OLC defends DOJ's authority to obtain voter lists
United States Department of JusticeOffice of Legal Counsel opinion signed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lanora C. Pettit
DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel concludes that federal law lets the Civil Rights Division seek statewide voter lists and share them with DHS.
Responding to
Federal law authorizes DOJ to obtain statewide voter registration lists and permits specified sharing with DHS.
“In sum, we conclude that section 303 of the Civil Rights Act authorizes the Division to seek statewide voter registration lists from states.”
Original text
Where this statement fits
Judge vacates DOJ's voter-roll collection and sharing policy in Common Cause suit
Common Cause and four voters sued the Justice Department on April 21, 2026 over its nationwide voter-list policy, under which the Civil Rights Division sought states' unredacted voter registration lists and compared them with a federal citizenship database. In a May 12 opinion, DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel said federal law lets the division obtain the lists and share them with DHS. On October 9, Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan set the policy aside. She ruled that it exceeded DOJ's statutory authority, was arbitrary and capricious, and violated the Privacy Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act. Common Cause and the ACLU welcomed the ruling, and a DOJ spokesperson said the department was reviewing it.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Lanora C. Pettit's opinion records DOJ's legal position before the October 9 judgment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The May 12, 2026 opinion puts in writing advice OLC gave the Civil Rights Division informally in early September 2025. It answers whether the division may seek statewide voter lists from states and share them with DHS.
After the quotation
The opinion goes on to say that the Privacy Act and other federal privacy laws do not limit that authority, and that DOJ may share the lists with DHS to identify people who are ineligible to vote. It predates the October 9 ruling and is not a response to it.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The opinion supplies DOJ's legal defense of the voter-list collection and sharing policy that the court later vacated.
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More from this case
Read the full caseCommon Cause condemns DOJ's voter-data demands
Common Cause
“It’s time the Trump administration stop these desperate attempts to seize voters’ private data and take control of our elections,”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "OLC defends DOJ's authority to obtain voter lists". First published: 2026-10-15. Last updated: 2026-10-15. https://disputeindex.com/events/5761-doj-s-office-of-legal-counsel-concludes-that