U.S. Justice Department pushes states for unredacted voter rolls amid court setbacks

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a May 12 opinion supporting the federal government’s demand that states provide unredacted voter registration files, even after six federal courts ruled states are not obligated to do so. The opinion argues the data, which includes partial Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and birth dates, is needed to verify that noncitizens are not registered to vote and may be shared with the Department of Homeland Security under a civil‑rights statute.

States have broadly resisted the request. The DOJ has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia, and courts have dismissed the suits in California, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Arizona. West Virginia’s Secretary of State, Kris Warner, asked a judge to toss the demand; the DOJ responded with a brief defending its authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and the Help America Vote Act. State officials argue the request is overly broad, lacks specific factual basis, and threatens voter privacy, while the DOJ maintains it is a lawful intergovernmental data transfer aimed at enforcing federal election laws.