At the Polls: Know Your Voting Rights

SALT LAKE CITY — A coalition of voting rights groups filed a motion to dismiss the Department of Justice’s complaint in U.S. v. Henderson. The groups released the following statement: Utah’s election system is safe, secure, and efficient. The Department of Justice does not have a legal right to obtain the state’s unredacted voter list. This list contains Utahns’ private information, including information protected under state and federal law. Unlawfully disclosing this information threatens voter privacy and the removal of eligible voters from voter rolls. We are determined to act as a firewall against the Trump administration’s aggressive effort to gain access to the sensitive data of millions of Utah voters. There is no lawful or legitimate reason to hand over sensitive voter information to federal agencies to interfere with state election administration. Copy of the motion here.

Voting rights groups should be allowed to intervene as defendants in Louisiana's suit against the U.S. Election Assistance Commission through which the state seeks to require additional proof of citizenship, argued the League of Women Voters of Louisiana and others in a motion to intervene in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

ANCHORAGE – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska, with Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the ACLU Voting Rights Project, filed a lawsuit challenging the Alaska Division of Elections’ (DOE) unconstitutional actions when it shared Alaska’s unredacted Voter Registration List with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in December 2025. The plaintiffs represented in the suit are the League of Women Voters of Alaska and the Alaska Black Caucus. In May 2025, the DOJ issued demands for full, unredacted voter rolls from almost every state and the District of Columbia in a reported effort to create an unauthorized national voter database. The State of Alaska complied with this effort, agreed to share constitutionally protected information with the DOJ, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where the state also agreed to promptly “clean” its voter list at the DOJ’s later instruction. Alaska was in the minority when it complied with this demand; twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia refused to share the sensitive information contained in their voter registration lists. The State of Alaska agreed to share confidential information, including the full name, date of birth, residential address, state driver’s license number, or the last four digits of the voter’s social security number. Revealing this information puts Alaskans’ identities and voting records at risk. The suit contends that the disclosure of sensitive voter information to the DOJ violates Alaskans’ right to privacy and that the actions agreed to in the MOU conflict with voter list maintenance requirements under Alaska law, risking the unlawful disenfranchisement of Alaska voters. Theresa J. Lee, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Voting Rights Project: “Alaskans have a right to participate in our democracy without fear that their most sensitive personal information will be exposed or misused. By handing over unredacted voter data and participating in a federal power grab that could trigger improper voter roll purges, the state has put both privacy and democracy at serious risk. Elections depends on trust in our systems, and that trust is undermined when the government treats voters’ personal information as expendable.” Marianne Mills, co-president for the League of Women Voters of Alaska: "Protecting voters' confidential information is a non-partisan issue. Alaskan voters must be able to trust that the agency tasked with administering our statewide elections is doing everything in its power to protect Alaskans' privacy and lawful right to vote." Doyle Williams, board chairman of the Alaska Black Caucus: "The Alaska Black Caucus is deeply concerned that the actions of the Alaska Division of Elections undermine the very core of our democracy by risking the disenfranchisement of voters. Sharing unredacted voter registration data not only invades the privacy of Alaskans but also threatens to silence the voices of those who have fought tirelessly for their right to vote. We stand united in this lawsuit to protect the rights of all Alaskan voters and to ensure that their personal information remains secure.” Eric Glatt, legal director for the ACLU of Alaska: “The right to vote and our right to privacy are two core values held dear by Alaskans. Rather than fiercely defending the rights of Alaska’s voters, our Division of Elections acceded to federal overreach. Now, we are asking the court to step in and ensure that DOE upholds its constitutional and legal obligations to Alaskans.” John Davisson, deputy director and director of Enforcement for Electronic Privacy Information Center: "Voters rightly expect public officials at all levels of government to safeguard their privacy. When Washington fails at that task, states must hold the line. We're proud to help Alaskans hold the Division of Elections accountable and fight to protect our democracy." In the filing, the plaintiffs are seeking a court order for the DOJ to destroy its copies of the Alaska voter registration list that were shared, to void the MOU, and prevent the transmission of any further unredacted voter roll information to the DOJ.

ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia today announced the launch of a joint campaign with the national ACLU to engage Georgia voters ahead of the state Supreme Court election on May 19. The organizations are nonpartisan and do not support or oppose candidates for office. The ACLU is spending $750,000 on radio advertisements and direct-to-voter mailers during the final weeks of the campaign. These advertisements and mailers will focus on educating voters about where candidates stand on key civil liberties and civil rights issues, including abortion rights and voting rights. “On May 19, the citizens of Georgia have an opportunity to elect three justices of the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia Supreme Court has the power to defend the rights of the people. This could not be more important when the FBI is confiscating ballots; Homeland Security is violating due process and other important civil rights and civil liberties are at risk.” said Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia. “The people have a real choice. In the final weeks of this campaign, we’re educating voters on where these judicial candidates stand on basic issues like the people’s right to vote and the right to make private, personal decisions about when, whether and with whom to have a family.” Georgia Supreme Court justices hold six-year terms and interpret the state constitution and state laws, serving as the often-final defense against attacks on our rights and liberties. And the court often recognizes more expansive protections than those provided by the U.S. Constitution.