BETHLEHEM, Pa. — State officials have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Trump administration, arguing the Department of Justice has no right to access millions of Pennsylvania voters' sensitive information.
The Trump administration has sued multiple states, including California, Michigan, Minnesota and New York, alleging they have failed to cooperate with federal officials trying to ensure that states run free and fair elections.
States are required under federal law to maintain accurate voter rolls to ensure that only eligible voters cast ballots.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in September authorized litigation against Pennsylvania after Schmidt repeatedly refused requests for voters' drivers' license numbers or their partial Social Security numbers.Court records
When federal officials inquired into how Pennsylvania polices its voter rolls, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt provided them with documents outlining the state's process and a list of every voter in the commonwealth.
However, he declined to turn over voters' drivers' license numbers or their partial Social Security numbers.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in September authorized litigation against Pennsylvania after Schmidt repeatedly refused requests for that information.
The National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 all grant the federal government the authority to investigate that states are complying with federal benchmarks when it comes to elections, the Trump administration argued.
Suits likely to become political fodder
In the state's response to the suit last week, Schmidt's attorneys urged the court to dismiss the suit, saying the laws cited by the federal government don't require states to turn over voter's private information.
At the same time, the Pennsylvania Constitution and several federal laws require the state to protect that information, Schmidt's attorneys argued.
The suit and others like it are likely to become political fodder as the 2026 election cycle gets underway.
State Treasurer Stacey Garrity has argued that Trump needs allies in Harrisburg who won't throw up road blocks as it pursues his MAGA agenda.
She is viewed as the Republican frontrunner in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race.
Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Josh Shapiro has ratcheted up rhetoric against Trump as his re-election bid approaches.
His administration has repeatedly sued the Trump administration this year over withheld federal funding, most recently over $2 billion that had been earmarked for electric vehicle projects.
Trump has been raising allegations of widespread voter fraud in Pennsylvania since he narrowly lost the state and the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
The allegations were dismissed by Trump's own Justice Department at the time, and lawsuits alleging wrongdoing were dismissed in state and federal court.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has identified 45 cases of voter fraud in Pennsylvania over the past 43 years.
