ACLU's Ming Cheung criticizes the effort to seize voter data
American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties Union, through Ming Cheung, senior staff attorney in its Voting Rights Project
The ACLU's Ming Cheung described the effort to seize sensitive voter data as part of a pattern of Trump administration interference in elections.
“This effort to seize sensitive voter data is part of that same pattern”
Official statement
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.
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Official statement
About this source
Plaintiffs and counsel criticize DOJ's policy and welcome vacatur; their evaluation is distinct from the court's reasoning.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The ACLU announced the court ruling against DOJ voter-data demands. Cheung described earlier administration actions as interference in election administration.
After the quotation
Cheung said the ruling made clear that the administration could not use the federal government to disrupt elections or put voters' rights at risk.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Cheung directly criticizes the DOJ data-collection effort at issue.
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- United States Department of Justice
More from this case
Read the full caseColumbus criticizes DOJ's failure to follow Privacy Act steps and doubts the injunction's effect
“these are procedural steps that they could have taken but refused to.”Read statement
Protect Democracy says the voter database violates privacy law
Protect Democracy
“This database violates federal privacy laws”Read statement
Common 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. "ACLU's Ming Cheung criticizes the effort to seize voter data". First published: 2026-10-16. Last updated: 2026-10-16. https://disputeindex.com/events/5803-the-aclu-s-ming-cheung-described-the-effort