A federal judge on Monday rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s effort to compel Maryland to surrender its full, unredacted statewide voter registration database, handing a victory to state officials and Democratic-aligned groups that opposed the request on privacy grounds.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher dismissed the DOJ’s claims with prejudice, denied its motion to compel production of the data, and rejected the government’s interpretation of federal election statutes.
The ruling marks the ninth time courts have blocked similar demands from the DOJ for complete voter files from multiple states.
The case centered on a July 2025 letter from the DOJ requesting Maryland’s entire voter registration list, which includes names, residential addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.
Maryland Election Administrator Jared DeMarinis questioned the legal basis for the request.
The DOJ followed up in August 2025, citing the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and Help America Vote Act (HAVA) as authority to ensure compliance, particularly regarding potential non-citizen registrations.
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DeMarinis maintained that those laws do not grant the federal government access to the state’s confidential voter data. In December 2025, the DOJ sued DeMarinis in federal court.
During a June 10, 2026 hearing, DOJ attorneys argued the executive branch could demand the list without further judicial approval and share it with the Department of Homeland Security to identify non-citizens on the rolls.
Maryland officials countered that elections are administered by states under the Constitution and that releasing the sensitive data would violate voter privacy protections.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause, and other groups intervened in the case to defend the privacy interests of Maryland voters.
In her ruling, Judge Gallagher wrote that the DOJ’s proposed reading of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 would create an “absurd result,” potentially criminalizing the very voter list maintenance that states are required to perform under the NVRA and HAVA. The court found no statutory authorization for the broad demand.
“Someone has to stand up for the rights of Maryland voters,” DeMarinis said prior to the ruling. “Maryland voters shouldn’t have this fear of undue harassment.”
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The decision drew strong support from groups that joined the litigation. Joanne Antoine, Maryland executive director of Common Cause, called it “a massive victory for voter privacy and a rejection of federal overreach.”
Carl Snowden, a voter intervenor with the Caucus of African American Leaders, said the ruling protects the right to vote without unnecessary obstacles.
A joint statement from the plaintiff organizations and counsel described the DOJ’s effort as an attempt to build an “unprecedented and unlawful national voter database” that could chill voter participation.
They argued the federal government failed to adequately explain its need for the data or its intended uses.
The DOJ has not yet commented publicly on Monday’s ruling. Similar lawsuits and requests targeting other states have been rejected by federal courts, according to the ACLU, which has tracked the cases.
Republicans, including the Trump administration, have prioritized efforts to remove non-citizens from voter rolls and improve list accuracy, arguing that loose maintenance practices risk ineligible voting.
Democrats and voting rights groups counter that such demands risk exposing sensitive personal data to hacking or misuse and represent federal intrusion into state responsibilities.
