The League of Women Voters of Alaska and the Alaska Black Caucus sued state election officials, alleging that sharing the full voter registration list with the U.S. Department of Justice violated Alaska’s constitutional privacy protections and denied affected voters due process. Plaintiffs say the Justice Department’s memorandum of understanding allows voters to be flagged for removal without notice or a meaningful challenge. They ask the court to void the agreement and require destruction of any copies of the list held by the DOJ. The case is part of a wider nationwide dispute over the DOJ’s efforts to obtain unredacted voter records.
Alaska Voting Groups Sue Over DOJ Access To Full Voter List, Citing Privacy And Due Process Violations
FILE - A sign hangs outside the director's office of the Alaska Division of Elections, March 19. 2026, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
JUNEAU, Alaska — The League of Women Voters of Alaska and the Alaska Black Caucus filed suit Wednesday in state court, alleging that Alaska election officials violated the state constitution by sharing the state's complete voter registration list with the U.S. Department of Justice.
What Plaintiffs Allege
The complaint argues that providing unredacted voter information — including dates of birth and partial identifiers such as driver’s license numbers or portions of Social Security numbers — infringes on Alaskans’ privacy rights guaranteed by the state constitution. Plaintiffs also contend that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DOJ creates a process in which the department can flag voters for removal "without any apparent notice or process for impacted voters to challenge those decisions," amounting to a denial of due process.
Scope And Context
According to the Brennan Center, Alaska is among at least a dozen states that have provided or agreed to provide detailed voter data to the Trump administration. Alaska and Texas signed MOUs that outlined the Justice Department’s plans to analyze voter files, identify potential issues, and provide directions for removing voters deemed ineligible. The DOJ has pursued similar data from dozens of states and the District of Columbia and has filed lawsuits in many jurisdictions to obtain unredacted voter records.
State Response
Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the state Department of Law, said it would be premature to comment on specific legal claims but noted that state law "expressly permits the sharing of this information for authorized governmental purposes," and the department intends to defend that statute. The state has argued in legislative hearings that complying with the federal request served a "compelling interest" in maintaining accurate voter rolls.
Legal Representation And Relief Sought
The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Alaska, the ACLU Voting Rights Project and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The suit names Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the Division of Elections, and Division Director Carol Beecher as defendants.
Plaintiffs ask the court to void the MOU and to require the Division of Elections to make "reasonable efforts" to ensure the immediate destruction of any hard-copy or electronic copies of Alaska’s voter list that the DOJ currently holds.
Broader Litigation
The complaint in Alaska joins a wave of litigation nationwide. The DOJ has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain similar data; judges have rejected those requests in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island, among others. In some cases, courts have raised concerns about privacy, state law limits, and procedural protections for voters.
Associated Press reporter John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
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