Trump DOJ responds to DNC lawsuit, offers no records on ballot seizure plans

The Trump administration Monday filed its response to the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) lawsuit seeking records about any plans to seize or inspect ballots, voting machines or other election materials during the 2026 midterms.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) 13-page answer did not deny that the Trump administration has considered such plans, identify whether responsive records exist or offer a timeline for producing them. 

Instead, DOJ denied that it violated federal open records law and argued that portions of the DNC’s lawsuit describing the risks of federal ballot seizures are irrelevant to the case.

DOJ acknowledged that the FBI and the department’s Criminal Division received the DNC’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in February. The FBI denied its request in March, saying it was not specific enough, and the DNC appealed the decision the following month. 

DOJ acknowledged that, as of the filing of the lawsuit, the FBI had not communicated further about the appeal and had not released any records.

The department similarly confessed that its Criminal Division, Civil Rights Division and Office of Information Policy had not released any records in response to the other request. DOJ said those offices had only sent letters acknowledging receipt of the request.

DOJ also rejected the DNC’s allegations describing the potential consequences of federal agents seizing election materials before results are certified. Across several paragraphs, the department called that background “immaterial and impertinent” to the open records dispute and said the allegations should be struck from the complaint.

The department raised five defenses to the lawsuit, including that it has not unlawfully withheld records and that some requested materials could be exempt from disclosure under FOIA or other federal law. DOJ also said the case should be dismissed to the extent the DNC’s requests do not reasonably describe the records sought, would be unduly burdensome to process or otherwise fail to satisfy FOIA’s requirements.

The DNC said DOJ violated open records laws by failing to respond to the requests, which were initially submitted after federal agents raided an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia, in January and seized archived 2020 ballots. 

Democrats on August 20 asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., to force DOJ to comply with the FOIA requirements to “ensure that the American people obtain timely knowledge of potential threats to free and fair elections and to enable the DNC to take appropriate action to ensure voting rights are protected.”

DOJ tried to delay its reply by a month, which would have pushed the issue to late October just before the election, but the request was denied by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Earlier this year, the DNC similarly sued the Trump administration for records regarding plans to send federal agents to polling locations, drop boxes and election offices this election cycle. Among the revelations in records provided so far is a Department of Homeland Security “checklist” for law enforcement on “voter integrity” that Democrats are seeking more information on.