Trump Administration Faces Legal Setback Over Voter Privacy and Eligibility Claims

On Sunday, a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit, saying the request likely infringed on Alaskans’ right to a secret ballot. Shortly thereafter, the DOJ appealed to a federal appeals court to reverse the decision.

Nevada

In July, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asserted it had uncovered more than 270,000 non‑citizen voters across four states—California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. That claim, however, quickly began to fall apart.

DHS had initially reported 15,903 non‑citizens on Nevada’s voter rolls, but later admitted at a meeting with state officials that they possessed no supporting evidence. The suspected count was subsequently reduced to 185, again without any substantiation.

In a letter to DHS, Nevada’s Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott wrote, “Our records show the 185 individuals are citizens. You have provided nothing of substance to suggest otherwise.”

A DHS spokesperson told WIRED, “We accessed publicly available data from states’ voter rolls and cross‑referenced them with known undocumented individuals in our systems. It’s not rocket science; it’s an easy step to secure our elections.”

Ott further noted in the letter that Nevada, while taking allegations of non‑citizen voting seriously, also has a strong interest in preventing the wrongful disenfranchisement of voters and is committed to avoiding a chilling effect on the right to vote based on unfounded and unverifiable claims.

Washington

Last week, the Justice Department said federal data suggested 400 non‑citizens were registered to vote in Washington and asked officials to isolate those ballots, calling the figure “the tip of the iceberg.”

In response, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs sent a sharp letter: “The timing of your letter is profoundly disappointing. If you had valid concerns about voter registrations, the time to raise them was a month ago.” He added that raising these issues publicly so close to the election “is not a sign of good faith to ensure a free, fair, and accurate election.”

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