, 2024, in Simi Valley, Calif.
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Overview

  • Filed on Sept. 25, the lawsuits target California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania in their respective federal courts to compel production, inspection and analysis of statewide voter lists.
  • The DOJ says the National Voter Registration Act and Help America Vote Act authorize oversight, and it invokes the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to demand full data including names, addresses, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
  • Election officials such as Minnesota’s Steve Simon, Michigan’s Jocelyn Benson and Pennsylvania’s Al Schmidt refuse to release private identifiers without details on legal authority, data use and security, offering only public versions of voter files.
  • The litigation expands a broader campaign that has requested voter rolls from at least 26 states after earlier suits against Maine and Oregon, with most states now sued led by Democratic governors except New Hampshire.
  • Reuters reporting says the DOJ has discussed transferring compiled voter‑roll data to Homeland Security Investigations, heightening civil‑liberties concerns about potential non-election uses.