Judge Throws Out Trump DOJ’s Baseless Demand for Massachusetts Voter Data

In a decisive rebuke to the Trump administration’s latest assault on voter privacy, U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin dismissed the Department of Justice’s lawsuit demanding Massachusetts hand over detailed voter registration data. The DOJ had sought an electronic copy of the entire statewide voter list, including names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin refused to comply, citing serious privacy concerns. The DOJ responded by suing in December, claiming the data was needed as part of an investigation into the state’s compliance with election laws. Similar lawsuits have been filed against other states, part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration weaponizing federal power to intimidate and disrupt state election systems.

Judge Sorokin’s ruling was blunt. He found the federal government “offered no basis” for their demand, falling short of legal standards and exposing the request as an unfounded fishing expedition. “I am very pleased that the court has recognized that the Department of Justice’s demand for unfettered access to personal voter data was completely without any stated basis or purpose,” Galvin said in a statement. “Private voter information should never be the subject of a fishing expedition.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell hailed the decision as “a decisive win for Massachusetts voters and the rule of law.” Her office is also challenging Trump’s recent executive order that aims to create a national list of eligible voters and restrict mail-in voting to those on that list — a move critics warn could disenfranchise millions.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts highlighted the DOJ’s failure to identify any “deficiencies or anomalies” in Massachusetts’ voter files, arguing the administration’s true goal is to build an unauthorized national voter database. Such a database could be weaponized to mass-challenge voter eligibility and contest election results in targeted states.

This legal defeat exposes yet another Trump administration effort to undermine democratic processes under a veil of “election integrity.” The court’s rejection sends a clear message: federal overreach and privacy violations will not be tolerated in the name of political gamesmanship.