Filed Date: Jan. 16, 2026
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
This is one of many lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division seeking access to state voter information. This lawsuit seeks Virginia's statewide voter registration list with voter information. Here are all the DOJ Voter Data lawsuits in the Clearinghouse collection.
On January 16, 2026, the Civil Rights Division filed this lawsuit against the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. It alleged that it was investigating Virginia's compliance with federal election law, including the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), both of which require the state to maintain and preserve certain voter records. It further alleged that Title III of the Civil Rights Act both requires state and local officials to retain and preserve records related to voter registration and empowers the Attorney General to request those records. On July 15 and August 14, 2025, the Attorney General had requested that Virginia provide its statewide voter registration list and related information; after extensive negotiation, on January 8, 2026, representatives for the Commissioner expressed that the state would not be providing the requested information. This lawsuit followed, seeking a declaratory judgment that Virginia's refusal to provide the election records upon a demand by the Attorney General violates Title III of the Civil Rights Act, and an order requiring the Commissioner to turn over Virginia’s computerized statewide voter registration list, 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, or HAVA unique identifier.
This case is ongoing.
Summary Authors
Clearinghouse (1/17/2026)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72156765/parties/united-states-v-beals/
Neff, Eric (Virginia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72156765/united-states-v-beals/
Last updated Jan. 17, 2026, 5:21 a.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Litigation and Investigations By the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: Jan. 16, 2026
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
United States Department of Justice
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Virginia Department of Elections, State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Civil Rights Act of 1957/1960, 52 U.S.C. § 10101 (previously 42 U.S.C. § 1971)
Other Dockets:
Eastern District of Virginia 3:26-cv-00042
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Voting: