A Democrat-aligned federal judge in Oregon moved Monday to block the Trump administration from accessing the state’s unredacted voter rolls.
The ruling dealt another setback to the Justice Department’s effort to obtain detailed voter registration data from Democrat-run states.
U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, a Joe Biden appointee, said he intends to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit and will issue a written opinion in the coming days.
The ruling prevents federal officials from viewing Oregon’s full voter database, which includes sensitive personal information.
Oregon’s Democrat Attorney General Dan Rayfield celebrated the decision, accusing the Trump administration of attempting to exploit election law to obtain private data.
“The court dismissed this case because the federal government never met the legal standard to get these records in the first place,” Rayfield said in a statement.
“Oregonians deserve to know that voting laws can’t be used as a backdoor to grab their personal information.”
The Trump administration has filed similar lawsuits in at least 23 states, seeking access to voter registration data that goes beyond what is typically made public.
The requests include voters’ names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.
The Oregon ruling comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi has stepped up pressure on Democratic officials in Minnesota following weeks of unrest tied to immigration enforcement.
Over the weekend, Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota’s Democrat Governor Tim Walz outlining steps she said were necessary to restore order, including cooperation with federal authorities and access to voter registration data.
“You and your office must restore the rule of law, support ICE officers, and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota,” Bondi wrote.
“Fortunately, there are common-sense solutions to these problems that I hope we can accomplish together.”
Among those requests was granting the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division access to Minnesota’s voter rolls.
While basic voter registration lists are typically public, Minnesota officials have resisted providing the expanded set of sensitive data sought by federal authorities.
Democrats quickly framed Bondi’s letter as an attempt to pressure a battleground state ahead of future elections.
Rep. Ilhan Omar claimed the administration was using immigration enforcement as leverage.
“‘ICE will leave Minnesota if you hand over your voter rolls’ tells you everything you need to know,” Omar wrote on X.
“It was always about rigging elections.”
Sen. Chris Murphy went further, falsely stating that Bondi’s letter promised ICE would leave the state if Minnesota turned over its voter database.
Murphy described the immigration crackdown as a pretext for federal control over elections in swing states.
In a separate federal court hearing Monday concerning immigration enforcement, a lawyer representing Minnesota characterized Bondi’s letter as coercive, telling the judge it resembled a “ransom note.”
The Justice Department has not backed down from its broader effort to obtain voter data nationwide, arguing that federal law authorizes oversight to ensure election integrity.
It’s a position that continues to face resistance from Democrat officials and sympathetic courts.
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