U.S. Justice Department sues Kentucky over voter registration list access
FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against Kentucky, alleging state election officials refused to provide the state’s full voter registration list after a formal written demand from the Attorney General.
Kentucky is one of five additional states — along with Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia and New Jersey — named in newly filed litigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
According to the complaint, the lawsuit centers on Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which requires election officials to retain and preserve records related to voter registration and federal elections. The law also gives the Attorney General authority to demand access to those records for inspection and copying.
The filing states the Attorney General made a written demand on Aug. 14, 2025, seeking Kentucky’s statewide voter registration list in electronic form, including all data fields such as full name, date of birth, address and identifying numbers required under federal law.
The complaint alleges Kentucky officials refused that demand on Aug. 22, 2025, and later declined to sign a proposed memorandum of understanding meant to address privacy and data security concerns. According to the filing, as of the date of the complaint, state officials had not provided the requested records.
The lawsuit names Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams and members of the Kentucky State Board of Elections in their official capacities, stating they are responsible for coordinating compliance with federal election laws, including the Civil Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
In its request for relief, the Justice Department asks the court to declare that Kentucky’s refusal violates federal law and to order the state to produce a current electronic copy of the voter registration list within five days of a court order. The department is also asking for any additional federal election records needed to assess compliance with NVRA and HAVA requirements.
In announcing the broader litigation effort, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said accurate voter rolls are essential to election integrity. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the department will continue to pursue oversight of federal election law compliance.
The case was filed Feb. 26, 2026, in federal court in Kentucky.
ABC 36 News Now has contacted Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams for a statement regarding the suit.
His office sent us this statement:
“Kentucky’s elections are a national success story, and the Department of Justice has repeatedly acknowledged in court our successful work to clean up the dirty voter rolls I inherited. Kentucky law protects voters’ personal information, and I will not voluntarily commit a data breach by providing Kentuckians’ personal data to the federal bureaucracy unless a court order tells me to.”
