RESEARCH: U.S. Election Security Developments and Court Rulings on Voting Administration

Summary

In the most recent reporting window, the Justice Department has escalated its pursuit of state voter registration data, filing lawsuits against 29 states and the District of Columbia, with federal district courts dismissing suits against California, Michigan, and Oregon. The White House released declassified documents concerning election integrity matters, including claims about voter data compromises and registration investigations. Concurrently, the DOJ and DHS announced ongoing joint enforcement actions related to election integrity under Executive Order 14248.

Key Developments

• 2026-03-06 — The State Democracy Research Initiative reported that the Justice Department is suing 29 states plus the District of Columbia for sensitive voter data; federal district courts have dismissed DOJ lawsuits against California, Michigan, and Oregon, holding federal law does not require states to turn over the data, with the California court also finding the demands violate federal privacy laws; DOJ has appealed all three decisions. State Democracy Research Initiative
• 2026-03-06 — The Justice Department had filed lawsuits against 24 states and D.C. to compel production of complete voter registration lists; states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin were named; a similar case was pursued against Orange County, California. State Democracy Research Initiative
• 2025-12-19 — The DOJ and DHS Civil Rights Division maintained an ongoing record of nationwide enforcement actions to safeguard election integrity, including lawsuits against states for failure to produce voter rolls and investigations related to noncitizen voting under Executive Order 14248. The White House
• 2025-03-25 — The DOJ demanded complete, unredacted voter registration lists from states beginning in spring 2025; only 10 states—including Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wyoming—had provided full lists or indicated plans to do so as of the report's publication. State Democracy Research Initiative
• 2026-03-06 — The White House published declassified documents alleging China acquired 220 million U.S. voter files over a period starting during the 2020 election cycle, and that a DHS review identified approximately 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections. The White House
• 2026-03-06 — The White House released declassified documents regarding the Maricopa County data breach, alleging a self-described hacker obtained 633,000 voter registration files before the 2020 election, and documents related to the "Oxferd Comma" and "March Toll" FBI investigations. The White House

Sources

• State Democracy Research Initiative
• The White House
• Congress.gov CRS Product LSB11368
• Congress.gov CRS Product LSB11244