Pittsburgh – Today, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Common Cause, and seven Pennsylvania voters announced their move to intervene in United States v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a lawsuit the Department of Justice brought against Pennsylvania and its Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt. The case is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to compel states to turn over their full voter registration databases, including with sensitive personal information such as partial Social Security and driver’s license numbers.
Represented by the Public Interest Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, and the national American Civil Liberties Union, the voters and voting rights organizations have jointly moved to join the lawsuit, case No. 2:25-cv-1481, in the Western District of Pennsylvania. You can find a link to filings here and here.
“Pennsylvanians deserve to know that their personal information and voter data are protected from political misuse,” said Dr. Amy Widestrom, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. “This case is about protecting the trust voters place in our election system. The Department of Justice’s overreach threatens to undermine that trust and jeopardize the data privacy of every voter in the Commonwealth. Our elections should comply with state law and be free from partisan interference.”
“The League of Women Voters will not stand by as the federal government seeks to weaponize voter data against the American people,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters. “Every voter deserves confidence that their information is secure and their participation in our democracy will not be used for political retribution. The Trump administration’s attempts to access sensitive voter records are a clear violation of states’ rights and a dangerous step toward politicizing election administration nationwide.”
“The voters of the commonwealth expect state election officials to handle their sensitive personal data with the utmost care, regardless of political affiliation,” said Omar Noureldin, Common Cause Senior Vice President of Policy and Litigation. “But the Department of Justice’s attempt to seize the data threatens not only voter privacy, but could undermine the public’s trust in fair, nonpartisan election administration, and suppress voters from engaging with the state in elections. We urge the court to protect voter data and safeguard the overall integrity of state and federal election systems.”
“The commonwealth has already agreed to provide the federal government with access to the voting rolls of 8 million Pennsylvanians,” said Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Now the federal government is demanding even more sensitive information about voters. Without an explanation or guarantee of how that data will be used, processed, and protected by the federal government, turning this information over would be a grave violation of Pennsylvanians’ privacy.”
“The Constitution entrusts states, not the federal government, with running elections, said Ben Geffen, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. “The federal government is suing Pennsylvania for following the law, and they should lose this case. Otherwise, countless Pennsylvania voters like our clients will have their personal data compromised. We are not going to let that happen.”
The Trump Administration’s request for data came on the heels of a series of politically motivated “voter integrity” efforts launched by Trump-aligned officials and groups after the 2024 election, most of which targeted voters in communities of color. Many of the voters moving to intervene were the target of baseless challenges to their mail ballots during the 2024 election cycle, which resulted from faulty data-matching techniques.
When Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State and Governor declined to provide the requested data, citing privacy protections and a lack of lawful basis for disclosure, the Department of Justice sued the Commonwealth to compel production.
“In 2024, thousands of qualified Pennsylvanians, including some of the same voters who are seeking to intervene in this case, were subjected to bogus voter challenges based on the misuse of voter data,” said Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “That was attempted election interference masquerading as so-called election integrity. It was wrong, and it cannot happen again.”
Pennsylvania is one of eight states that were sued.
The lawsuits and attempts to force access to private voter data are a clear violation of the states' rights to conduct their own elections and maintain a secure voter file. LWV of Pennsylvania and Common Cause are intervening to ensure that the argument is made before the court, and to ensure their members are protected.
In September, Common Cause filed a lawsuit in Nebraska to protect that state voter file data. Until the case is resolved, the voter data will not be shared with the Trump administration. And earlier this month, the League of Women Voters of Maine filed a motion to intervene in the DOJ's lawsuit against the state of Maine for failing to turn over its voters’ private data.
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