Everyone Must Vote. Discuss.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal court sided with Common Cause and voters in their lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), ruling the DOJ’s campaign to consolidate sensitive voter data violates voter privacy and illegally intrudes on states’ authority over elections. The court’s decision protects eligible voters’ freedom to cast a ballot without fear that their personal information will be misused, shared without authorization, or weaponized to challenge their eligibility. “The Trump administration has repeatedly taken extreme measures to interfere with how elections are run, undermine confidence in the results, and create confusion,” said Ming Cheung, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “This effort to seize sensitive voter data is part of that same pattern, and today’s ruling makes clear that the administration cannot use the federal government to disrupt elections or put voters’ rights at risk.” Over the past year, the DOJ has demanded full, unredacted voter rolls from 49 states and Washington, D.C. These records vary by state but include sensitive personal data like home addresses, social security numbers, and voting history. The agency intended to compare state voter list data with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) notoriously inaccurate Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system in an effort to identify suspected noncitizens on state voter rolls and demand that states revoke their voter registration. The SAVE system has repeatedly and mistakenly flagged lawful U.S. citizens as ineligible to vote. The ruling states that the court “vacates a policy that has removed United States citizens from the voter rolls in their home states and risks disenfranchising many more—a policy that flies in the face of duly enacted laws designed to protect Americans. When the federal government defies federal laws, our system of checks and balances permits individuals to turn to federal courts for recourse. And if they prevail, courts are duty-bound to step in under the Constitution.” This ruling comes after federal judges in 26 states plus the 6th Circuit dismissed the DOJ’s demands, ruling the agency’s attempts to consolidate voter data unlawful. With the 2026 midterms rapidly approaching, the DOJ’s actions are part of a coordinated attempt by the Trump administration to deceive the public with false election claims, disrupt how states run their elections, and deny results they don’t like. This ruling demonstrates how federal courts can serve as an important check on the Trump administration’s authority. “I never imagined I’d have to worry about whether my personal information was safe just for exercising my right to vote,” said Plaintiff Ruth Nasrullah from Texas. “Today’s ruling means that I can head into November’s election with more trust that my data – and my vote – are protected.” “After I found out I’d been removed from the voter rolls as an eligible voter, it felt like I had my right to vote wrongly taken away,” said Plaintiff Anthony Nel from Texas. “No other voter should have to go through what I did, and this ruling protects every eligible voter from having their registration mistakenly revoked for no reason.” "This is a victory for voters and yet another loss for the Department of Justice. It’s time the Trump administration stop these desperate attempts to seize voters’ private data and take control of our elections," said Virginia Kase Solomón, Common Cause President and CEO. "Every voter deserves to know their private data is secure and that they won't be wrongly denied their freedom to vote. We are proud to win this protection for those whose election officials failed them." The plaintiffs are represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Protect Democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.), and the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. “The Constitution and federal law are clear: states are responsible for maintaining their voter rolls, not the federal government,” said Nikhel Sus, Chief Counsel at CREW. “We are grateful for this decision, which is yet another setback in the Trump administration’s larger illegal scheme to take over states’ constitutional roles and federalize election administration.” “If the federal government were genuinely concerned about election security, it would not even consider compiling sensitive voter records in a massive centralized database with so little regard for the risks,” said Jane Bentrott, counsel at Protect Democracy. “This database violates federal privacy laws and puts millions of eligible voters’ data in harm’s way. Today’s ruling is a win for voters, a win for national security, and a win for free and fair elections.” “This decision reaffirms a simple principle: safeguarding voters’ personal information isn’t optional.” said Laura Follansbee, staff attorney at ACLU-D.C. “We applaud this decision and remain committed to ensuring that every eligible voter can participate in our democracy without fear that their private information will be improperly collected or misused.” “It’s no surprise that the Trump administration’s misguided attempts to take over elections have failed once again,” said Larry Schwartztol, Professor of Practice and Faculty Director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. “Today’s ruling joins a growing list of courts that have rejected this administration’s efforts to seize control of voter data and election administration. The Trump administration does not have the authority to nationalize elections, seize voter data, or override the states’ role in election administration — no matter how many times it tries.”

The ACLU could have its busiest Supreme Court term ever, with potential cases on immigration, voting rights, and religious freedom in schools.

President Trump and his allies are trying to interfere with the 2026 midterm elections. Here’s what that means for your vote, and how the ACLU is fighting back to ensure power remains where it belongs — in the hands of voters.

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has, for a third time, declined to allow an unlawful congressional map to be used in the 2026 midterm elections in Missouri. Less than two months before Election Day, two congressional candidates and two voters attempted to force the state once again to use the 2025 map that was a result of mid-decade redistricting, even though it had already been ruled unlawful by the Missouri Supreme Court, a ruling twice left in place by the U.S. Supreme Court. Campaign Legal Center, the ACLU of Missouri and ACLU Voting Rights Project filed amicus briefs at the Missouri Supreme Court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and three times at the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently on September 22, 2026, urging the Court to stay a rogue decision of the Eighth Circuit and a federal district court attempting to resurrect the 2025 map. Today the Supreme Court stayed those lower court decisions, definitively confirming that the 2026 election must take place under the lawful 2022 map. “The gerrymandered map passed in 2025 in Missouri was never law, and yet self-interested, partisan politicians, and now two lower federal courts, have repeatedly attempted to impose it on voters for the 2026 midterms,” said Mark Gaber, senior director of redistricting at Campaign Legal Center. “This case should never have reached the Supreme Court three times, but we’re glad that the final outcome of these cases is Missourians having the opportunity to vote under a lawful map this fall.” “Politicians and elected officials have unleashed unnecessary but intentional chaos on Missouri voters, not for the benefit of their constituents but for themselves and the state actors in D.C. who designed and demanded these maps solely for partisan power grab," said Gillian Wilcox, director of litigation and policy for the ACLU of Missouri. "Voting has already begun and today's decision closes the door on the politicians’ shenanigans." "The people of Missouri have the right to go to the polls and reject the State's attempt to gerrymander their congressional districts, and the Supreme Court has now confirmed, for the third time in as many weeks, that the State's unlawful districts cannot be used this November,” said Ming Cheung, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “Voting has already begun, and all efforts to cause confusion and chaos must cease. This saga began in 2025 when politicians tried to rig the map and take away representation from Kansas City residents, but the courts have now made clear that voters — not politicians — decide who represents them.” Background: In September 2025, the Missouri General Assembly passed House Bill 1 (H.B. 1) which created a new, mid-decade, gerrymandered congressional map. In response, the people of Missouri exercised their rights under the Missouri Constitution by collecting signatures for a referendum petition on H.B. 1. On December 9, 2025, Missourians submitted over 300,000 signatures in support of the referendum. Under the Missouri Constitution, this should have suspended the implementation of the new map until voters had an opportunity to either approve or disapprove of it in the next election. However, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins refused to certify the referendum petition and attempted to force voters to vote under the unlawful map. Secretary Hoskins’ actions were met with swift legal action, and after moving through multiple lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court denied multiple efforts by him and other political actors to retain the unlawful 2025 map in the upcoming midterms. This latest decision from the Supreme Court comes after an appeal of an Eighth Circuit ruling that the unlawful map must be used.