DOJ Sues Nevada Secretary of State for Refusing to Provide Unredacted Voter Rolls

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Nevada Secretary of State Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar in federal court accusing the swing state of violating two cornerstone election laws, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and Help America Vote Act (HAVA), by refusing to provide unredacted voter registration records for federal review.

The complaint alleges Aguilar has failed to provide the DOJ’s requests for all identification fields found in voter registration records–that could result in the removal of ineligible registrations (deceased voters, non-residents, duplicates).

Lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, cites the Civil Rights Voting Act as the basis of the complaint:

Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (“CRA”) imposes a “sweeping” obligation on election officials, Kennedy v. Lynd, 306 F.2d 222, 226 (5th Cir. 1962), to “retain and preserve … all records and papers which come into [their] possession relating to any application, registration, payment of poll tax, or other act requisite to voting in such election.

Title III likewise grants the Attorney General the sweeping power to obtain these records: “Any record or paper required by [section 301] to be retained and preserved shall, upon demand in writing by the Attorney General or [her] representativedirected to the person having custody, possession, or control of such record or paper, be made available for inspection, reproduction, and copying at the principal office of such custodian by the Attorney General or [her] representative….

Sigal Chattah, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, told The Globe: “For far too long, Nevada’s elections have been mired with opaqueness and controversy. Today Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and I end that once and for all.”

The legal showdown between Secretary Aguilar and the Trump administration has been brewing since President Trump signed an executive order in March instructing state and local election officials to require voters to show proof of citizenship, eliminate the counting of ballots received after Election Day; and, includes a caveat to withhold federal funding for states that do not comply.

Despite receiving an estimated $10-11 million from the federal government for “election security” and administration, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar (D) has cited privacy laws and has redacted key data in response to the DOJ’s voter roll requests, rendering any federal audits ineffective.

In April, Secretary Aguilar and Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) led a multi-state lawsuit of Democratic Attorneys General and “voting rights” groups against the executive order, alleging the order was unconstitutional, whereby the president does not have the executive authority to override state election laws.

Following the lawsuit, Aguilar penned an op-ed, warning: “This [executive] order is an attack on the integrity of our election system, which protects the democratic process by which voters choose their leaders and hold them accountable. The order claims to advance “election integrity,” but it is best described as election interference. It violates our democracy’s separation of powers. It is, to put it bluntly, an illegal power grab that would have disastrous consequences for America’s voters.”

In June, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled on behalf of the Democratic plaintiffs and blocked President Trump’s executive order. The administration has since filed an appeal.

“The federal court’s decision to block this executive order on elections is a win for voters and for our democracy. The Constitution grants states the power to administer elections, and the president’s attempt to commandeer that power had to be stopped. I’m proud that Nevada played a leading role in this lawsuit, and grateful to the team that made this victory possible,” said Secretary Aguilar.

After the Massachusetts ruling, the DOJ issued the first of two voter registration file requests to Secretary Aguilar.

“These requests from the DOJ may seem like a simple attempt at oversight but in reality, the federal government is using its massive power to try to intimidate us into turning over protected voter data,” Secretary Aguilar responded.

In August, the U.S. Department of Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, twice requested voter registration records from Nevada and was met with resistance and obfuscation.

At the time, The Globe reported:

The most recent request dated August 14 alleges that Nevada failed to provide complete records per the DOJ’s initial request in mid-July. According to Dhillon, the state’s response must contain all fields of a voter’s registration record. The DOJ originally requested the records by August 21.

We have received Nevada’s statewide voter registration list (“VRL”). However, as the Attorney General requested, the electronic copy of the statewide VRL must contain all fields, including the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number as required under the Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”) to register individuals for federal elections.

To the extent there are privacy concerns, the voter registration list is subject to federal privacy protections. Section 304 of the CRA [Civil Rights Act] provides the answer:

Unless otherwise ordered by a court of the United States, neither the Attorney General nor any employee of the Department of Justice, nor any other representative of the Attorney General, shall disclose any record or paper produced pursuant to this chapter, or any reproduction or copy, except to Congress and any committee thereof, governmental agencies, and in the presentation of any case or proceeding before any court or grand jury.

In a letter dated August 21, Secretary Aguilar’s office claimed the federal inquiry was “unprecedented in its scope, its purported basis, and its purported urgency,” adding, “Providing a version of the SVRL that includes the last four digits of social security numbers and driver’s license numbers would expose highly sensitive information that is confidential, not a public record per Nevada law,” then requests an indefinite amount of time to respond as the office “assesses the legality of the request.”

“As you know, there is no deadline in law for Nevada to respond to even a legitimate records request under 52 U.S.C. § 20703. Accordingly, our office will conduct the careful analysis that your request requires and will reach out to you once we have done so,” said Gabriel Di Chiara, Chief Deputy Secretary of State.

The DOJ responded: “Any statewide prohibitions are clearly preempted by federal law” and expected compliance or a response by September 1, 2025.

As September 1 has passed and Aguilar has failed to provide all fields of statewide voter registration records, the DOJ Civil Rights Division seeks a court order to compel full disclosure.

The swing state of Nevada is the latest target in Trump’s DOJ election integrity campaign that has sued or warned 14 Democratic-led states. Similar cases have ended in settlements, including North Carolina’s removal of ~100,000 invalid registrations earlier this year.

Of note, the Democratic legislative majority in Nevada ushered in sweeping reforms to Nevada’s election laws  during the pandemic, allowing for universal mail in balloting to every registered voter, unlimited ballot harvesting, extended days for ballot receipt and tabulation, and extended election certification. Nevada does not require a Voter ID to cast a ballot and allows for same day registration and voting.

However, a Nevada ballot initiative for Voter ID passed by an overwhelming majority in 2024. The initiative must pass again in 2026 to enshrined Voter ID into the state Constitution. The amendment is supported by Governor Joe Lombardo (R).

In 2023, Attorney General Ford, who recently launched his 2026 bid for Nevada governor, told the Nevada Globe that Voter ID was “unconstitutional.”

No judge has been assigned to the DOJ’s lawsuit against Nevada as of publishing. The state has 21 days to respond.

The Globe has reached out to the NV SOS office for comment and will include their reply, if and when received.