Case: United States v. McGrane

1:26-cv-00197 | U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho

Filed Date: April 1, 2026

Case Ongoing

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Case Summary

The United States filed this lawsuit against Idaho Secretary of State Philip McGrane in his official capacity on April 1, 2026, alleging violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The Attorney General had sent a written demand on September 8, 2025, requesting Idaho's statewide voter registration list to assess compliance with the Help America Vote Act's list maintenance requirements. Initially, Secretary McGrane acknowledged the Department of Justice's authority to request such records in December 2025, but he subsequently refused the demand on February 26, 2026, claiming no clear legal duty existed to disclose the requested data. The United States seeks a declaratory judgment that McGrane's refusal violates federal law, along with orders compelling him to provide the voter registration list and other federal election records within five days of a court order.

The complaint was followed with a motion to compel production of records pursuant t 52 U.S.C. § 20701, et seq. This case remains ongoing.

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Summary Authors

Ben Hefter (4/2/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73126970/parties/united-states-v-mcgrane/

Judge(s)

Winmill, Barry Lynn (Idaho)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Casali, John (Idaho)

Judge(s)

Winmill, Barry Lynn (Idaho)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Casali, John (Idaho)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

	Document
1 1:26-cv-00197	Complaint	April 1, 2026	April 1, 2026 Complaint

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73126970/united-states-v-mcgrane/

Last updated April 20, 2026, 3:09 a.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT against Phil McGrane, filed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Attachments: # 1 Cover Sheet, # 2 Summons)(Casali, John) 1 Cover Sheet View on PACER 2 Summons View on PACER	April 1, 2026	April 1, 2026 Clearinghouse
2	MOTION to Compel Production of Records Pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 20701, et seq. John Casali appearing for Plaintiff UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Responses due by 4/22/2026 (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support of Motion to Compel, # 2 Affidavit of Eric Neff, # 3 Exhibit 1 - September 8 Letter, # 4 Exhibit 2 - September 22 Emails, # 5 Exhibit 3 - Signed JEFS Agreement, # 6 Exhibit 4 - December 30 Letter, # 7 Exhibit 5 - February 26 Letter, # 8 Exhibit 6 - North Carolina Consent Order, # 9 Exhibit 7 - Texas MOU, # 10 Exhibit 8 - 2006 Georgia Complaint, # 11 Exhibit 9 - 2006 Georgia Consent Decree)(Casali, John) 1 Memorandum in Support of Motion to Compel View on RECAP 2 Affidavit of Eric Neff View on PACER 3 Exhibit 1 - September 8 Letter View on PACER 4 Exhibit 2 - September 22 Emails View on PACER 5 Exhibit 3 - Signed JEFS Agreement View on PACER 6 Exhibit 4 - December 30 Letter View on RECAP 7 Exhibit 5 - February 26 Letter View on PACER 8 Exhibit 6 - North Carolina Consent Order View on PACER 9 Exhibit 7 - Texas MOU View on PACER 10 Exhibit 8 - 2006 Georgia Complaint View on PACER 11 Exhibit 9 - 2006 Georgia Consent Decree View on PACER	April 1, 2026	April 1, 2026
3	Summons Issued as to Phil McGrane. (Print attached Summons for service.) (jd)	April 2, 2026	April 2, 2026
4	MOTION to Intervene as Defendants Terri R Pickens appearing for Defendants National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP Tri-State Conference, Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans. Responses due by 4/27/2026 (Attachments: # 1 Cover Sheet Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit Proposed Answer, # 3 Exhibit Affidavit of NAACP Tri State, # 4 Exhibit Affidavit of NAACP, # 5 Exhibit Affidavit of Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans)(Pickens, Terri) 1 Cover Sheet Cover Sheet View on PACER 2 Exhibit Proposed Answer View on PACER 3 Exhibit Affidavit of NAACP Tri State View on PACER 4 Exhibit Affidavit of NAACP View on PACER 5 Exhibit Affidavit of Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans View on PACER	April 6, 2026	April 6, 2026 RECAP
5	MOTION FOR PRO HAC VICE APPEARANCE by James J. Pinchak. ( Filing fee $ 250 receipt number AIDDC-3082064.)Terri R Pickens appearing for Defendants Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans, NAACP Tri-State Conference, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Responses due by 4/27/2026 (Pickens, Terri)	April 6, 2026	April 6, 2026
6	MOTION FOR PRO HAC VICE APPEARANCE by Christopher D. Dodge. ( Filing fee $ 250 receipt number AIDDC-3082066.)Terri R Pickens appearing for Defendants Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans, NAACP Tri-State Conference, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Responses due by 4/27/2026 (Pickens, Terri)	April 6, 2026	April 6, 2026
7	MOTION FOR PRO HAC VICE APPEARANCE by David R. Fox. ( Filing fee $ 250 receipt number AIDDC-3082067.)Terri R Pickens appearing for Defendants Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans, NAACP Tri-State Conference, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Responses due by 4/27/2026 (Pickens, Terri)	April 6, 2026	April 6, 2026
8	MEMORANDUM/BRIEF re 4 MOTION to Intervene as Defendants filed by Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans, NAACP Tri-State Conference, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . (Pickens, Terri)	April 6, 2026	April 6, 2026
9	DOCKET ENTRY ORDER approving 5, 6 AND 7 Motion for Pro Hac Vice Appearance of attorney James J. Pinchak,Christopher D. Dodge,David R Fox for NAACP Tri-State Conference, for Idaho Alliance for Retired Americans, for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Per Local Rule 83.4(e), out-of-state counsel shall immediately register for ECF. (Notice sent to CM/ECF Registration Clerk) (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (jd)	April 7, 2026	April 7, 2026