Illinois DOJ Voter Data Access Challenge
United States of America v. Matthews
An anti-voting lawsuit seeking to compel Illinois to provide the DOJ with access to its complete statewide voter registration database.
Background
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Bernadette Matthews, the executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, for refusing to turn over Illinois’ complete, unredacted statewide voter registration list. In August, the DOJ demanded the complete voter file — including voters’ full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and either driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers — as part of a nationwide investigation into alleged non-compliance with federal voter list-maintenance requirements under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and Help America Vote Act (HAVA). According to the lawsuit, Matthews refused to provide the requested data. The DOJ argues this refusal violates Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. § 20703) and is asking the court to order production of the complete voter records.
Why It Matters
This marks the latest escalation in the DOJ’s efforts to obtain sensitive voter registration data from states across the country. In recent months, the DOJ has intensified its demands for voter information as part of a broader, politically charged push aimed at pressuring states to remove voters from the rolls and advancing the Trump administration’s unfounded claims of widespread illegal voting. The DOJ has now sued 24 states, plus Washington, D.C. — California, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Massachusetts, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Arizona, Virginia and Washington — all of which have refused to hand over unredacted voter files containing highly sensitive personal information.
Latest Updates
- Dec. 22, 2025: The Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, and Illinois Federation of Teachers filed a motion to intervene as defendants.
- Dec. 18, 2025: DOJ filed its complaint and a motion to compel production of records.