A federal judge tentatively ruled that Oregon does not have to turn over the personal data of more than 3 million registered voters to the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai said Wednesday he plans to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the state and Secretary of State Tobias Read, though a final written ruling is still pending.
The Justice Department sued Oregon after Read refused a demand to provide unredacted voter records including full names, birth dates, home addresses, driver’s license numbers, or partial Social Security numbers. Read argued the demand violated voter privacy and exceeded federal authority. The judge expressed skepticism that the unredacted data was necessary to enforce federal voting laws.
Oregon already provides a redacted voter list that includes names, addresses, party affiliation, and birth years, but not sensitive identifiers, and says it will provide that same list to the federal government.
State leaders and advocacy groups warned the DOJ could use detailed voter data for immigration enforcement, despite evidence showing noncitizen voting is extremely rare.
Federal officials pointed to Oregon’s unusually high voter registration rate as a concern, while the judge questioned whether laws designed to prevent voter exclusion were being misapplied to justify removing voters. The ruling marks an early legal win for Oregon amid similar federal lawsuits against more than 20 states.
The above summarizes the Oregon Capital Chronicle‘s Jan. 14, 2026 article “Oregon not required to give feds voter data, judge rules” by Julia Shumway.