DOJ sends litigation-hold letters across 29 states and Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has directed election officials in 29 states and Washington, D.C., to preserve records from the 2024 election while the federal government pursues lawsuits seeking detailed voter-registration information, according to an Associated Press report published early Friday.
The AP obtained a letter sent to Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson by Eric Neff, acting chief of the Voting Section in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The letter imposed a litigation hold and instructed the state to preserve material that could be relevant to the department's case. Arizona and Minnesota officials also confirmed receiving preservation letters.
The directive is a record-preservation step tied to litigation. It does not itself transfer voter files to the federal government, alter registration rules, remove anyone from a voter roll or invalidate a ballot.
Utah letter says Henderson is 'under investigation'
The Utah letter said Henderson was under investigation and warned that a failure to preserve relevant information could amount to spoliation—the destruction or loss of potential evidence—and lead to civil or criminal sanctions, the AP reported. DOJ declined to provide the outlet with further details about the stated investigation.
Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said on X that the letters were standard litigation practice meant to prevent destruction of records related to pending lawsuits and were not threats. Henderson said her office understands its preservation obligations but described the letter's tone as alarming and criticized what she called baseless accusations and harassment.
Those characterizations are the officials' competing statements. The publicly reviewed reporting does not establish that Henderson or any other state election official destroyed records, violated a preservation duty or committed a crime.
States will preserve records while disputing federal demands
Minnesota officials said the state would comply with the preservation instruction even though they contend it extends beyond the 22-month federal election-record retention period. Confirmation that a state will preserve records should not be confused with agreement to provide every item DOJ seeks.
The underlying lawsuits seek voter-registration data that can include addresses, dates of birth, driver's-license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. State officials have raised privacy and statutory concerns about turning over unredacted information and about potential downstream sharing with the Department of Homeland Security for citizenship checks.
DOJ says it needs the data to determine whether states are complying with federal voter-list-maintenance laws. That is the department's stated rationale; it does not by itself prove that a state's voter roll is unlawful or that an identified registrant is ineligible.
The voter-data campaign has faced repeated court setbacks
Federal judges have dismissed several Justice Department lawsuits seeking sensitive voter data, including cases against Arizona, Maine and Wisconsin. The rulings have generally found that federal law did not authorize the broad disclosures DOJ demanded, although the government can appeal and pursue other litigation.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has indicated that the administration could ask the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute. No Supreme Court ruling has yet granted DOJ nationwide access to the requested state voter files.
A separate federal appeals-court decision this month also left restrictions in place on the administration's use of a federal citizenship database for voter-eligibility checks. That case provides context for the broader conflict but is not the source of the new preservation letters.
What the letters do—and do not—mean
The letters require recipients to retain potentially relevant records while litigation continues. They do not prove widespread noncitizen voting, establish election fraud, authorize a new purge, cancel anyone's registration or change how eligible voters cast ballots.
Noncitizen voting in federal elections is illegal. Documented cases occur, but available evidence has not shown the widespread unlawful voting alleged in some political claims. A database match or a federal inquiry is not proof that a particular person registered or voted illegally.
Voters should rely on their state or local election office for registration status and official deadlines. No voter should provide a Social Security number, driver's-license number or banking information to an unsolicited caller claiming that this litigation requires immediate verification.
What is confirmed—and what remains unknown
Confirmed: DOJ sent preservation letters to 29 states and Washington, D.C.; the recipients are jurisdictions the department has sued for voter data; Utah, Arizona and Minnesota received letters; and state officials say they will preserve records while contesting the federal demands.
Not established in the reviewed material: a public list of every preserved record, evidence that any state destroyed election material, a criminal charge against an election official, nationwide federal access to unredacted voter files or any change to current voting rules.
The featured image is an authentic November 2016 Voice of America photograph by R. Taylor showing a voter receiving a ballot at a New York City polling place. Wikimedia Commons identifies it as public domain. It does not depict DOJ, a 2024 election record, a litigation-hold letter, a voter-data transfer or evidence of misconduct, and its use does not imply the photographer's endorsement.
Sources and further reading
Associated Press: DOJ directs 29 states and D.C. to preserve 2024 election records ↗
Associated Press: federal judges dismiss voter-data lawsuits against Maine and Wisconsin ↗
Associated Press: judge dismisses DOJ voter-data lawsuit against Arizona ↗
Reuters: appellate court restricts federal use of citizenship data for voter checks ↗
Wikimedia Commons: authentic 2016 voting photograph and public-domain status ↗