Federal Judge Blocks Trump DOJ Bid for Kentucky Voter Rolls Over Privacy Data
A federal judge has dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking Kentucky’s statewide voter registration list, blocking the Trump administration from obtaining sensitive voter data from the state.
U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom granted motions to dismiss filed by Kentucky election officials and intervening groups, denied DOJ’s motion to compel, and dismissed the case with prejudice. The department had sought records including voters’ names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
The legal consequence is direct. Unless a higher court changes the controlling law, DOJ cannot use this case to force Kentucky to surrender the unredacted statewide voter file.
Boom relied on a recent Sixth Circuit ruling involving Michigan voter data. The Kentucky order said the state’s voter registration list was created and maintained by election officials, not received from an outside source, meaning it did not “come into” their possession under the Civil Rights Act language DOJ cited.
The court also found an independent problem with DOJ’s demand letters. Under Title III, the government must state both the basis and purpose of its request. Boom wrote that DOJ’s letters to Kentucky did not satisfy that requirement.
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Reaction quickly focused on privacy and election authority. Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said on X that Kentucky’s elections and personal information are secure. Voting rights groups that intervened in the case called the ruling a victory for voters’ ability to participate without giving up confidential data.
DOJ’s competing argument is that accurate voter rolls are necessary for election integrity. When announcing related lawsuits against multiple states, the department said it was acting to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections.
The case is part of a wider national fight. The court itself described the Kentucky lawsuit as one in a series brought by the United States against nearly every state seeking voter registration information.
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