In a significant legal development, the Trump administration is preparing to contest a ruling from an appeals court asserting that Michigan and other states are not required to share confidential voter roll information with the federal government. Meanwhile, a separate decision by a federal judge in Massachusetts has declared that the U.S. Postal Service must deliver mail-in ballots even to addresses not listed on a federal voter approval list, highlighting ongoing debates over election integrity and privacy.
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1960 does not grant the federal government the authority to demand private voter information from states. Michigan, which spearheads the case, maintains that it is not obligated to share sensitive voter data.
Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State, stated, “The law cannot be any clearer – states run elections, the federal government is not entitled to Michigan voters’ personal data, and the president cannot change election law with the stroke of a pen.” Benson emphasizes the importance of protecting voter information, which includes birthdates, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.
This ruling by the Sixth Circuit represents the most authoritative judicial affirmation so far of a state’s right to reject compliance with a presidential executive order on this matter.
The White House, while not disclosing specific next steps, indicated that the appeals court’s decision is unlikely to be the concluding chapter in this legal saga. “President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections,” remarked White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson in an email to Michigan Public Radio. “The President’s executive order lawfully protects our elections, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation.”
The Trump administration seeks access to voter rolls, including non-public records, to enable the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to verify voters’ citizenship status. More details on this can be found here.
According to Deputy Michigan Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie, Michigan already verifies citizenship when individuals register to vote through obtaining a driver’s license or through local clerks. The state also routinely audits voter rolls to remove registrations of deceased, inactive, or ineligible voters.
Edevbie noted that an audit conducted in 2024 identified citizenship issues with only 16 individuals out of 5.7 million voters, and these cases were reported to the Michigan Attorney General. “So, the system really does secure people’s citizenship and on top of that, after every election cycle we do go back and do audits to give the people and our department that reassurance that we did not have non-citizens voting in our elections,” he explained.
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