The U.S. Department of Justice filed unprecedented lawsuits this week against Maine and Oregon to obtain private voter data. But the Maine Secretary of State isn’t intimidated.

Friday, September 19

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THIS WEEK

- DOJ sues Maine, Oregon in aggressive move to seize voter data

- Utah, Missouri are fighting back on GOP gerrymanders

- White voters file brief in Louisiana redistricting challenge

VOTER ROLLS

DOJ sues Maine, Oregon in aggressive move to seize voter data

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) made ([link removed] ) her response clear after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued ([link removed] ) her state this week, telling Democracy Docket: “We won’t back down.”

DOJ filed lawsuits against Maine ([link removed] ) and Oregon ([link removed] ) , attempting to obtain private voter registration data. And Bellows says it’s no accident they picked those states.

“Our neighbors in New Hampshire also rejected the Department of Justice’s voter request,” Bellows said at a Wednesday press conference. “So it is not normal that they are targeting just me and Oregon with these lawsuits. Why aren’t they targeting New Hampshire or Pennsylvania, who have Republican secretaries of state who have said no?”

The dramatic legal actions mark a major turning point in the department’s effort to force states to turn over unredacted voter rolls and list maintenance records. If federal courts side with the DOJ, it could set a new precedent forcing states to hand over extensive, sensitive voter data. Read more about the lawsuits here. ([link removed] )



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REDISTRICTING

Utah, Missouri are fighting back on GOP gerrymanders

The GOP is continuing its push to rig congressional maps around the country – next up, Ohio – but they’re facing serious opposition to their schemes in Utah and Missouri.

In a major victory ([link removed] ) for voters, the Utah Supreme Court this week denied ([link removed] ) the state legislature’s petition to keep its gerrymandered congressional map in place for upcoming elections and ordered lawmakers to present a new map by Sept. 25.

The decision likely means Utah voters will have fair districts when they go to the polls next year – and it could give Democrats an additional seat in Congress.

Meanwhile, Missouri became the second red state to pass a GOP gerrymander this year under direct pressure from President Donald Trump. But unlike in Texas, Trump is finding out Missouri voters have a huge trick up their sleeves – and they’re using it.

Missourians have the constitutional right to a referendum that allows them to veto laws passed by the legislature. Richard Von Glahn, executive director of People NOT Politicians Missouri, said this week a coalition of Missourians have filed ([link removed] ) a referendum petition and over 800 people have volunteered to help collect signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

If the coalition submits the signatures by Dec. 11, the map cannot go into effect until signatures are verified and Missourians have the chance to hold a referendum vote, Von Glahn said.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) still hasn’t signed the map legislation into law – maybe because Republicans appear to have made ([link removed] ) a mistake and included a Kansas City precinct in two congressional districts, giving those residents the ability to vote twice. (Kehoe’s office denies there’s an error.) Read more about the Missouri referendum here. ([link removed] )

VOTING RIGHTS ACT

White voters file brief in Louisiana redistricting challenge

The voting world was holding its breath in June, waiting for a historic ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in the Louisiana v. Callais ([link removed] ) redistricting case. Instead, the court issued an order to rehear the case in the next term. That break is coming to an end. SCOTUS is scheduled to hear oral arguments starting Oct. 15 in a case that could determine the future of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) – and what relief is available to minority voters when maps are drawn to silence them.

In the latest development, white voters filed ([link removed] ) a supplemental brief this week giving us a preview of what to expect in October. The brief addressed whether Louisiana's intentional creation of a second majority-minority congressional district violates the 14th or 15th Amendment. They argued Louisiana's map violates the 15th Amendment and they urged SCOTUS to order the district court to implement a new map.

They also argued if SCOTUS does not gut Section 2 of the VRA in their Louisiana ruling, it should at least make it much harder for minority voters to win in court.

They want it to be even more difficult for minority voters to prove racial discrimination in redistricting, that race drove the redistricting decisions, and that the discrimination stems from the state itself. Even if minority voters do clear those higher bars, they’re arguing that the remedy should not elevate one racial group at the expense of another, since in their view "that would only remedy discrimination through discrimination." Read more about the Louisiana case here. ([link removed] )

OPINION

Trump’s Plan to Use the State to Crush Dissent

Screenshot 2025-09-18 at 1.17.00 PM ([link removed] )

Over and over again, Marc’s warnings and predictions about the second Trump administration have, unfortunately, turned out to be accurate.

Here’s what he said ([link removed] ) to expect next: “Soon we will see the targeting of donors, organizations and individual opposition leaders. The goal will be to tell a story about each that makes them seem uniquely bad and not worthy of our collective support. Much of this will be fabricated lies — aimed at dividing an already fragile movement.”

The bottom line is that progressive groups will need to stand together or none will be safe, Marc said. Read more here. ([link removed] )

NEW EPISODE

Republicans Are Making Voter Registration A Crime

Beto O'Rourke joins Marc to expose how Republicans are trying to steal the midterm elections, and what he’s doing to stop them. Watch it on YouTube here. ([link removed] )

What We’re Doing

We’re excited to listen to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center’s new podcast, Direct Democracy Diaries ([link removed] ) . The show spotlights stories of activists and their campaigns to make change at the ballot box. As we’re seeing in Missouri – where a ballot measure could give voters the final word on the GOP gerrymander – voters in all states need to have direct democracy options available to them, and hopefully this podcast can help inspire all of us to fight for them where we live.

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