The Justice Department said Tuesday that is suing two states over their refusal to turn over complete voters rolls to the Trump administration – escalating a conflict between the federal government and some state election officials that has been building for months.
Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced the legal action against Maine and Oregon.
“States simply cannot pick and choose which federal laws they will comply with, including our voting laws, which ensure that all American citizens have equal access to the ballot in federal elections,” Dhillon said in a statement. “American citizens have a right to feel confident in the integrity of our electoral process, and the refusal of certain states to protect their citizens against vote dilution will result in legal consequences.”
Election officials across the country have rebuffed requests from DOJ to deliver unredacted copies of the voting rolls – which include dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers – citing privacy concerns. The unusual requests have raised concerns among some election officials of federal overreach, given that states have the primary authority under the Constitution to carry out elections.
The DOJ push also comes as President Donald Trump has attempted to assert a larger federal role in elections ahead of next year’s midterms, which are set to determine which party controls Congress during his last two years in the White House.
His administration has taken extraordinary steps to change the ground rules of the 2026 elections, including encouraging Republican-controlled states to undertake a rare, mid-decade redistricting to help eke out more House seats for the GOP. Missouri’s legislature last week became the second to redraw its congressional lines. Democrats in California have responded with their own redistricting push.
Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority in the US House.
In a statement Tuesday, Oregon’s Democratic Secretary of State Tobias Read indicated he would not yield to the administration’s demand for voters’ personal information.
“If the President wants to use the DOJ to go after his political opponents and undermine our elections, I look forward to seeing them in court,” Read said. “I stand by my oath to the people of Oregon, and I will protect their rights and privacy.”
Maine’s Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said it “is absurd that the Department of Justice is targeting our state when Republican and Democratic Secretaries all across the country are fighting back against this federal abuse of power just like we are.”
The Department of Justice said the states also refused to share other information sought by the agency, including data it has on ineligible voters.
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