DOJ Jumps Into Another Anti-Voting Lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest Tuesday in a federal lawsuit challenging how Illinois manages its voter registration rolls.

The lawsuit, brought by right-wing organizations including Judicial Watch, alleges that the state is violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by not doing enough to remove from its rolls ineligible voters, such as people who have died or moved.

In its statement, DOJ emphasized that states are ultimately responsible for complying with the NVRA  —  and cannot delegate that responsibility to local election officials.

The DOJ’s interest centers on key provisions of the NVRA, which require every state to make a “reasonable effort” to remove ineligible voters and to publicly share records about how they do it. The DOJ says the law puts that responsibility squarely on the state, not counties or cities.

“The NVRA ‘speaks in terms of the responsibilities of ‘each state,’” the DOJ wrote, arguing that states must actively run these voter roll programs, rather than rely on local officials to carry them out. “A failure to act entirely is neither rational nor sensible.”

The DOJ referenced data suggesting that some local jurisdictions in Illinois may not be reporting any removal activity at all — raising questions about whether the state is meeting its duty to maintain accurate voter rolls. According to the plaintiffs, 11 counties reported zero removals over a two-year period, while dozens of others reported incomplete or missing data.

Illinois argues that it is not responsible for the actions, or inactions, of local election officials. In a motion to dismiss the case, the State Board of Elections said that under Illinois law, voter registration and list maintenance are handled by local authorities.

The state asked the court to dismiss the case entirely, claiming the plaintiffs lack standing and have not alleged a valid violation of federal law.

A hearing on the state’s motion to dismiss is scheduled for July 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article included a quotation attributed to the Illinois State Board of Elections. It was a paraphrase that was mistakenly placed in quotation marks. The article has been updated to reflect the state’s position without using quotation marks. We regret the error.