On Election Day, Attorney General Rayfield Defends Voter Privacy at Ninth Circuit

Attorney General Dan Rayfield today defended Oregonians' right to vote without surrendering their personal information to the federal government, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in United States v. Oregon.

"Oregonians deserve to know that voting laws can't be used as a backdoor to grab their personal information," said Attorney General Rayfield. "This was just the president's way of making it harder for people to vote and stripping away the rights of states when it comes to running our own elections."

The Trump administration is appealing a January 2026 ruling by U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, who dismissed the Department of Justice's lawsuit after finding that federal laws do not allow the federal government to demand Oregon's unredacted voter registration data. The data at issue contains sensitive personal information including partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and driver's license numbers.

The US DOJ has lost every case decided on the merits at the trial court level - six in total - even before Trump-appointed judges. Today's Ninth Circuit argument is one of the first to reach an appellate panel. The Trump administration has now sued 29 states and Washington, D.C. in a sweeping effort to obtain unredacted voter files.

Oregon originally refused the DOJ's demand, arguing federal law did not authorize the disclosure and that turning over the data would violate Oregonians' privacy. Judge Kasubhai agreed, finding that federal laws do not require Oregon to disclose the sensitive voter data sought by the federal government in this case.

Attorney General Rayfield and Secretary of State Read also held a press conference in Salem today to talk about how Oregon has stepped up to fill the gaps and maintain the secure, fair, and accurate elections, and how we will continue to defend Oregonians' right to hold their government accountable. To watch today's event, click here.