DOJ’s Anti-Democratic Demand for State Voter Rolls Threatens Fair Elections

Since taking office earlier this year, the Trump administration and the Department of Justice have dedicated significant resources to undermining states’ abilities to run free and fair elections. Part of these efforts includes filing federal lawsuits against various states, including Michigan, for not complying with the department’s request to produce their statewide voter lists. 

As someone who has spent more than a decade working in Michigan’s election systems, I have learned that democracy relies on trust. When I served as the state’s first Election Security Specialist with our Department of State, I helped strengthen our election safety plan and trained local clerks on how to keep elections safe, free and fair. As a poll worker and later as a co-chairperson in Ingham County, I saw firsthand how much care and accountability go into protecting Michigan’s elections.

That is why the Department of Justice’s recent lawsuit demanding Michigan’s full, unredacted voter rolls deeply concerns me. The department claims it needs the data to enforce federal election law, but the scope of the request raises serious concerns. It seeks voters’ full names, home addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. Michigan already provides a public version of its voter file that satisfies federal requirements while also protecting voters’ privacy. Handing over unfiltered data would undermine state law and public confidence. Once that information leaves Michigan’s control, there is no assurance it will remain secure or that it will not be used for political purposes.

Michigan politicians are adding fuel to the fire. Aric Nesbitt, the minority leader of the Michigan Senate and a Republican candidate for governor, last week asked the Department of Justice to deploy “election monitors” to the state — a request that exacerbates existing fears that the Trump administration could try to use the federal government to take control of next year’s elections. 

To be clear, this lawsuit is not only about Michigan. The Department of Justice has made similar demands of other states, including Pennsylvania and Arizona. Together, these cases suggest a broader pattern of federal overreach into our elections that threatens the constitutional balance between state and federal authority. Elections have always been run by the states for a reason. 

Since 2020, political forces aligned with President Donald Trump have worked to create distrust in elections and then use that distrust to justify restrictive policies, despite having little to no evidence to support their claims.

Local election officials know their voters, their processes, and their communities. When Washington seeks to control that process, it endangers the very checks and balances that were created to preserve our democracy.

Since 2020, political forces aligned with President Donald Trump have worked to create distrust in elections and then use that distrust to justify restrictive policies, despite having little to no evidence to support their claims. Now, these same forces are trying to use government institutions under the guise of strengthening our elections to gain access to sensitive voter information ahead of a critical midterm election in 2026. 

The potential harm of these lawsuits is clear. Full access to unredacted voter data could enable large-scale voter challenges, false claims of fraud, and new attempts to impose proof-of-citizenship and other burdensome requirements that disenfranchise eligible voters. These tactics have long been used to suppress participation, particularly among communities of color, students, and working-class voters. Their goal is clear: To create fear while undermining trust in our elections, and then use that fear to restrict access to the ballot. 

Michigan’s election system works. Our clerks maintain accurate voter rolls, follow rigorous verification procedures, and meet some of the nation’s highest security standards. These professionals, regardless of their political party affiliation, take pride in serving their communities. The Department of Justice’s meddling in Michigan’s elections will not improve that system. It will weaken it by eroding voters’ trust and stripping power from those closest to the process.

At All Voting Is Local, we work every day to protect access to the ballot and strengthen trust in the democratic process. We partner with clerks, community leaders and advocates across Michigan to ensure that every voter can participate without fear — regardless of their political beliefs. That mission depends on one thing above all else: trust that our government will protect the rights and privacy of the people it serves. Protecting voter privacy is not a partisan issue. It is a democratic one. 

---

Ashiya Brown is All Voting is Local’s Michigan State Director. She most recently served as the first-ever election security specialist for the Michigan Department of State, Bureau of Elections. In her role, she was dedicated to coordinating Michigan’s overall election security plan and working with state and federal partners to assess, train, and communicate with local election officials on election security best practices.