ACLU Fights DOJ Overreach to Protect Voter Privacy and Sensitive Data
The ACLU is leading a nationwide legal response to aggressive actions by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking to compel states to hand over sensitive, private voter data.
In lawsuits across more than twenty jurisdictions, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has demanded full, unredacted voter rolls鈥攊ncluding names, addresses, dates of birth, driver鈥檚 license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers鈥攚ithout clear explanation of how this sensitive data will be used or protected. These actions by the DOJ pose a profound threat to the privacy and security of voters鈥� personal information and risk its misuse by the federal government for mass disenfranchisement.
To stop these federal overreach efforts, the ACLU 鈥� representing voters and civil rights groups 鈥� moved to intervene or appeared as a 鈥渇riend of the court鈥� in over a dozen cases beginning in October 2025. The DOJ鈥檚 requests are unjustified, undermine state privacy protections, and could be used to justify aggressive voter roll challenges or purges that disenfranchise eligible voters. Across the country, ACLU attorneys are working to block or dismiss these demands and protect voters鈥� sensitive personal information.
By defending voter data against unwarranted federal collection, the ACLU aims to ensure that voters can participate in elections without fear that their information will be misused, exposed to hackers, or weaponized to repress turnout. These coordinated legal actions reaffirm the principle that states鈥攁nd voters themselves鈥攕hould control sensitive electoral information, not the federal government acting beyond its authority.
Learn more about our legal interventions and 鈥渇riend-of-court鈥� filings in: