US Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Force MI to Hand Over Voter Rolls

A U.S. Appeals Court on 6/24/2026 Upheld a Court Order Blocking the Justice Department (DOJ) from Obtaining Michigan's Voter Rolls, Dealing a Blow to the Trump (R) Administration's Push to Boost the Federal Government's Role in Elections.

The Decision from the Cincinnati Based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, comes as Trump's Republicans are Locked in a Tight Battle to Maintain Control of Both Houses of Congress in the 11/3/2026 Midterm Elections.

The U.S. Constitution Assigns Individual States the Responsibility of Administering Federal Elections, though the Federal Government has some Oversight Authority. Trump, who Maintains His False Claim that His 2020 Election Loss was due to Fraud, has long Asserted that States are Nnot doing Enough to Prevent Ineligible People from Casting Ballots. He has said Republicans should "Nationalize" and "Take Oover" Voting. After a New Recount of GA's Election, Trump Lost by a Bigger Margin.

The DOJ Sued 30 States and the District-of-Columbia, to try to Force them to Turn-Over their Polls, arguing it needs the Unredacted Lists to Determine whether the States are doing enough to Remove Ineligible Voters from their Rolls. The DOJ has so far Lost each Case that has been Decided at the Trial Court Level.

In the Michigan Case, U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou (I), appointed by Trump, said the Voter Rolls were Not among the Documents that the Federal Government had the Right to Demand from States under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The Law, Passed to Combat Racial Discrimination at a Time when Southern States were Destroying Black Americans' Voter Registration Records to Cover-Up Disenfranchisement, Requires States to Preserve such Records. In Appealing the Case, the DOJ called Jarbou's Reading of the Law "Novel and Incorrect."

Lawyers for Michigan said Jarbou Correctly Distinguished between Mmaterials Voters Submit to the State, which they said the Federal Government may Demand, and Records like Voter Rolls Created by the State itself, which they said were Not Covered by the Civil Rights Act.

Voting Rights Activists have Expressed Concern that the Trump Administration, is seeking to Compare States' Voter Rolls with other Sources of Data,to Purge People it believes are Not Citizens. They say that Risks Disenfranchising some Voters, because those Data Sources may Not have Up-to-Date Information on whether Previously Ineligible Immigrants have since become Naturalized Citizens.










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