Federal Judge Strikes Down DOJ Voter Roll Policy

What if you checked your voter registration and found you had been removed — not because you did anything wrong, but because a federal database incorrectly flagged you as a non-citizen? That is exactly what happened to at least two people named in a ruling issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who struck down the Justice Department's nationwide voter-roll maintenance policy as unlawful.

What the Court Decided

Judge Sooknanan vacated the DOJ policy in a 78-page ruling. The policy required states to hand over unredacted voter registration data — including full names, birth dates, home addresses, and driver's license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers — so the federal government could cross-check it against immigration databases. Roughly 18 states complied. Sooknanan ruled the policy violated federal privacy laws and that Congress never gave the Justice Department authority over state voter rolls in the first place. "Behind all the window dressing, the challenged policy represents the federal government's attempt to decide who gets to vote," she wrote. "But Congress has left that authority where our constitution has always placed it: with the states."

The lawsuit was brought by Common Cause, a government watchdog group, after the DOJ requested voter data from states in May. Sooknanan found the department "improperly" disclosed and maintained the records it collected. She also found the DOJ "failed to consider the risk" that using citizenship records known to be unreliable would cause states to remove actual U.S. citizens from voter rolls. The ruling does not stop the federal government from supporting states' own lawful voter-roll maintenance efforts — it only blocks the specific federal policy that was challenged.

This is not the first time Judge Sooknanan has ruled against this administration on related issues. In June 2026, she limited the administration's ability to build a database of Americans' personal information. The Supreme Court temporarily set aside that earlier decision. The DOJ did not immediately comment on Friday's ruling. Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause, called the decision "a victory for voters."

What This Means for Immigrants and Naturalized Citizens

If you are a naturalized U.S. citizen (someone who went through the citizenship process and received a certificate of naturalization), your name may have appeared in state voter rolls that were sent to the DOJ. The ruling found that citizenship records used in this process were unreliable and that some citizens were wrongly flagged as non-citizens and removed from voter rolls. Non-citizens are not legally allowed to vote in federal elections, but this case shows that federal databases can make errors that affect citizens too.

What to Do

• If you are a naturalized citizen and registered to vote, check your voter registration status through your state's official election website to confirm you are still on the rolls.
• If you were removed from your state's voter rolls and believe it was an error, contact your state or county election office immediately to request reinstatement and ask for the reason for removal.
• If you received any notice from a state election office saying your citizenship status was questioned, save all documents and consult an immigration lawyer — especially if you hold a green card or are in the naturalization process.
• Follow updates from Common Cause and your state election authority, as the DOJ may appeal this ruling.

What to do, step by step — see our guide “Appealing to the BIA”.