WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court this week weighed the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain detailed voter registration information from states, marking the latest development in a series of legal disputes over federal access to election records ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to compel Michigan to provide an unredacted voter registration list containing sensitive personal information, including birth dates, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The ruling upheld a lower court decision that had denied the administration’s request.
The Justice Department has argued that access to voter records is necessary to determine whether states are complying with federal election laws and maintaining accurate voter rolls. According to court filings cited by Reuters, the administration has sought voter registration information from dozens of states and the District of Columbia as part of a broader election oversight effort.
In its decision, the Sixth Circuit found that the federal law cited by the government did not entitle the Justice Department to Michigan’s sensitive voter data. The court ruled that the Civil Rights Act provision at issue requires preservation of election records but does not require disclosure of the information sought by federal officials.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the state would continue providing voter registration information that is publicly available while protecting confidential personal data. State officials argued in court that releasing sensitive information could compromise voter privacy.
The Michigan case is one of several legal challenges involving the administration’s election-related initiatives. Earlier this week, a federal judge in Washington blocked the use of a revamped federal citizenship verification system known as SAVE for voter-roll checks, ruling that the program violated federal privacy protections and could result in eligible voters being improperly flagged.
In a separate case on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani halted key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to create a federal voter list and impose new requirements related to mail voting. The judge ruled that states and Congress, rather than the president, have primary authority over election administration.
“The unredacted voter registration file is not a record or paper that a state must produce to the United States,” U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher wrote in a separate Maryland case dismissing another Justice Department lawsuit seeking detailed voter data.
The administration has defended its efforts as necessary to protect election integrity and verify voter eligibility. Opponents, including several states and voting-rights organizations, contend that the requests exceed federal authority and threaten voter privacy.
As of Friday, appeals and related lawsuits remained pending in several federal courts, while state officials and the Justice Department continued to dispute the scope of federal authority over voter registration records and election administration.
