CRIME & LAW

DOJ Sues States Over Access To Voter Data

PUBLISHED Dec 2, 2025, 6:47 PM ET

Read, Watch or Listen

DOJ Sues States Over Access To Voter Data

Media Bias Meter

Sources: 10

Center 90%

Right 10%

Sources: 10

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice sued six states after their secretaries refused federal requests for complete voter registration databases, including dates of birth and partial Social Security or driver’s license numbers. States cited state privacy laws and provided only publicly disclosable fields. DOJ filed suits alleging violations of the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and relying on the Civil Rights Act to inspect statewide lists. The actions increase litigation to at least 14 states and seek to verify compliance with federal voter-roll maintenance requirements. Based on 6 recent articles reviewed and supporting research.

By Mahnoor A. | JQJO News

Timeline of Events

Early September: DOJ sends letters requesting full statewide voter registration lists.
Sept. 8: DOJ formally requests specific voter data from Vermont officials.
Sept. 22–23: Vermont and Washington officials decline to provide full requested data, citing state privacy law.
This week: DOJ files lawsuits against six states, increasing total targeted states to at least 14.
DOJ invokes NVRA, HAVA and Civil Rights Act in federal court filings to demand inspection.

Media Bias

Articles Published:: 10
Right Leaning:: 1
Left Leaning:: 0
Neutral:: 9
Distribution:: Left 0%, Center 90%, Right 10%

Who Benefited

Federal enforcement agencies and groups focused on election roll verification benefit by gaining legal routes and access to more detailed voter data to assess compliance with federal voter-roll maintenance laws.

Who Impacted

Registered voters and state officials prioritizing privacy protections suffer heightened risk of sensitive personal data exposure and legal conflicts between state confidentiality statutes and federal information requests.