Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261110-945
Justice Dept. has lost 28 of 31 suits for states' unredacted voter rolls, CBS reports
The Justice Department sued 30 states and D.C. for voters' private data, and CBS counts 28 losses so far. Two cases are still pending. One appeals court has already sided with a state.
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The Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to force them to hand over complete voter rolls. CBS News reported Tuesday that the Trump administration has lost 28 of those cases so far 1.
The administration has pressed nearly all 50 states for the lists 1. Last year it sent letters to most of them asking for unredacted electronic copies of their statewide registration lists. Those lists include voters' birthdates, addresses, partial Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers 1.
Where the cases stand
Federal judges have rejected the department's suits in 28 cases 1. A number of states handed over publicly available versions of their rolls but declined to give the complete lists 1.
A federal judge dismissed the first Georgia case because it was filed in the wrong court, and government lawyers refiled it 1. The department dropped its Oklahoma suit after the state agreed to turn over its list 1. The remaining cases, in Hawaii and Idaho, are still pending 1.
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The department has appealed most of the dismissals 1. So far one appeals court, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has ruled. It upheld a lower court's decision rejecting the administration's bid for Michigan's voter rolls 1.
Votebeat reported in June that the Michigan lower court had dismissed the suit in February. That court found that none of the laws the department cited required the disclosure 2. Michigan had provided the public version of its voter file but withheld personal details such as partial Social Security numbers 2.
The Justice Department's argument
The department says it needs the data to check that states follow two federal laws. They are the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act. Both are meant to make sure states keep accurate voter rolls 1.
The lawsuits are part of a wider push by President Trump for more power over federal elections 1. He has signed two executive orders on elections, and courts have blocked both 1.
The first order, signed last year, would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. The second, announced in March, tightens rules for mail-in voting. It also directs the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service to compile lists of eligible U.S. citizens 1.
Mr. Trump is also urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. It would significantly curtail mail-in voting and add new voter ID requirements 1.
Why it matters
The pattern is clear. Courts have so far refused to let the federal government take sensitive voter data that states have chosen not to give up. That matters to anyone who has registered with a driver's license number or part of a Social Security number.
The president has long said mail-in voting leads to widespread fraud, but CBS notes he has not put forth evidence for that claim 1. He has also said Democratic states let noncitizens vote. Voting by noncitizens is a federal crime 1.
What happens next depends on the pending appeals. The Hawaii and Idaho cases are also still undecided 1.
The Record
- A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's suit seeking Michigan's unredacted voter roll (Votebeat reports the dismissal came in February) 2.
- Votebeat reported that the 6th Circuit had upheld the Michigan dismissal, the first appeals court ruling in these cases 2.
- CBS News counted 28 losses for the Justice Department in suits against 30 states and D.C., with Hawaii and Idaho pending 1.
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Sources
- CBS News, “Where the Trump administration's lawsuits seeking voter data stand” (2026-11-10). cbsnews.com/news/trump-lawsuits-state-voter-rolls-justice-de
- Votebeat, “Appeals court rules against Justice Department in Michigan voter roll case” (2026-06-24). votebeat.org/michigan/2026/06/24/trump-department-justice-vo
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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