President Donald Trump speaks outside the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Trump administration's demands for states' "unredacted" voter rolls failed for a 14th and 15th time on Tuesday, with losses in Virginia and New Mexico. The losses led to yet another victory lap for a Democratic Party election lawyer "proud" to be President Donald Trump's legal nemesis, and at a time when at least one Republican state attorney general has had enough of the threats.
As the midterm elections draw ever closer and remain atop the president's mind, the DOJ has sued in federal courts across the country for "unredacted" voter rolls containing "sensitive information," like driver's licenses and partial Social Security numbers.
But the DOJ's Title III demand regime, carried out by DOJ Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, has not succeeded in any blue state it has targeted, which election lawyer Marc Elias was happy to call attention to on Tuesday.
DOJ has lost 15 of the 30 cases it filed to obtain state voter files. It has not won a single case. 6 of the defeats were before judges appointed by Trump.
Elias Law Group moved to intervene to defend voters in all of these cases. We are undefeated.
When we fight, we win!🗳️⚖️💪
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) July 14, 2026
"DOJ has lost 15 of the 30 cases it filed to obtain state voter files. It has not won a single case. 6 of the defeats were before judges appointed by Trump," Elias posted on X, noting his firm Elias Law Group "moved to intervene to defend voters in all of these cases."
"We are undefeated," he declared, separately adding on Wednesday that "[i]f a mercy rule existed in litigation, it would be invoked to spare the Department of Justice further embarrassment in its futile effort to obtain sensitive voter data from the states."
"DOJ is 0-15 in those cases and has lost its first appeal," Elias said.
Evidently, it isn't just states like California, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Virginia or Georgia that are frustrated by having to rebuff the DOJ's sweeping demands. The office of Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, a former Republican congressman, essentially told the DOJ in a July 10 letter to lose his number.
The letter, reported by PBS NewsHour's Liz Landers, responded to a "notice" the DOJ sent Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, one warning him of possible criminal liability for noncompliance. Labrador's office skewered the DOJ, saying those allegations were "not well taken."
The letter asked about the 15 cases of noncitizens allegedly illegally registered to vote in Idaho, which were referred to the DOJ for prosecution.
"While Secretary McGrane has not received an update on any of those cases, he is unaware of the USDOJ taking any action against those noncitizens for registering to vote in Idaho in violation of federal law," the letter said, before offering "several suggestions" for the DOJ, including bringing those prosecutions.
"[Y]ou can stop threatening your friends in Idaho," said one suggestion. Voluntarily dismiss the DOJ's lawsuit against Idaho, said another.
Then came the kicker.
"Finally, please make sure to take all appropriate steps to cease further communications with my client, Secretary McGrane, that relate to the lawsuit or the subject of your letter," wrote Labrador's Chief of Civil Litigation and Constitutional Defense James E.M. Craig.
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