Federal Court to Hear Arguments in Lawsuit Seeking Confidential Maine Voter Data
March 25, 2026 12:00 am
PORTLAND – The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine will hear arguments in United States v. Bellows, a case concerning the federal government’s unlawful demand for unredacted, sensitive voter information. The court will consider Secretary of State Bellows’ motion to dismiss and the federal government’s motion to show cause.
The ACLU of Maine and ACLU Voting Rights Project filed a friend-of-the-court brief in December 2025, arguing the federal government’s demands are not justified by the language and purpose of federal voting law. The organization will present oral arguments as a friend-of-the-court, urging that the case be dismissed.
In lawsuits in over 20 jurisdictions, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has demanded full, unredacted voter rolls – including names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers – without clear explanation of how this sensitive data would be used or protected. The ACLU has engaged in over 20 of these cases.
The brief argues that DOJ’s demands are inconsistent with the purpose of federal voting laws, which were designed to create free, fair, and secure elections. For instance, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 allows the federal government to access voter data to make sure states are providing all voters with fair, free, and equal access to the ballot. Congress granted this authority in part to prevent disenfranchisement in states that destroyed Black Americans’ voter registration information in the Jim Crow era. A California district court wrote in a January 2026 order that “DOJ cites no disenfranchisement concerns for their extraordinary request for the personally identifying information of millions of Californians.”
DOJ’s actions pose a profound threat to the privacy and security of voters’ personal information and risk its misuse by the federal government for mass disenfranchisement. Protecting voter data from unwarranted federal collection will ensure voters can participate in elections without fear that their information will be misused, exposed to hackers, or weaponized to repress turnout. These coordinated legal actions reaffirm the principle that the federal government has limited authority, and it is not permitted to act beyond that authority.
WHO
Zach Heiden, Chief Counsel, ACLU of Maine
WHEN
Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET
WHERE
Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse, Courtroom 1
156 Federal Street
Portland, ME 04101
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