A voter casts a paper ballot in Virginia. Despite two recent legal setbacks, the Trump administration sued Virginia’s election commissioner over his attempt to obtain sensitive voter data. (Photo: Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
The Trump administration has sued another state, Virginia, to obtain sensitive voter data, despite two recent legal setbacks in lawsuits against other states.
The Department of Justice sued Susan Beals, Virginia’s election commissioner, on Friday after months of demanding copies of the state’s voter registration lists, which include names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
“Virginia Becomes Another State Sued for Ignoring Federal Law!” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon he wrote on social media platform X.
The Trump administration has sued over 20 stateswhat the administration describes as a push to ensure that states properly maintain voter rolls, that ineligible people are excluded from voter rolls and that only citizens vote, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
The U.S. Department of Justice is sharing state voter rolls information with the Department of Homeland Security to search for non-citizens, the Trump administration confirmed in a statement. September.
While election officials emphasize the importance of well-maintained voter rolls, President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies have long promoted baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
In Virginia thingThe Justice Department says former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration assured it would turn over voter rolls. However, this did not happen and Youngkin was time-limited. On Saturday, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th Governor of Virginia.
Beals, the election commissioner, was appointed by Youngkin in 2022. The state Division of Elections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Similar federal lawsuits were issued last week roadblocks in California and Oregon.
U.S. District Court Judge David Carter dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit against California seeking voter information, calling the request “unprecedented and illegal.” Just a day earlier, a separate federal judge said at his hearing that he planned to dismiss a similar lawsuit against Oregon.
Democratic secretaries of state have criticized the federal government’s data requests, calling them an unjustified attempt by the Trump administration to seize federal power over elections. Under the U.S. Constitution, elections are conducted by the states, although Congress can regulate them.
Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at: khardy@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by State linewhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes the Ohio Capital Journal and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
