PHOENIX — Common Cause and three Arizona voters joined the ACLU National Voting Rights Project and the ACLU of Arizona in filing a motion to intervene in United States v. Fontes. The interveners seek to prevent the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from obtaining Arizona voters’ personal data from the nonpublic voter file.
In July 2025, the DOJ asked Arizona to turn over voters’ full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. The state did not turn over the highly sensitive data, citing state and federal privacy laws. The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in January in an attempt to obtain this same information.
The advocates and voters argue the DOJ’s request threatens voter privacy and could enable voter disenfranchisement. They are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the ACLU Foundation of Arizona.
Voters joining the case include a graduate student, a naturalized citizen, and a formerly incarcerated individual who has had their voting rights restored. All individuals have an interest in this case because their backgrounds place them at heightened risk of DOJ targeting, a threat that extends to countless other Arizona voters.
“Arizona voters should not be forced to surrender their privacy to satisfy a federal demand that solves no real problem,” said Lili Nimlo, voting rights attorney at the ACLU of Arizona. “Election systems in Arizona are secure, transparent, and fully compliant with federal law. The DOJ’s push for full access to voter rolls is both unnecessary and harmful to public trust in our democracy. We will not back down in our commitment to protecting voters’ rights.”
“The DOJ’s demand for highly sensitive, personal information from every voter in Arizona is a barely disguised attempt to intimidate eligible voters,” said Jonathan Topaz, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “It is also illegal. Voters should not have to surrender their privacy to participate in our democracy."
“Unelected Washington bureaucrats obsessed with spreading election conspiracies have no right to your private data,” said Jenny Guzman, Common Cause’s Arizona Program Director. “This directive recklessly puts voters’ private data at risk so the Trump administration can score cheap political points. Common Cause will keep fighting to protect voters’ data privacy.”
“Voters in Arizona, and all voters, rightly expect the government to keep their personal information secure and only use it for its intended purpose of maintaining accurate records,” said Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, Senior Director of Litigation at Common Cause. “We are committed to defending voters’ rights and privacy in Arizona and nationwide, and this case is one of 14 where we are stepping in to ensure those protections are upheld.”
Common Cause previously filed a lawsuit in Nebraska to protect state voter data and has joined with the ACLU Voting Rights Project to file motions to intervene as defendants in DOJ lawsuits against Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington DC, and Wisconsin to protect sensitive data in those state.
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