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Donald Trump Suffers 19th Straight Defeat in Voter Roll Campaign
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Trump administration has suffered its 19th consecutive courtroom defeat in its nationwide effort to obtain sensitive voter registration records from states after a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit against Illinois .
U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless ruled Friday that the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) lacked the legal authority to force Illinois election officials to turn over the state's unredacted voter registration database, dealing another blow to one of the administration's election integrity initiatives ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as reported by Democracy Docket .
Lawless dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the department cannot refile the same claims in the district court, though it could appeal the decision.
Newsweek contacted the DOJ and the Illinois State Board of Elections via email on Saturday for comment.
The Justice Department sued Illinois after state election officials declined to provide its complete statewide voter registration database in response to a federal request. The administration argued the records were necessary to determine whether the state was complying with federal election laws, including requirements to maintain accurate voter rolls.
The ruling leaves the administration without a district court victory in any of its lawsuits seeking expanded access to state voter registration records. According to Democracy Docket , Illinois marks the 19th consecutive defeat for the administration in its nationwide litigation campaign and comes just days after a federal judge dismissed its New Jersey case.
In the ruling, Lawless concluded that the Justice Department lacked the statutory authority to compel Illinois election officials, including Illinois State Board of Elections Executive Director Bernadette Matthews, to turn over the records it sought.
The judge found that while the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires states to make certain records relating to voter list maintenance available for public inspection, it does not require them to disclose their complete statewide voter registration databases or confidential voter information.
The 14-page opinion states that the Attorney General sent a demand to Matthews stating: "Pursuant to the foregoing authorities, including the CRA, the Attorney General is demanding an electronic copy of Illinois’s complete and current [Voter Registration List]. The purpose of the request is to ascertain Illinois’s compliance with the list maintenance requirements of the NVRA and HAVA." Citing privacy laws, Matthews refused to provide the Attorney General with an unredacted copy of the list.
Lawless also rejected the administration's argument that the Help America Vote Act gave the federal government further authority to obtain the records.
The Illinois case is one of a series of lawsuits filed by the Trump administration after states refused to provide unredacted voter registration databases.
The DOJ has said the records are needed to verify that states are complying with federal election laws and properly maintaining accurate voter rolls. Administration officials have argued the information could help identify ineligible registrations, including those involving noncitizens, and support investigations into potential election law violations.
According to court filings, the administration sought more than the voter registration information typically available to the public. Several states have said the requests included sensitive personal data, such as driver's license numbers or partial Social Security numbers, prompting concerns over voter privacy and cybersecurity.
State officials have argued that federal law does not authorize the Justice Department to compel the release of that information and that complying with the requests could expose confidential voter data.
Illinois is the latest in a string of courtroom losses for the administration's voter roll campaign.
As previously reported by Newsweek , federal courts across the country—including district courts in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin, Maine, Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Oregon, California and Michigan, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit—have all rejected similar lawsuits brought by the Justice Department seeking statewide voter registration records.
The Illinois ruling means the administration has now lost all 19 of its district court cases challenging states that declined to provide the requested records.
Although the Justice Department can appeal some of those rulings, the decisions have so far limited the administration's efforts to obtain nationwide access to state voter registration data.
The legal setbacks come as the Trump administration seeks greater federal oversight of election administration ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
If the administration is ultimately unable to obtain the voter databases it has requested, it could hamper efforts to conduct nationwide comparisons between state voter registration records and federal databases as part of wider election enforcement initiatives.
Supporters of the administration's approach argue that stronger oversight is needed to ensure voter rolls are accurate and that states comply with federal law.
Critics, however, say the lawsuits stretch beyond the authority granted by Congress and warn that wider access to sensitive voter information could raise privacy concerns and encourage aggressive voter roll maintenance practices that risk removing eligible voters .
While the Illinois decision represents another significant setback, the administration could still ask an appellate court to review the ruling as it continues its effort to expand federal access to state voter registration records ahead of the midterms.
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