The Justice Department's lawsuits for states' voter rolls

Gone quiet · last story Jul 28, 2026

What this arc covers

The Justice Department's lawsuits since September 2025 against states that refused to hand over voter-roll data, which reached 18 states, and the federal judges who dismissed the suits against California, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona, New Mexico and New Jersey.

United States Department of Justice

Earliest story we hold Sep 17, 2025 · 11 stories · 54 independent sources (counted once each) · 314 days

Part ofUnited States Department of JusticeMassachusettsDemocratic PartyJoe BidenMaineArizonaMikie SherrillMinnesota

Part of Trump and elections

  1. The SAVE Act in Congress, the bill to require proof of citizenship to voteJul 10, 2024 – Aug 8, 2026
  2. Trump's orders to require proof of citizenship and limit mail votingMar 25, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026
  3. The Justice Department's lawsuits for states' voter rollsThis arcSep 17, 2025 – Jul 28, 2026
  4. The Supreme Court case over counting mail ballots that arrive after Election DayNov 10, 2025 – Jun 29, 2026
  5. The FBI's seizure of Fulton County's 2020 election ballotsJan 28 – Jul 7, 2026

Where it standsnewest first · each bar runs left to right by leaning

Jul 28– 312026Judge rejects DOJ request for access to unredacted NJ voter rolls18 articles · 13 independent sources
3 left, 1 center, 8 right
Jul 14– 152026Federal judge dismisses DOJ demand for unredacted New Mexico voter data5 articles · 5 independent sources
1 left, 4 center, 0 right
Apr 292026Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against Arizona seeking voter data8 articles · 8 independent sources
1 left, 3 center, 3 right

Key momentsthe most covered; every story is below

  1. Sep 17 – 18, 2025DOJ suing Oregon and Maine as it seeks voter data in multiple states17 articles · 13 independent sources
  2. Sep 25 – 26, 2025Justice Department sues six more states in push for voter data25 articles · 13 independent sources
  3. Sep 25, 2025DOJ sues Minnesota for refusing to hand over voter rolls9 articles · 9 independent sources
  4. Feb 10 – 11, 2026Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking Michigan's voter roll data13 articles · 13 independent sources
  5. Jul 28 – 31, 2026Judge rejects DOJ request for access to unredacted NJ voter rolls18 articles · 13 independent sources
    1. Jul 28, 2026Mikie Sherrill refuses to provide DOJ with info about the 6,600 non-citizens erroneously registered to vote in New Jersey
    2. Jul 29, 2026DOJ demanded data from the N.J. noncitizen voters. Gov. Mikie Sherrill said no.
    3. Jul 29, 2026Only right-leaning coverage:Democrat governor DEFIES DOJ investigation into noncitizen voting — DOJ vows to press on
    4. Jul 29, 2026Federal judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit over New Jersey voter rolls

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

Sep 15Nov 17Jan 19Mar 23May 25Jul 27

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Every week as a table
Week ofLeftCenterRightArticles
Sep 15, 202543217
Sep 22, 202535434
Dec 1, 20250218
Dec 8, 20251207
Jan 12, 20263118
Feb 9, 202642613
Apr 6, 20263117
Apr 27, 20261338
Jul 13, 20261405
Jul 27, 202631818

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

37% left · 33% center · 30% right of 54 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 11 stories.

Every storyoldest first

  1. September 2025

    Sep 17– 18DOJ suing Oregon and Maine as it seeks voter data in multiple states17 articles · 13 independent sources
    4 left, 3 center, 2 right
  2. Sep 25– 26Justice Department sues six more states in push for voter data25 articles · 13 independent sources
    2 left, 4 center, 3 right
  3. Sep 25DOJ sues Minnesota for refusing to hand over voter rolls9 articles · 9 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 1 right

  4. December 2025

    Dec 3DOJ sues additional states for not handing over voter data8 articles · 3 independent sources
    0 left, 2 center, 1 right
  5. Dec 12The Justice Department has now sued 18 states in an effort to access voter data7 articles · 7 independent sources
    1 left, 2 center, 0 right

  6. January 2026

    Jan 16A federal judge dismisses the DOJ's effort to get voter data from California8 articles · 8 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 1 right

  7. February 2026

    Feb 10– 11Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking Michigan's voter roll data13 articles · 13 independent sources
    4 left, 2 center, 6 right

  8. April 2026

    Apr 10A federal judge dismisses another DOJ lawsuit seeking voter data, this time in Massachusetts7 articles · 7 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 1 right
  9. Apr 29Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against Arizona seeking voter data8 articles · 8 independent sources
    1 left, 3 center, 3 right

  10. July 2026

    Jul 14– 15Federal judge dismisses DOJ demand for unredacted New Mexico voter data5 articles · 5 independent sources
    1 left, 4 center, 0 right
  11. Jul 28– 31Judge rejects DOJ request for access to unredacted NJ voter rolls18 articles · 13 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 8 right