A federal judge has dismissed a case from the U.S. Department of Justice against Kentucky election officials that sought to gain access to voter registration data, including sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers.
In an opinion released Thursday, District Judge Claria Horn Boom cited a recent ruling regarding Michigan voter data from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ later asked the 6th Circuit to rehear the Michigan case. Under the second Trump administration, the DOJ sued numerous states, including Kentucky, for access to sensitive voter data, arguing it was entitled to the information under the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
With the precedent from the appeals court, Boom wrote that Kentucky’s voter registration list “is not a record or paper subject to Title III of the Civil Rights Act.” She was appointed to the bench by Trump during his first term.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, and members of the Kentucky State Board of Elections were named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed in February in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky.
“We have won our case in federal court on protecting voter privacy,” Adams said on X Thursday afternoon. “Kentucky’s elections are secure, and so is your personal information.”
Karen Sellers, the executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a statement that the case “was never about resisting federal law.”
“It was about faithfully carrying out the responsibilities assigned to the Board by Congress and the Kentucky General Assembly, and respecting the balance struck by the United States Constitution,” Sellers added. “We appreciate the Court’s careful analysis of the governing statutes and its recognition that the Board acted in accordance with the law. The Board remains committed to administering secure, transparent, and lawful elections for the people of Kentucky while continuing to cooperate with our federal partners within the limits established by Congress.”
A spokesperson for the DOJ did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday.
As part of her analysis, Boom reviewed correspondence between the DOJ and Adams in the summer of 2025 regarding the request for voter data, but the letters from the DOJ did “not specify a basis for the request.” Before that, Boom said Kentucky officials do not “come into [the] possession” of the statewide voter list in the way the term is used in the Civil Rights Act because it is created and not given by a third party.
Under the second Trump administration, DOJ officials began asking states for voter information last year. The DOJ has since shared voter roll information with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to search for noncitizens. Homeland Security is building out a powerful citizenship verification program and touting it as a way to ensure election integrity.
In a December interview with the Kentucky Lantern, Adams said the DOJ had requested “the entirety of the voter file, including personal identifying information, driver’s license and social security number.” He added that his office shared a voter information file that candidates often request to build information to contact voters before an election. The file includes information like party affiliation, street address and birth year. Adams said his office did not provide driver’s licenses or Social Security numbers.
Other Kentuckians sought to intervene in the case, including two voters and voting advocacy groups represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and Jefferson County Clerk David Yates, a Democrat. Jefferson County is the most populous county in Kentucky.
The voters, voting advocacy groups and their counsel called the ruling a “a significant victory for Kentucky voters and their right to participate in our democracy without sacrificing their privacy” in a joint statement.
“The Department of Justice has no legal basis to demand highly sensitive personal information, no doubt to weaponize it against eligible voters and chill civic participation. In a moment where President Trump continues to weaponize the DOJ against the American people and attempts to sow doubt and chaos into our elections, we are proud to have represented Kentucky voters and civic organizations in challenging this federal overreach, and will continue to defend voter privacy and access to the ballot,” the statement said.
Yates said in a statement “election officials fully complied with every legal obligation throughout this process.”
“What we would not do is surrender confidential personal information that the law protects,” Yates continued. “This ruling confirms that transparency in elections can and must coexist with strong safeguards for voter privacy. Our responsibility is not only to maintain accurate voter rolls, but also to protect the millions of Kentuckians who entrust us with their personal information.”
