The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a series of lawsuits against four jurisdictions — the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, and Wisconsin — accusing them of failing to comply with federal law by refusing to provide complete voter registration records upon request.
The legal actions, announced this week, mark a significant escalation in the federal government’s effort to enforce election transparency requirements under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
DOJ Says Law Is Clear
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the lawsuits were filed after repeated requests for records went unanswered or were only partially fulfilled.
“The law is clear: states need to give us this information, so we can do our duty to protect American citizens from vote dilution,” Dhillon said.
“Regardless of which party controls a state or locality, the Department of Justice will stand firmly on the side of election integrity and transparency.”
Under federal law, states and local election authorities are required to maintain and make available certain voter registration records to ensure compliance with list-maintenance requirements and prevent ineligible registrations.
Fulton County Revelations Add Pressure
The DOJ’s filings come amid renewed scrutiny of election administration in Georgia, particularly in Fulton County — the state’s largest jurisdiction and the focal point of persistent election integrity disputes since 2020.
Election researcher David Cross recently disclosed findings from a costly public records request involving Fulton County’s 2020 election data. Cross said he paid nearly $16,000 to obtain the records, only to uncover what he described as “systemic noncompliance” with Georgia election law.
According to Cross, 134 tabulator tapes — accounting for approximately 315,000 early votes — lacked legally required poll worker signatures.
“Because no tape was ever legally certified, Fulton County had no lawful authority to certify its advanced voting results to the Secretary of State,” Cross told the Georgia State Election Board.
“Yet it did — and Secretary Raffensperger accepted those uncertified totals into Georgia’s official results.”
Additional Irregularities Alleged
Cross’s review identified several other issues that have raised alarms among election oversight advocates:
- Duplicate scanner serial numbers appearing in multiple precinct records
- Memory cards that did not match assigned voting machines
- Polling locations reporting operational hours as late as 2:09 a.m.
- Missing chain-of-custody documentation for ballot images
- Admission by investigators that some underlying election records were “lost entirely”
These findings echoed a 2024 reprimand issued by the Georgia State Election Board, which concluded that Fulton County had double-counted at least 3,075 ballots during the 2020 recount and could not verify how many duplicate ballots ultimately made it into the certified total.
Certification Proceeded Anyway
Despite the unresolved discrepancies, Georgia election officials proceeded with certification. Fulton County avoided a formal referral to the Attorney General’s office by agreeing to enhanced monitoring through the 2024 election cycle.
Critics argue that the decision allowed serious questions about recordkeeping and compliance to go unresolved.
Supporters of the certification process counter that no evidence has emerged showing the issues changed the outcome of the election — a point election officials have repeatedly emphasized.
Why the DOJ Lawsuits Matter
The DOJ lawsuits are not alleging fraud. Instead, they focus on access to records, asserting that states and local governments cannot lawfully withhold voter registration data that federal law explicitly makes public.
Legal experts note that failure to produce records undermines transparency regardless of whether wrongdoing ultimately occurred.
“You don’t need proof of fraud to enforce record-keeping laws,” one election law attorney explained. “The obligation to provide records exists precisely so questions can be examined.”
The Justice Department is asking federal courts to compel compliance and ensure future access to voter registration data.
Broader Implications for Election Oversight
The cases could set important precedents for how aggressively federal authorities can enforce transparency provisions and how states balance privacy concerns against public oversight.
Election officials in the sued jurisdictions have not yet released detailed responses, but several have previously argued that data requests must be narrowly tailored to protect sensitive voter information.
The DOJ has countered that federal law already includes safeguards and that blanket refusals violate statutory requirements.
A Continuing Flashpoint
Election administration remains one of the most contentious issues in American politics, years after the 2020 election. While courts have consistently rejected claims of outcome-changing fraud, disputes over transparency, access to records, and procedural compliance continue to fuel public mistrust.
The Justice Department’s actions signal that election oversight — particularly compliance with federal disclosure laws — will remain a priority heading into future election cycles.
Whether the lawsuits lead to meaningful changes or prolonged legal battles remains to be seen. But for now, the message from federal officials is clear: election authorities are expected to follow the law — and show their work.