The Justice Department filed federal lawsuits Tuesday against six states for refusing to provide their statewide voter registration rolls, escalating a growing confrontation over election transparency and states’ compliance with federal law.
The suits target Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, all states led by Democrat governors and legislatures.
The complaints, filed by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, accuse the states of violating three separate federal statutes designed to ensure accurate voter rolls and public access to election records.
According to the Justice Department, the states failed to meet their legal obligations under the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
Each of these laws requires states to maintain accurate voter registration lists and make those records available for federal inspection.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the states’ refusal to disclose voter lists threatens the transparency and accountability that federal election laws were created to protect.
“Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,” Bondi said in a statement announcing the lawsuits.
“The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards,” she added.
The Justice Department says it formally requested the current, statewide voter registration roll from each of the six states and did not receive the required records.
In each lawsuit, federal officials argue that Congress gave the attorney general clear authority to demand the production, inspection and analysis of voter registration data to ensure compliance with federal law.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said the department is ramping up enforcement efforts ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
“Our federal elections laws ensure every American citizen may vote freely and fairly,” Dhillon said.
“States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results,” she added.
“At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws.”
The Justice Department says the lawsuits are part of a broader effort to enforce voter registration transparency requirements that Congress put in place to ensure public confidence in election administration.
The National Voter Registration Act requires states to maintain accurate voter lists and produce them upon request.
The Help America Vote Act mandates states modernize and safeguard voter registration systems.
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 authorizes the government to inspect and copy certain election records, including voter rolls.
Federal officials have increasingly pressed states on voter roll compliance issues in recent years, arguing that transparency around registration lists is essential to maintaining accurate records, preventing administrative errors and ensuring voters have confidence in election outcomes.
The Justice Department says the six states named in these new suits have repeatedly failed to meet the department’s requests.
The cases will now move forward in federal court, where judges could order the states to turn over the voter lists, impose compliance deadlines or issue injunctions requiring adherence to federal law.
Election law disputes over voter roll access and maintenance have escalated nationwide as states prepare for the 2026 midterms.
The department says it will “continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply” and has left open the possibility of additional lawsuits.
