Oregon DOJ Voter Data Access Challenge

An anti-voting lawsuit seeking to compel Oregon to provide the DOJ with access to its statewide voter registration data.

Background

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Oregon and Secretary of State Tobias Read (D) for refusing to provide information regarding voter list maintenance procedures and statewide voter registration lists. In a July 16 letter, the DOJ requested detailed information on Oregon’s voter list maintenance practices, a complete unredacted copy of the statewide voter registration list, and data on ineligible voters. Read declined to provide the full unredacted records, offering instead only the voter data that is available through a public-records request. The DOJ contends that this refusal violates the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, and it is asking the court to compel Oregon to turn over the full statewide voter registration list and list maintenance information.

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. On the same day it sued Oregon, the DOJ also filed a lawsuit against Maine for refusing to provide an unredacted statewide voter registration list. 

Latest Updates

• Sept. 16, 2025: The DOJ filed its complaint.