ACLU of Maine Urges Federal Appeals Court to Protect Maine Voter Data

PORTLAND – The ACLU of Maine and ACLU on Monday filed an amicus brief urging a federal appeals court to deny the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to access sensitive Maine voter data in U.S. v. Bellows. The brief argues the administration is not stating the true purpose for requesting sensitive voter data and intends to unlawfully construct a national voter database to disenfranchise voters.

The ACLU of Maine’s brief details “that the supposed purpose offered by the United States is pretextual.” The brief outlines attempts by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to gain unprecedented access and control over state voter lists, citing “government documents [indicating] how the United States ultimately plans to use voters’ sensitive personal data: to assert control over voting eligibility in the states, to order the disenfranchisement of voters, and potentially to contest the results of state-run elections.” The brief further explains that “[c]onsistent with extensive public reporting,” the government “has now admitted in open court that it will use and share the gathered information with agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, thus potentially facilitating immigration investigations.”

The unredacted voter file includes many sensitive details about Maine voters, including birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and parts of Social Security numbers. In U.S. v. Bellows, DOJ sued after the secretary of state declined an initial request for the unredacted voter information. On May 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine dismissed the case, ruling the Trump administration’s demand – with no clear explanation for how it would be used or why it was requested – was not authorized by federal voting laws. The federal government appealed, and the case is now before the First Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals.

“Maine voters have shared this sensitive information so they can exercise their right to vote, but they never agreed to let the federal government abuse that information to silence their voices,” said Carol Garvan, legal director at the ACLU of Maine. “The federal government’s attempted overreach and plans to create a national voter database clearly violate the U.S. Constitution, federal voting rights law, and state privacy law. Maine elections are free, safe, and secure. We’ll keep fighting to protect our fundamental voting rights even as the president continues to weaponize DOJ against the American people.”

The ACLU of Maine participated in oral arguments before the federal district court in March 2026, after filing a separate amicus brief in December 2025 that argued DOJ’s demands violate the language and purpose of federal voting law and state privacy law.

Nationally, the ACLU has engaged in 26 similar cases in other states. Secretaries of state across the political spectrum are protecting their voter rolls from this attempted overreach.

The briefs were filed by the ACLU of Maine and the ACLU Voting Rights Project.

Read more about this case here.