Breaking Victory • April 17, 2026
Federal Judge in Rhode Island Dismisses DOJ Attempt to Seize Rhode Islanders' Voter Data
Agreeing with arguments we made in court in March, U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy dismissed the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to obtain Rhode Islanders' sensitive voter data — including driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. This is a huge win for data privacy and voters' rights.
At the hearing, the DOJ's attorney failed to justify why the department needed this information, and acknowledged that the data would be shared with the Department of Homeland Security. Providing the data could also be used to create an unauthorized national voter database, and would be more vulnerable to hackers.
Judge McElroy called the DOJ request a "fishing expedition" that federal law does not permit. Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore praised the ruling, calling recent DOJ demands "clear Constitutional overreaches."
Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore's full statement on the ruling.