Former DOJ Attorneys Intervene in Lawsuit Over Illinois Voter Data

Eighteen former DOJ lawyers argue the agency has no legal authority to demand sensitive voter registration details.

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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Eighteen former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have filed a brief in federal court opposing the Trump administration's lawsuit that seeks access to sensitive personal information about every registered voter in Illinois. The former DOJ lawyers argue the agency has no legal authority to demand the data, which includes voters' dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.

Why it matters

This case highlights the ongoing tensions between federal and state governments over voter data access and privacy concerns. The former DOJ attorneys argue the administration's efforts to obtain this sensitive voter information are unprecedented and could enable the federal government to conduct its own voter list maintenance, raising concerns about potential voter suppression.

The details

The Trump administration is suing 30 jurisdictions, including Illinois, to gain access to their unredacted voter registration rolls. The databases include not just names and addresses, but also dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. The former DOJ attorneys argue this 'holy trinity of identity theft' data has no legitimate purpose for the federal government to obtain. Illinois has so far declined to hand over the full voter data, providing only a partially redacted file instead.

  • In July 2025, the Justice Department first requested the Illinois voter registration data.
  • In August 2025, the Illinois State Board of Elections provided the DOJ with a partially redacted data file.
  • In December 2025, the Illinois State Board of Elections filed suit in federal court after the DOJ continued to demand the full unredacted voter data.

The players

Eighteen former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys

A group of former DOJ lawyers, including those who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, who filed a brief opposing the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking access to Illinois voter registration data.

Illinois State Board of Elections

The state agency that has so far declined to hand over the full unredacted voter registration data to the DOJ, instead providing a partially redacted file.

David Becker

One of the former DOJ attorneys who signed the brief and is the founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan organization that conducts elections research.

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What they’re saying

“The holy trinity of identity theft, as I've called it”

— David Becker, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Election Innovation and Research (Capitol News Illinois)

“I don't go around looking for places to disagree with the Department of Justice. I'm much happier when I think the Department of Justice is looking out for all of us and enforcing the law as it should be. But in these cases, we needed to point out how the department's efforts to seize sensitive voter data from every American voter from the states that hold that sensitive data, that have state laws that protect that data, how that was unprecedented.”

— David Becker, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Election Innovation and Research (Capitol News Illinois)

What’s next

No hearings or oral arguments have been scheduled in the case yet.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing tensions between federal and state governments over voter data access and privacy concerns, with former DOJ attorneys arguing the administration's efforts to obtain sensitive voter information are unprecedented and could enable federal voter list maintenance that raises concerns about potential voter suppression.