Election Litigation: 31 Federal Cases Target State Voter Data

The Justice Department has appealed to the D.C. Circuit after a federal district court ruled on October 9 that the agency's policy for collecting state voter data exceeds its authority. The ruling, issued in a case brought by Common Cause, declared the policy arbitrary and capricious and vacated it nationwide. The administration is currently pursuing 31 federal lawsuits seeking state voter records, a tally compiled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. States have largely refused these requests, citing state privacy laws and the Constitution.

The data collection effort is part of a wider strategy by the Trump administration to assert control over election processes. The government has gathered millions of state voter records for law enforcement purposes and sought to restrict mail-in voting nationwide. It also skipped the usual invitation to international election observers and repeatedly proposed sending armed federal personnel to polling places. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis stated in October that President Trump has done more than any other president to ensure free and fair elections.

A coordinated group of Democratic legislators, staffers, election litigators, and nonpartisan organizations is preparing for the possibility that routine election features will be cited as evidence of fraud. This task force aims to prepare the public and state officials to honor results. Justin Vail, a former special assistant to President Joe Biden who now works for Protect Democracy, described the administration's approach as a three-step playbook to deceive, disrupt, and deny. He argued that the president's July remarks urging passage of the SAVE America Act were intended to sow doubt about the November elections.

Legal battles are central to this preparation. Marc Elias, a prominent election litigator, said his firm is involved in dozens of lawsuits across every state. One major dispute involved a presidential order directing the Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to registered voters on specific lists, an order the Supreme Court ultimately halted. The Department of Homeland Security has also sought state voter rolls, stating its goal is to find noncitizens illegally registered to vote.

In Congress, Democrats are using their minority position to connect state and local election administrators with outside groups. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware noted that elections are run locally and by the states. She said that attorneys, civil society groups, and community leaders are each doing their part. Election litigator Marc Elias argued that Congress could do more with a bipartisan voice, but said that is not happening because House and Senate Republican leaders Mike Johnson and John Thune are not pursuing it.

Oversight efforts are expanding in both chambers. The House has maintained a staff election observer program since the 1980s, and this year marks the first Senate version of the initiative. Staff designated by lawmakers of both parties can observe voting and tabulation without advocating for candidates or interfering with workers. Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mark Padilla announced this month that more than 100 staff had agreed to participate. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who chairs the relevant committee, has not confirmed whether Republican staff will join.

Task force members have prewritten legal briefs and contact lists for high-risk areas, including California, Illinois, and New York. These are locations where results may be close or slow, and where the president has focused scrutiny previously. Election law experts consulted by NPR agreed that the Constitution assigns election administration to the states and Congress, not the president. Vanita Gupta of NYU's Center for Law and Public Trust said the road to a new Congress may be messy, but she remained confident that free and fair elections will occur if people do not take their right to vote for granted.