Judge Rejects Trump Admin’s Voter Data Request in Arizona

A federal judge has ruled against the Justice Department’s attempt to obtain Arizona’s voter registration list. The decision, made by U. S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, sided with the state’s Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, saying that Title III of the Civil Rights Act does not give the Attorney General a right to the statewide voter list. The judge noted that the question is legal, not political. Arizona officials welcomed the ruling, stressing that the data requested contains personal details of millions of voters and that the state has acted properly to protect privacy. They said they will keep defending voter confidentiality from federal pressure. This outcome adds to a growing pattern: the Justice Department has lost several cases over state voter data, including in California, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In each case, the department claimed it needed the information to check compliance with federal voter‑registration laws.

The department originally asked Arizona for names, birth dates, addresses and either driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers. When the state refused, citing privacy laws, the department filed suit in January. The government has also sued other states and Washington, D. C. , for similar reasons, saying it needs accurate voter rolls. Separately, the Justice Department has considered using voter data to identify non‑citizen registrations by running it through a Homeland Security database. Reports have highlighted a partnership between the department and Homeland Security to use voter lists for immigration and criminal investigations. President Trump has long promoted federal oversight of elections, claiming widespread fraud without evidence, and has urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would require proof of citizenship for registration and ID for voting.

Actions