MACON, Ga. - A federal judge has tossed out a Justice Department lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over unredacted voter files.
What we know:
In a decision issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert ruled that federal election requirements do not force states to disclose sensitive personal data.
"Federal law does not preempt Georgia’s voter privacy law," Judge Calvert wrote, officially dismissing the case and denying the Justice Department's motion to compel.
In her ruling, Judge Calvert established that Title III of the Civil Rights Act does not preempt Georgia’s voter privacy laws. The court further determined that neither the National Voter Registration Act nor the Help America Vote Act requires states to disclose sensitive, confidential voter information. Additionally, Judge Calvert noted that Georgia’s ongoing list-maintenance efforts already demonstrate full compliance with federal election laws without the need to surrender unredacted voter data.
The backstory:
The dispute began in mid-2025 when the Justice Department demanded Georgia’s full statewide voter registration list, including voters' Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, full dates of birth, and voting histories. Federal officials said they needed the unredacted files to check compliance with federal election laws and verify citizenship through a federal database.
PREVIOUS STORY: Georgia voter data lawsuit draws intervention from voting rights organizations
Georgia officials pushed back against the federal demands. In December 2025, Secretary Raffensperger’s office turned over a voter registration file, but stripped out all sensitive personal identifiers, citing state laws that make that information strictly confidential.
The Department of Justice then sued, claiming Georgia's refusal to hand over the unredacted records violated the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and asking a federal judge to force the state to turn over the full data.
What they're saying:
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger praised the ruling Wednesday, framing it as a major victory for voter privacy.
"I will always protect the sensitive personal information of Georgians, in accordance with the law and the Constitution," Raffensperger said in a statement. "I will not give in and break the law for anyone. Period."
Raffensperger added that while his office will continue cooperating with federal partners, "cooperation does not mean ignoring the law or surrendering the privacy rights of Georgia voters. We stood our ground because the law was clear, and we are thankful the Court agreed."
FOX 5 reached out to the the DOJ for comment following the decision and is awaiting a response.
What we don't know:
The Department of Justice has not indicated whether it plans to appeal the district court's decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
It remains unclear if the DOJ will seek alternative legal mechanisms or revised agreements to review Georgia's voter list maintenance procedures without accessing unredacted personal identifiers.
The Source: Information in this story came directly from federal court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, an official statement from the Georgia Secretary of State's Office and previous FOX 5 reports.