A federal judge has handed a partial victory to a government watchdog group seeking to uncover the details of a massive, quiet effort by the Department of Justice to compile sensitive data on millions of American voters.
In a memorandum opinion issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the DOJ must expedite its response to records requests from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The group is investigating what it describes as an “unprecedented” push by the federal government to assemble a national voter database containing Social Security numbers, home addresses, and citizenship status.
The legal battle stems from Executive Order 14,248, signed by President Trump last spring. The order directed federal agencies to scrutinize state voter records to root out suspected illegal voting by non-citizens. CREW alleges the DOJ has since pressured state officials to hand over “unredacted” files, in some cases using aggressive tactics that local leaders have likened to “blackmail.”
A “Current Exigency”
While the DOJ argued that it should be allowed to process these requests on its usual “first-in, first-out” schedule, the court disagreed. Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted that with the 2026 primary elections already beginning in some states, the public has a right to know how their data is being used before they head to the polls.
“Because the election cycle is inherently time-limited, delaying a response… would inevitably compromise the public’s interest in understanding the nature of the allegedly ongoing effort,” the judge wrote.
The court highlighted several key areas of concern raised by the watchdog group:
- The “SAVE” Overhaul: Recent changes to a federal database now allow agencies to check the citizenship status of birth-born U.S. citizens using only a driver’s license or Social Security number.
- Pressure Tactics: Allegations that the Attorney General linked federal law enforcement support in Minnesota to the state’s willingness to turn over voter rolls.
- Privacy Risks: The centralization of sensitive, private data from nearly every state into a single federal agency.
Compromise on Pace
While the judge agreed the matter was urgent, she stopped short of granting CREW’s request to force the DOJ to process 5,000 pages of documents per month. The DOJ argued such a pace would “significantly compromise” its ability to handle thousands of other pending requests.
Instead of setting a hard page count, the court ordered both sides to sit down and figure out which categories of records are the most urgent. The parties must submit a joint progress report by March 20, 2026.
The ruling follows a string of recent setbacks for the DOJ’s voter data initiative. Federal courts in California, Oregon, and Michigan have already dismissed government lawsuits against states that refused to hand over their data, with some judges warning that the federal government may be overstepping its constitutional bounds.
For now, the DOJ is required to move CREW’s request to the front of the line, ensuring that at least some of the “national voter roll” secrets become public while the 2026 election season is still in full swing.
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