A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking access to Arizona’s detailed voter registration records, delivering yet another legal defeat to the Department of Justice in its sweeping nationwide effort to collect sensitive voter data from states across the country.
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The Ruling
U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, notably a Trump appointee herself, ruled that Arizona’s statewide voter registration list is not a document that the Attorney General is legally entitled to request under federal law. The ruling was issued on Tuesday and came as a significant blow to the administration’s legal strategy.
The judge dismissed the case with prejudice — meaning it cannot be refiled or amended — writing in her 13-page opinion that any attempt to refile would be “legally futile.” Her decision strikes at the very foundation of the DOJ’s legal argument, which had relied on a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 requiring states to preserve and produce certain election-related records upon federal request. Judge Brnovich determined that this provision applies only to documents submitted directly by voters, such as individual registration forms — not to statewide databases created and maintained by election officials.
What Data the DOJ Was Seeking
The Justice Department had sued Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes after he declined a federal request made the previous summer. The DOJ later clarified the scope of data it wanted: voters’ full names, dates of birth, home addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
Federal officials framed the request as a routine compliance check, saying they needed the data to verify that states were properly maintaining their voter rolls and removing ineligible voters in accordance with federal law. However, in a separate case involving Rhode Island, DOJ attorneys acknowledged that the administration intended to run voter data through a Department of Homeland Security database to identify any noncitizens registered to vote — raising broader concerns about how the information would ultimately be used.
Arizona’s Response
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes welcomed the ruling, calling it a win for voter privacy and making clear he had no intention of complying with what he described as illegal federal demands that put Arizona voters at risk.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes joined Fontes in applauding the decision. Together, they stated that the ruling vindicated Arizona’s refusal to hand over the data and reaffirmed that the state’s voter database contains the sensitive personal information of millions of residents deserving full legal protection. Both officials pledged to continue defending Arizona voters against what they characterized as federal overreach.
A Growing Pattern of Legal Losses for the DOJ
The Arizona dismissal marks the sixth consecutive court loss for the Justice Department in its effort to compel states to hand over voter roll data. Courts in California, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island had already dismissed similar cases before Tuesday’s ruling.
The DOJ has made voter data requests to virtually every state in the country, citing its mandate to ensure compliance with federal election laws including the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act. When states refused, the department escalated to litigation — suing at least 30 states and the District of Columbia. Despite this aggressive legal push, the DOJ has not secured a single favorable ruling in any of the cases it has pursued to date.
States That Complied vs. States That Refused
The country remains sharply divided on this issue. At least 13 states — largely Republican-controlled — have either already provided or pledged to provide their detailed voter registration data to the federal government. Those states include Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
By contrast, Arizona has now joined at least six other states — California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island — in successfully fighting back against the administration’s data demands in court. Democratic and some Republican officials in those states have argued that complying would violate both state and federal privacy protections.
What Happens Next
It remains unclear whether the Justice Department will appeal the Arizona ruling. Because the case was dismissed with prejudice, the administration cannot simply refile the same lawsuit in the same court. The DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the decision.
The broader legal battle over voter data access continues to play out in courtrooms across the country. With no wins and six losses so far, the Trump administration faces an increasingly difficult legal road ahead as it pushes to expand federal access to state-controlled election records.
Last updated: April 30, 2025
