As Trump (R) has Fought to Exert more Federal Control over Elections, Courts have Unanimously Rejected His Justice Department's (DOJ) Contention that it should have Access to State Voter Rolls. The Department has Lost all 16 Federal Court Decisions Issued so far, over its Demands for Voter Lists with Personal Information such as Addresses, Dates-of-Birth, Driver's License, and Social Security Numbers, which Local Officials contend would create a “sweeping surveillance tool."
It’s Not just Democrats Fighting the Republican Administration in Dozens of Lawsuits Nnationwide. GOP Officials in States such as: Idaho, Kentucky, Utah, and West Virginia, also Fought the Requests. And Seven of the the 15 U.S. District Court judges who Ruled against Trump, were Appointed by Him. At Stake in the Litigation is whether the Federal Government can Police State Voter Lists and Potentially create a National Database, as Part of Trump’s Effort to Prevent Non-Citizens from Voting. But Judges have Ruled Unanimously that States Run Elections, Not the Federal Government.
What's more, some States say, the Unprecedented attempt at Federal Oversight of Elections is an Attempt to Solve a Problem that's All but Non-Existent. Trump continued to Complain about Election Security, including Non-Citizen Voting, in a White House Speech on 7/15/2026. But Judges, Election Experts, and even Republican State Officials, say Allegations of Non-Citizen Voting are "Inaccurate" and "Not a Systemic Problem."
The Court Decisions are Urgent, because the 11/3/2026 Congressional Midterms are Approaching, and a 1993 Law Forbids Broadly Purging Voter Rolls during the 90 days before an Election, or after 8/5/2026. Two Appeals Courts Agreed to Hasten their Review of Lower Court Decisions. "The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that our elections are accurate, fair, and secure, and that starts with clean, up-to-date voter rolls," Harmeet Dhillon (R), who is Leading the Lawsuits as Head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said: "We are confident in the legal basis for these cases and will continue to pursue them vigorously, including on appeal."
Trump Signed an Executive Order (EO) on 3/2026 that Directed the DOJ to Prioritize Preventing Non-Citizens from Voting. Trump said He has the "unavoidable duty" to Secure Elections by taking Steps, such as Ensuring the Citizenship of Voters. Dhillon then began Demanding Voter Rolls from the States to Check the Names for Citizenship and Inaccuracies such as People who Moved or Died. She cited the 1960 Civil Rights Act in justifying Her Request for the Names and Identifying Information. And She cited the 2002 Help America Vote Act and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, as Requiring States to Ensure only Eligible Voters are on the Voter Lists.
"Federal law requires states to make reasonable efforts to maintain accurate registration lists, and where states fall short, this Department will act to enforce that obligation," Dhillon said in a Statement. The Administration seeks to Check State Voter Lists against the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Database, which a Judge has Blocked as "inaccurate" and "unreliable" for that Purpose. Election Experts said the Constitution gives States the Authority to Administer Elections, and the 1974 Privacy Act Aims to Prevent Sharing Personal Information about Voters the Way the Executive Branch Seeks.
“The Department of Justice has no power – none – to purge the voter rolls," Justin Levitt (D), a Professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and a Former DOJ Official in the Obama and Biden Administrations said: “The courts aren’t buying what the Department of Justice is selling." So far 23 mostly Republican-led states Provided the Voter Information. But Officials in many States Refused, Citing Privacy Laws against Ssharing the Personal Information, and the Lack of Federal Authority Over the Lists. The DOJ then Sued 30 States and the District of Columbia for the Unredacted Lists.
Fifteen U.S. District Court judges, Nine Appointed by Republicans, including Seven Appointed by Trump, and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, have Rejected the Demands as Unlawful. “The government's request is unprecedented and illegal,” U.S. District Judge David Carter in Los Angeles said in One of the Earliest Decisions, issued 1/15/2026. “It is not for the Executive, or even this Court to authorize the use of civil rights legislation as a tool to forsake the privacy rights of millions of Americans. That power belongs solely to Congress.”
The Constitution Provides that States determine the "Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections." “As a former DOJ attorney, the idea of going 0-15 in cases – you can’t even wrap your head around it,” said David Becker, a Former Senior Trial Attorney for the Voting Section of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division saids.
West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner (R) said He Agrees with the Goal of Policing Voter Rolls, but that Turning Over Sensitive Voter Data would Violate State Law. He Noted that the judge found "no indication" that West Virginia had a Problem with its Maintenance of Voter Registration Lists.
Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane (R) told Federal Officials in 12/2025, He Recognized the DOJ’s Authority under the Civil Rights Act to Request Election-Related Records. But in 2/2026, McGrane said Hhe Learned from Another Lawsuit about the Transmission of Personally Identifiable Information Outside Approved Channels.
The DOJ Acknowledged in a Court Filing 1/16/2026. that Members of a Trump Advisory Group called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) got Access to Social Security Administration Information in 3/2025, Contrary to previous Denials. An Political Advocacy Group asked Two of the DOGE Members to Analyze State Voter Rolls with a Goal of Finding "voter fraud and to overturn election results in certain States," the DOJ said in the Filing. “While I appreciate the Department’s representations that Idaho’s data will be safeguarded, I cannot take that now-apparent risk in the absence of clear legal duty to do so,” McGrane wrote.
Despite Trump's Demands to Check State Voter Rolls for Fraud, Studies have Found Few Examples of Non-Citizens Voting, presumably because the Documentation Required to Vote is also what would make it Easy to be Charged Criminally. "This notion that noncitizens are voting in large quantities is fiction," said Levitt, the Former DOJ Election Lawyer. "You are leaving a trail of criminal behavior that is going to be discovered."
Federal Authorities cite a Handful of recent Examples in Pending Cases. Two Pakistani Men were Charged in New Jersey for Allegedly Attesting to being U.S. citizens when they Registered to Vote and then Cast Ballots in the 2020 Election. A Lawful Permanent Resident from Australia was Charged in Louisiana with making False Statements and Fraudulent Voting in 2022 and 2024. And a Chinese Student at the University of Michigan was Charged with Registering to Vote using a Student ID and Voting in the 2024 Election, before Jumping Bail and Flying back to China, Officials said.
“Illegal voting is a serious crime that cast doubt on our elections and serves to disenfranchise United States citizens by diluting their power at the ballot box," U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon in Michigan said of the Chinese Suspect. Following Trump’s 7/16/2026 Speech, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said more than 250,000 Non-Citizens were Illegally Registered to Vote in Four States: California New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. But the Department didn’t Document how it Arrived at that Estimate. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (R) sent Letters 7/17/2026 to Election Officials in the Four States, urging them to Check Voter Rolls in the Federal SAVE Database. At a News Conference, He Threatened Criminal Penalties for Officials who Don’t Secure their Elections.
“If the election officials, once we gave them the information that they need to secure their elections and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time," Mullin said. Dhillon, Earlier this Month, sent Letters to Election Officials in all 50 States Threatening Criminal Investigations of Election Officials if Non-Citizens are found to have Voted in the 2026 Election. Federal Monitors are being sent to Six States: Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia, Dhillon said in a Social Media Video 7/8/2026. "An intentional act that is aimed at diluting the votes of citizens could also constitute a violation" of Federal Law, Dhillon said.
Henderson (R-UT), Responded to "threats of criminal prosecution" on Social Media 7/7/2026 as "truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights." States Documented how much they already Police their Voter Rolls, and how Small the Problem of Non-Citizens Voting is. In Utah, a yearlong Audit of Voter Registration released in 5/2026 found 27 Non-Citizens who were Removed from Voter Rolls out of more than 2 million Voters. Eight Non-Citizens Voted in the 2020 Election and Four in 2018 and 2024.
In Idaho, State Officials worked with Federal Authorities to Verify the Citizenship of 1.1 million Registered Voters before the 2024 Election. State Officials referred 34 People for Criminal Investigation of Non-Citizen Registration or Voting, but None had Voted in the Primary or General Elections that year. Another 15 Cases were Referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 8/2025 for Possible Prosecution. Texas began Routinely Auditing County Voter Rolls in 2021. After the 2022 Election, an Audit of Harris County, which includes Houston and had nearly 2.6 million Registered Voters, removed 1,136 Non-Citizens. After the 2024 Election, an Audit of Val Verde County, which sits along the Border with Mexico, and had 30,000 Registered Voters, found One Non-Citizen who was Removed.
Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry (R) Announced that Checking State Voter Lists Dating to the 1980s against DHS's SAVE Database Revealed 390 None-Citizens who Registered to Vote and 79 who Cast a Ballot in at least One Eelection. The State has about 2.9 million Voters.
Trump Administration has Paused Certain Features in the SAVE system, to Comply with the 6/22/2026 Ruling, Preventing State and Local Election Officials from Performing Bulk Searches or Using Voters’ Social Security Numbers as Search Criteria.
A Federal judge on 6/13/2026 Blocked the Trump Administration’s Overhaul of an Immigration Verification System to Check Voter Eligibility Across the Nation, striking down a Central Pillar of the Government’s Efforts to Exercise more Federal Control over Elections.
The Judge cited Texas’ use of the SAVE Database, which Flagged Several Voters who were Actually Citizens as Non-Citizens, as Evidence that it Threatened both Privacy and Voting Rights, less than Five Months before the November Midterm Election.
“The federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote,” Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said inHher 75-page Ruling. “This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens.”
Michael H. Drucker
