Full Breakdown
DOJ Pushes Voter-Roll Data Collection Amid Court Block
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: DOJ Seeks Stay of Court Order Halting Voter List Maintenance Policy
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a request to pause the October 9 district-court order that barred its “DOJ Voter List Maintenance Policy.” The filing argues the policy is not a final agency action and therefore should not be subject to review under the Administrative Procedure Act. DOJ seeks a stay pending appeal so it can resume gathering state voter-roll data and cross-checking it with federal databases.
Background & Context
For more than a year, the Justice Department has pursued state voter-roll files under the Trump administration’s focus on preventing noncitizen voting. The effort has produced lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia and has resulted in 26 prior court defeats. Federal judges have ruled that the statutes cited by DOJ—such as the Civil Rights Act—do not give the federal government authority to compel states to turn over unredacted voter lists.
Data & Statistics
- The latest lawsuit against California centers on a list of roughly 20,000 names the Justice Department labels “likely noncitizens.”
- DOJ has charged about 90 individuals for election-related misconduct this year, including 50 alleged noncitizen voters.
- Nationwide, there were over 227 million registered voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Official Statements & Responses
- Judge Sparkle Sooknanan (U.S. District Court, D.C.)
- Secretary of State Shirley Weber (California) called the demand “unprecedented” and based on “unverified information.”
- Attorney General Rob Bonta (California) asked, “What happened to those 170,000?”
- Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter issued a 48-hour deadline, warning that officials who “knowingly facilitate” noncitizen voting could face criminal liability.
Criticism & Opposition
- David Becker, head of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, described the California lawsuit as “fairly frivolous,” noting that a good-faith effort to clean voter rolls would have been undertaken earlier.
On-the-Ground Reports
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan received a password-protected thumb drive containing the alleged list. Logan said his office did not open the device, stating, “We do not consider the device a secure medium,” because it conflicted with data-privacy protocols.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- The Justice Department asserts a “high confidence” multi-agency review identified the 20,000 likely noncitizens, yet California officials say the methodology and underlying data have not been disclosed.
- Federal courts have ruled that the statutes cited by DOJ do not grant authority to compel states to provide unredacted voter rolls, a point the department continues to contest.
Verbatim Quotes
- “DOJ cannot run roughshod over longstanding laws that were carefully crafted to protect the rights of the American people,” — Sparkle Sooknanan
- “If they were seeking to work in good faith to clean up the voter list that they believed had issues, they would have done this months ago in a much different fashion,” — David Becker
- “The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant,” — Trent McCotter
What’s Next
The Justice Department’s request for a stay of the October 9 order will be decided by the district court, determining whether DOJ can resume its voter-roll data collection.