The Department of Justice today sued six states — California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania — over their refusal to hand over sensitive voter registration data.

Thursday, September 25

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DOJ sues six states, escalating campaign to seize private voter data

- The Department of Justice (DOJ) today sued ([link removed] ) six states — California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania — over their refusal to hand over sensitive voter registration data. Last week, the DOJ filed ([link removed] ) nearly identical lawsuits against Maine and Oregon.

- The lawsuits mark an aggressive escalation in the DOJ's ongoing effort to force states to hand over their voter rolls and list maintenance records — including individual voters’ sensitive information like address, driver’s license number and partial social security number.

- “This isn’t just about a data request,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) said to Democracy Docket. Though the DOJ has not filed a lawsuit against Arizona, Fontes has forcefully rejected the department’s demand to hand over its voter registration data.

- “It’s about protecting your privacy, your security, and your fundamental right to vote free from unnecessary federal overreach,” Fontes said. “Once that information leaves our custody, there is no guarantee about how it’s handled, where it ends up, or whether it's properly secured. To date, there has been no clear legal justification or transparent explanation for these demands.”

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

- President Trump has threatened to send federal agents and National Guard troops into cities across the country, including Memphis, New Orleans, and San Francisco.

- Congress must rein in this abuse of power. Tell Congress: No more troops on our streets. ([link removed] )

Once the Voting Rights Act’s champion, DOJ now wants SCOTUS to gut it

- For decades, the DOJ has relied on the Voting Rights Act to protect voters of color from efforts to reduce the power of minority voters. But yesterday, it urged the Supreme Court to decimate much of what’s left of the landmark law. We break down ([link removed] ) what this could mean.

Speaking of the DOJ so much…

- We made a timeline where you can clearly see the DOJ voting section’s anti-voting shift since President Donald Trump took over in January. If you haven’t been following, this ([link removed] ) will get you all caught up.

A win for Michigan voters

- The 6th Circuit affirmed ([link removed] ) the dismissal of a 2024 RNC lawsuit challenging Michigan's voter roll maintenance policies for lack of standing. The RNC had alleged discrepancies in the state's voter list and claimed that the state was not making a reasonable effort to remove outdated voter registrations.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

ACLU_NoTroops_Newsletter_750x275@2x - Destini Bennett ([link removed] )

President Trump’s deployment of federal troops to U.S. cities is about seizing power and sowing fear. He is using taxpayer dollars to intimidate our communities instead of investing in solutions that actually make our neighborhoods safer and our lives better. Our representatives need to hear from their constituents that this is not what we want. Tell Congress: No more troops on our streets. ([link removed] )

The latest in federal employees’ fight for justice

- In a loss for democracy, a district court dismissed a lawsuit brought by federal employee unions challenging the Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation” program. The court held that the plaintiffs must first exhaust their administrative remedies through the Merit Systems Protection Board or the National Labor Relations Board before seeking judicial review.

- The court’s ruling requiring plaintiffs to exhaust administrative remedies is ironic given the Trump administration’s own efforts to dismantle those very bodies—efforts exemplified by Trump’s removal ([link removed] ) of board members from both those boards.

- Also, a D.C. district court denied ([link removed] ) eight fired inspector generals’ request to be reinstated while their litigation continues. The court ruled even if the IGs were reinstated, the president would merely issue them the statutorily required 30-day notice of removal. The case is now paused pending SCOTUS’ ruling in a lawsuit ([link removed] ) challenging Trump’s removal of a Federal Trade Commissioner.

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