Federal Court to Hear Oral Arguments on U.S. Justice Department Lawsuit Seeking Private Voter Data

Tomorrow, oral arguments will be held before the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in United States v. Oregon et al., the lawsuit filed last September by the Trump Administration's Justice Department against Oregon's Secretary of State Tobias Read.

Last July, the U.S. Department of Justice contacted Oregon's Secretary of State requesting an electronic, unredacted copy of Oregon's voter registration list. The request sought voters' private and highly sensitive information, including full dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, and complete driver's license numbers. After Secretary Read refused to turn over voters' private information -- offering instead to provide the publicly available voter list subject to applicable public records and privacy laws -- the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit.

The case was briefly paused due to the federal shutdown. On November 17, Oregon filed a motion to have the case dismissed, noting that federal voting laws, including the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act, do not require states to provide highly sensitive voter information to the federal government. The upcoming hearing will allow both parties to present their arguments as to whether Oregon should be compelled to provide an unredacted voter list.

"The federal government has to follow the law, just like everyone else," said Secretary of State Tobias Read. "The federal government has no legal entitlement to Oregonian's private voter data, and we look forward to making that argument in court."

WHAT: Oral arguments in United States v. Oregon et al. (6:25-cv-01666-MTK) case.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 9:30 PM.

WHERE: U.S. District Court of Oregon, Eugene, OR.

WHY: Oral arguments will address pending motions to dismiss, the resolution of which could determine whether Oregon is required to provide an unredacted voter list to the federal government.