Federal Judges In Maine And Wisconsin Toss DOJ Voter-Roll Lawsuits Over Unredacted Data Demands
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' motion and dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking the state's voter-roll data.[1] A separate federal judge in Wisconsin also rebuffed Justice Department efforts to obtain unredacted state voter rolls.[2]
The DOJ had sought names of all registered voters along with driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth from Maine's rolls.[1] Walker wrote that granting the DOJ's request would require him to "turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism" in American elections.[1]
The National Conference of State Legislatures counts dismissals of similar DOJ suits in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Maine, making this at least the eighth loss for the department in the campaign.[1] Bellows said the ruling affirmed that "states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections" and vowed to continue resisting what she called Trump administration interference.[1]
Show source details & analysis (2 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' motion and dismissed the DOJ lawsuit seeking the state's voter-roll data (Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker).
- The DOJ had sought "names of all registered voters" plus driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth from Maine's voter rolls (names of all registered voters).
- Lance Walker wrote that granting the DOJ's request would require him to "turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism" in American elections (Lance Walker).
- Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows framed the ruling as affirming that "states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections" and vowed to continue resisting what she called Trump administration interference (Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows).
- The National Conference of State Legislatures now counts dismissals of similar DOJ suits in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Maine, making this at least the eighth loss for the DOJ in the campaign (National Conference of State Legislatures).
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker granted Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' motion and dismissed the DOJ lawsuit seeking the state's voter-roll data.
- The DOJ request to Maine sought names of all registered voters plus driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth.
- Walker wrote that granting DOJ's request would require him to 'turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism' in American elections.
- Bellows publicly framed the ruling as affirming that 'states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections' and vowed to continue resisting what she called Trump administration interference.
- The National Conference of State Legislatures now counts dismissals of similar DOJ suits in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Maine, making this at least the eighth loss for DOJ in this campaign.