United States of America v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Since the beginning of the second Trump Administration, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued requests for states to provide registered voters’ data. This data could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security for criminal and immigration investigations. 

Pennsylvania was among the states that received these requests. The DOJ requested data that included voters’ full name, date of birth, residential address, and either their state driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Pennsylvania declined to provide the data containing voters’ driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, stating federal law did not require it to do so, and that state laws and the state constitution restricted disclosure of such information. 

On September 25, 2025, the DOJ filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Department sought an order requiring the PA Secretary of State to disclose the data and declaring that any state law barring disclosure was preempted by federal law. The DOJ’s complaint asserted it was entitled to the data under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and the voter list maintenance and enforcement provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). 

On October 9, 2025, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania (LWVPA), several individual voters, and Common Cause filed a motion to intervene in the case to defend Pennsylvania voters. LWVPA argued disclosure of the data would threaten the privacy of its members, compromise voter privacy and voter engagement work, and facilitate meritless voter eligibility challenges and other attacks on the right to vote. 

LWVPA is represented in this matter by the ACLU Voting Rights Project, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and the Public Interest Law Center.