DOJ Sues Five States for Voter Database Access

The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits on Thursday against the election officials in five states, including three with Republican leadership, seeking access to their complete voter registration databases. The suits target Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and New Jersey, marking the latest step in a nationwide effort to review state voter rolls ahead of the November midterm elections.

The department has now sued 29 states and the District of Columbia since May 2025, when it began sending requests to nearly every state for unredacted voter registration files. Officials said the information is needed to assess compliance with federal laws on voter roll maintenance, including the removal of inactive registrations, duplicates and records of noncitizens. The requests seek data such as voters' full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver's license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The Justice Department contends it has authority under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which requires states to maintain comprehensive election records and allows the attorney general to obtain them.