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CALIFORNIA 鈥� A coalition of civil rights groups today filed a federal lawsuit to stop an unlawful and discriminatory program by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that systematically targets, investigates, and intimidates naturalized U.S. citizens. The lawsuit was filed by OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, OCA-San Mateo, OCA-Sacramento, Common Cause, ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of Southern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice 鈥� AAJC, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), represented by the ACLU Voting Rights Project. Since August 2026, USCIS has run what it calls an “Unlawful Voter Initiative” aimed at tracking and investigating foreign-born citizens under the guise of voter eligibility checks. As part of this initiative, federal agents rely on outdated, error-prone data and questionable methods 鈥� including posing as individual voters to search private voter registration records on state election websites. As a result, thousands of fully naturalized American citizens are subjected to improper investigations, door-to-door interrogations, and potential disenfranchisement based on flawed government data. 鈥淭he Trump administration is challenging voters and threatening states based off flawed and outdated data,” said Theresa J. Lee, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “These allegations are putting eligible voters 鈥� including naturalized U.S. citizens 鈥� at risk of disenfranchisement. The administration can’t keep creating political stunts to sow distrust in our elections and lay the groundwork to question results they don’t like. We鈥檙e challenging both these unlawful actions and the unreliable data behind them, and we will fight to ensure that no eligible voter is targeted or silenced because of it.” The lawsuit aims to immediately stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from continuing the Unlawful Voter Initiative. It also seeks to block the federal government from pressuring state election officials to withhold or discard valid ballots cast by individuals appearing on DHS鈥檚 unreliable lists. Additionally, the legal action demands a formal declaratory judgment establishing that the initiative violates the Civil Rights Act鈥檚 Uniform Standards Provision, the Privacy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). 鈥淥ur communities have spent generations fighting to overcome barriers to the ballot box, and we cannot allow government intimidation to become another obstacle,鈥� said Thu Nguyen, executive director of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates. 鈥淚nstead of helping voters participate in our elections, federal agencies are using flawed information to investigate and intimidate the very people they are supposed to serve. These actions threaten to undermine years of progress in building trust and encouraging civic participation in immigrant communities. We cannot allow fear to keep people from exercising their right to vote.鈥� “This administration knows its data is flawed and unreliable, but they鈥檙e using it anyway to scare eligible voters away from the polls. It鈥檚 a deliberate effort to spread unfounded lies and make people doubt our elections,” said Virginia Kase Solomon, president and CEO of Common Cause. “When even one voter is targeted, all of us are at risk. Common Cause will keep fighting in the courtroom and in our communities to make sure every single eligible voter can cast their ballot without fear of government harassment.” “Naturalized citizens are U.S. citizens, with exactly the same right to vote as anyone born here,” said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice 鈥� AAJC. “The ‘Unlawful Voter Initiative’ was never designed to confirm citizenship, and election officials have found it erroneously flagging eligible voters. Purging or investigating voters based on their system errors punishes citizens for the government’s own mistakes. Asian American voters, many of whom are naturalized, are bearing the brunt of it. We are suing to send a message that no eligible voter should be subjected to this intimidation tactic. We urge voters to go to the polls. Do not stay home out of fear.” 鈥淐itizenship earned through naturalization is not second-class citizenship. Yet this administration is combing through immigration records to single out naturalized Americans, many of them Asian American and Pacific Islander, and to treat their right to vote as suspect. No other voters face this scrutiny. We are proud to stand with OCA and Common Cause to insist that every eligible voter, however they became a citizen, is treated equally under the law,” said Dahni Tsuboi, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. View a copy of the lawsuit here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/10/001-OCA-v-DHS-Complaint.pdf

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Representing two Alaska voters, the League of Women Voters of Alaska, and Common Cause, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Alaska moved to intervene in United States v. Alaska, a frivolous lawsuit seeking to prevent from the State of Alaska from certifying its election results if the incumbent U.S. Senator does not win the election. The lawless suit asserts a single claim based on the purpose language of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), that has no basis in any case, legal principle, or arguably tenable reading of the NVRA. We are seeking dismissal of this suit that aims to deprive Alaskans of their right to vote and right to representation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. 鈥� A federal court sided with Common Cause and voters in their lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), ruling the DOJ鈥檚 campaign to consolidate sensitive voter data violates voter privacy and illegally intrudes on states鈥� authority over elections. The court鈥檚 decision protects eligible voters鈥� freedom to cast a ballot without fear that their personal information will be misused, shared without authorization, or weaponized to challenge their eligibility. 鈥淭he Trump administration has repeatedly taken extreme measures to interfere with how elections are run, undermine confidence in the results, and create confusion,鈥� said Ming Cheung, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU鈥檚 Voting Rights Project. 鈥淭his effort to seize sensitive voter data is part of that same pattern, and today鈥檚 ruling makes clear that the administration cannot use the federal government to disrupt elections or put voters鈥� rights at risk.鈥� Over the past year, the DOJ has demanded full, unredacted voter rolls from 49 states and Washington, D.C. These records vary by state but include sensitive personal data like home addresses, social security numbers, and voting history. The agency intended to compare state voter list data with the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 (DHS) notoriously inaccurate Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system in an effort to identify suspected noncitizens on state voter rolls and demand that states revoke their voter registration. The SAVE system has repeatedly and mistakenly flagged lawful U.S. citizens as ineligible to vote. The ruling states that the court 鈥渧acates a policy that has removed United States citizens from the voter rolls in their home states and risks disenfranchising many more鈥攁 policy that flies in the face of duly enacted laws designed to protect Americans. When the federal government defies federal laws, our system of checks and balances permits individuals to turn to federal courts for recourse. And if they prevail, courts are duty-bound to step in under the Constitution.鈥� This ruling comes after federal judges in 26 states plus the 6th Circuit dismissed the DOJ鈥檚 demands, ruling the agency鈥檚 attempts to consolidate voter data unlawful. With the 2026 midterms rapidly approaching, the DOJ鈥檚 actions are part of a coordinated attempt by the Trump administration to deceive the public with false election claims, disrupt how states run their elections, and deny results they don鈥檛 like. This ruling demonstrates how federal courts can serve as an important check on the Trump administration鈥檚 authority. 鈥淚 never imagined I鈥檇 have to worry about whether my personal information was safe just for exercising my right to vote,鈥� said Plaintiff Ruth Nasrullah from Texas. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling means that I can head into November鈥檚 election with more trust that my data 鈥� and my vote 鈥� are protected.鈥� 鈥淎fter I found out I鈥檇 been removed from the voter rolls as an eligible voter, it felt like I had my right to vote wrongly taken away,鈥� said Plaintiff Anthony Nel from Texas. 鈥淣o other voter should have to go through what I did, and this ruling protects every eligible voter from having their registration mistakenly revoked for no reason.鈥� “This is a victory for voters and yet another loss for the Department of Justice. It鈥檚 time the Trump administration stop these desperate attempts to seize voters鈥� private data and take control of our elections,” said Virginia Kase Solom贸n, Common Cause President and CEO. “Every voter deserves to know their private data is secure and that they won’t be wrongly denied their freedom to vote. We are proud to win this protection for those whose election officials failed them.” The plaintiffs are represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Protect Democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.), and the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. 鈥淭he Constitution and federal law are clear: states are responsible for maintaining their voter rolls, not the federal government,鈥� said Nikhel Sus, Chief Counsel at CREW. 鈥淲e are grateful for this decision, which is yet another setback in the Trump administration鈥檚 larger illegal scheme to take over states鈥� constitutional roles and federalize election administration.鈥� 鈥淚f the federal government were genuinely concerned about election security, it would not even consider compiling sensitive voter records in a massive centralized database with so little regard for the risks,鈥� said Jane Bentrott, counsel at Protect Democracy. 鈥淭his database violates federal privacy laws and puts millions of eligible voters鈥� data in harm鈥檚 way. Today鈥檚 ruling is a win for voters, a win for national security, and a win for free and fair elections.鈥� 鈥淭his decision reaffirms a simple principle: safeguarding voters鈥� personal information isn鈥檛 optional.鈥� said Laura Follansbee, staff attorney at ACLU-D.C. 鈥淲e applaud this decision and remain committed to ensuring that every eligible voter can participate in our democracy without fear that their private information will be improperly collected or misused.鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 no surprise that the Trump administration鈥檚 misguided attempts to take over elections have failed once again,鈥� said Larry Schwartztol, Professor of Practice and Faculty Director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling joins a growing list of courts that have rejected this administration鈥檚 efforts to seize control of voter data and election administration. The Trump administration does not have the authority to nationalize elections, seize voter data, or override the states鈥� role in election administration 鈥� no matter how many times it tries.鈥�