Court Battles

DOJ lawsuit seeking Arizona voter data dismissed

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by Max Rego - 04/29/26 9:07 AM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/29/26 9:07 AM ET

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A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) seeking access to his state’s voter registration list.

U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, an appointee of President Trump, wrote that under federal law, Arizona’s voter registration list is “not a document subject to request by the Attorney General.”

Brnovich further contended that the DOJ failed to “convince” the court that the list is such a document.

“Accordingly, the Court will dismiss the Attorney General’s claim with prejudice because amendment would be legally futile,” Brnovich wrote in her 13-page ruling.

The DOJ initially filed suit against Fontes in January, arguing that he “refused” to provide it with the aforementioned records in August.

At the time, the department asked the court to order the Arizona secretary of state to provide then-Attorney General Pam Bondi with the “current electronic copy” of the state’s computerized statewide voter registration list, including each registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address and either their state driver’s license number, the last four digits of their Social Security number or a unique identifier — which the Help America Vote Act of 2002 mandates that states assign to each registered voter if they do not have either form of identification.

In a Tuesday statement, Fontes and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) said that Brnovich “rightfully dismissed” the DOJ’s suit. The two wrote that the state’s voter database “contains the sensitive personal information of millions of Arizona voters.”

They added, “Arizona acted correctly in refusing this request, and today’s ruling vindicates that decision. Our offices will continue to defend the privacy of Arizona voters against federal overreach.”

The Hill has reached out to the DOJ for comment on the ruling.

The DOJ under Trump has requested complete registration lists from the governments of at least 48 states and Washington, D.C., according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The department has also sued 30 states and the nation’s capital for refusing to provide their statewide voter registration lists, while at least a dozen GOP-controlled states have “either provided or said they will provide” such lists, according to the center.

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