Courts Block DOJ Demands for Unredacted Voter Data

Federal courts have blocked the United States Department of Justice from obtaining unredacted voter registration data in West Virginia and New Mexico, marking a series of losses for a broader federal effort to collect sensitive records from 48 states and Washington D.C. The initiative followed an executive order by Donald Trump to remove ineligible voters.

In West Virginia, U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston dismissed the DOJ's suit, which sought birth dates, driver's license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Judge Johnston characterized the request as a "fishing expedition" that was "devoid of any factual basis," noting the federal government failed to provide evidence of wrongdoing or anomalies in the state's data. West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner successfully argued that state law prohibits the disclosure of such sensitive information.

A similar ruling occurred in New Mexico, where a judge dismissed a lawsuit initiated in December 2025. The court found the DOJ's demand letter lacked an identifiable basis. New Mexico officials, including Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Raul Torrez, described the outcome as a victory for voter privacy and identity protection.

These rulings are part of a larger trend, with 14 states now seeing similar DOJ cases dismissed, including previous losses in California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.