DOJ sues Virginia for failing to provide voter rolls under Youngkin administration

The Trump administration has sued Virginia's election commissioner for failing to turn over its voter rolls upon request from the Department of Justice. The complaint, filed on January 16, targets Susan Beals, an appointee of Governor Glenn Youngkin, in her capacity as the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections.

The suit compels the state of Virginia to turn over its voter rolls with "all fields, including each registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, and either their state driver’s license number, the last four digits of their Social Security number," according to the complaint.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who submitted the complaint against Virginia, stated in the lawsuit that the voter information is needed for the state to comply with the National Voter Registration Act as well as Title III of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The Trump administration has been cracking down on election security, with lawsuits being taken against two dozen states in the nation.

“This Department of Justice has now sued 24 states for failing to provide voter roll data and will continue filing lawsuits to protect American elections,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Accurate voter rolls are the foundation of election integrity, and any state that fails to meet this basic obligation of transparency can expect to see us in court.”

"Accurate voter rolls are essential to ensuring that American citizens’ votes count only once, and only with other eligible voters,” said Dhillon. “The Justice Department is committed to safeguarding fair and free elections, and will hold states accountable when they refuse to respect our federal elections laws.”

In 2025, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order in an effort to strengthen the security of the 2025 election. At the time, the order directed the Virginia elections office to collaborate with federal agencies regarding the standards of the voter rolls. The move from the Trump administration comes as Democrat Abigail Spanberger is set to be sworn in as Virginia’s governor this weekend.