10/11/2026
THIS IS HUGE: A federal judge just blocked Trump's Justice Department from getting its hands on state voter rolls, and the personal data of millions of Americans along with them.
U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued the ruling late Friday, according to The Washington Sun.
Here's what the DOJ was after.
Starting last year, the department demanded complete, unredacted copies of states' voter registration lists. That means your full name, your date of birth, your home address, and your driver's license number or partial Social Security number.
The DOJ contacted 49 states and D.C. At least 18 states handed their rolls over, and the DOJ shared that data with the Department of Homeland Security. When other states refused, the department filed dozens of lawsuits to try to force them.
Judge Sooknanan shut it down.
She ruled the policy violated multiple federal laws protecting Americans' personal data, writing that it flies in the face of laws designed to protect Americans.
And she laid out exactly what was at stake. The policy, she wrote, represents the federal government's attempt to decide who gets to vote. But Congress left that power where the Constitution has always placed it: with the states.
Her ruling means no state has to turn over its data anymore. And DHS and the DOJ can no longer run the rolls they already collected from the 18 states that complied through federal databases.
The DOJ says it's reviewing the ruling and is expected to appeal.
But with the midterms less than a month away, this is a major win for every voter in America.
Thank you, Judge Sooknanan, for protecting our votes and our privacy.