Derek Clinger

Repeat after me:
An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law.

Also:
Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections

1/ UPDATE: The affidavit underlying the FBI raid to seize 2020 election materials in GA has been unsealed. It cited allegations conservative researcher Kevin Moncla told @ProPublica he had briefed investigators on. Witness names are redacted.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Nebraska judge tosses lawsuit to keep state from releasing voter data to feds • Nebraska Examiner Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen has said he plans to hand the data to the Justice Department later this week.

Nebraska update: The state trial court hearing Common Cause's suit to block the NE Secretary of State from turning over the state's voter data to DOJ dismissed the suit late last week for lack of standing. Common Cause said it will appeal.

Coverage here: nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/n... 20/

Michigan update: DOJ's suit for Michigan's voter data dismissed on all claims.

The opinion takes a different analytical route than the earlier decisions out of California and Oregon, but it reaches the same result: DOJ isn't entitled to the voter list.

Opinion here: go.wisc.edu/tc5wls 19/

The bind that state election officials find themselves in (needing to challenge attempts at election subversion while not repeating the threats in a way that demobilizes) is very similar to the challenge states, cities, and NGOs faced in during the 2020 Census. A few thoughts on this. / 1

Oregon update: Judge Kasubhai's opinion dismissing all of DOJ's claims for Oregon's voter data is out.

Like the California decision, it questions DOJ's honesty about why it wants states' voter data. That's now 2 federal judges raising credibility concerns.

Read it here: go.wisc.edu/yj2j42 18/

@derekclinger.bsky.social of @uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social: “It’s a dramatic escalation even among recent Trump administration actions like suing nearly half the states for their sensitive voter data.”

The Utah governor just signed a bill to expand his state's supreme court by two seats.

Conservatives have been angry at a series of judicial rulings, including one that safeguarded direct democracy in 2024 & one that struck down their gerrymander. 1st step of their retaliation.

Pennsylvania update: DOJ moved to transfer voter data case after the State argued that DOJ filed in the wrong federal court. This could be the 3rd of these suits DOJ filed in the wrong court under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 after same error in the California and Georgia suits. 17/

Court hears lawsuit seeking to stop Nebraska from releasing voter data to federal government • Nebraska Examiner A Lancaster County District Court judge heard arguments Thursday for and against Nebraska releasing voter records to the federal government.

Coverage of yesterday's hearing in Common Cause Nebraska's state lawsuit seeking to block the Nebraska Secretary of State from turning over the state's sensitive voter data to DOJ -- no decision, yet: nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/29/c... 16/

California recently banned federal law enforcement officials (including ICE) from wearing masks or concealing their identities. At least 17 other states have proposed similar laws.

The federal government claims that these laws are unconstitutional. Is that right? Well, it's complicated 🧵 1/

@derekclinger.bsky.social of @uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social: “It’s a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to expand federal control over our country’s historically state-run election infrastructure.”

FBI execution of search warrant in Fulton #ELB Justin here. Rick linked earlier today to what he called a “dangerous escalation” of DOJ/FBI aggressiveness in pursuing election records, when they executed a search warrant at a Fulton County electio...

This new Fulton Cnty. election search warrant raises _a lot_ of questions.

The apparent relevant crime is allegedly throwing away docs in '21 or '22.

What probable cause do they have that Fulton threw stuff away 4 years ago, and why do (some) 2020 records help prove what they threw away in 2022?

@derekclinger.bsky.social won first place in the Institute for Election Administration Funding Solutions Contest, a national contest to propose innovative election administration funding solutions. Read his winning proposal: buff.ly/qSWyilv.

DOJ's Oregon case officially dismissed: Yesterday, the judge called a hearing to require DOJ to explain how AG Bondi's weekend demand for MN's voter data in exchange for ICE leaving impacts the OR case. The judge's prior "tentative" dismissal is now final, though an opinion is still forthcoming. 15/

JUDGE: “It concerns me that Attorney General Bondi’s letter cites three things that are the subject of pending litigation before this court,” referring to the District of Minnesota.

"Is the executive trying to achieve a goal through force that it can't achieve through the Courts?"

New resource: We're tracking all 25 DOJ lawsuits seeking states' sensitive voter data, including status, key decisions (2 dismissals + 1 tentative dismissal so far), and upcoming hearings.

Check it out here: go.wisc.edu/93o421

Read our deep dive on the legal issues here: go.wisc.edu/070765

On Lawfare Daily, @annabower.bsky.social spoke with @cshaplaw.bsky.social and @bgodar.bsky.social about the state of Minnesota’s jurisdiction to criminally investigate Jonathan Ross, the ICE official who reportedly shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7. youtu.be/YzmBR71KPW8

14/ Breaking: DOJ's Georgia case dismissed for filing in wrong court. District court says should've been in Northern District (Atlanta), not Middle District (Macon). Wrong venue also contributed to the dismissal of DOJ's CA case last week. DOJ can refile in correct court. Order: go.wisc.edu/l6qx5p

DHS’s Data Grab Is Getting Citizens Kicked Off Voter Rolls, New Complaint Says As states check voter registration against a mashup of federal data, a new complaint says US citizens are getting kicked off state voter rolls as a result.

As states check voter registration against a mashup of federal data, a new complaint says US citizens are getting kicked off state voter rolls as a result. www.wired.com/story/dhs-da...

@derekclinger.bsky.social @uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social ponders what could happen next

California judge’s dismantling of DOJ’s voter roll lawsuit could resonate nationwide A federal judge’s comprehensive rebuke of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) aggressive campaign for California’s voter rolls last week could hurt DOJ’s cases against other states, experts say.

13/ @democracydocket.com has a new piece on the implications of last week's California decision and Oregon's "tentative" ruling for the remaining lawsuits. It covers a lot of ground: the decisions, DOJ's credibility, federal privacy law, and more.

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Trump administration says DOGE may have misused Social Security data The Justice Department told a judge that an unnamed political advocacy group contacted Department of Government Efficiency staffers in a bid to gain access to state voter rolls.

12/ Underscoring states' privacy concerns: DOJ revealed that 2 DOGE employees at the Social Security Administration were secretly in touch with a group seeking to overturn election results and may have agreed to share SSN data to match state voter rolls.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

Justice Department Sues Virginia for Failure to Produce Voter Rolls WASHINGTON – Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced it has filed a federal lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia for failure to produce their full voter registration li...

11/ DOJ announced this evening that it sued Virginia for the state's unredacted voter list. The timing is notable as Dem Gov-elect Spanberger takes office tomorrow, replacing GOP Gov Youngkin. DOJ is now suing 24 states + DC for their sensitive voter data.

www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...

Breaking: Federal court just dismissed DOJ's California voter list case on all claims, with very strong language about democracy and privacy. The court also found that the DOJ's requests violate federal law, including Privacy Act (among others).

Opinion here: go.wisc.edu/8d5a0i

Court order pushing back show cause hearing to 3/19

Notice amending order to correct prior order's use of "Voting Rights Act" instead of "Civil Rights Act of 1960"

10/ The court in the Connecticut case pushed back the show cause hearing to 3/19. That leaves the 1/29 hearing in the Georgia case (on whether DOJ filed in the correct federal court) as the only hearing currently scheduled in the next few weeks, though more are sure to come.

Trump’s election executive order again set back with latest court ruling Courts have so far blocked key provisions of the president’s executive order, but it’s had more influence over federal agencies.

@uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social senior staff @derekclinger.bsky.social comments on federal court rulings blocking an executive order aimed at revising election rules nationwide, warning that the order is still having a tangible impact within the federal government. Read the full story:

Judge rules Oregon won't need to hand over unredacted voter rolls to Trump admin Oregon is one of over 20 states the Trump administration has sued for voter information, in efforts to curb what it claims is illegal voting.

9/ More coverage of yesterday's "tentative" decision rejecting DOJ's efforts to obtain Oregon's sensitive voter data. DOJ also denied on the record that it's building a national voter list. This will likely be the 1st decision of the 24 pending suits

www.courthousenews.com/judge-rules-...

8/ Big update from today's Oregon hearing: After an all day hearing on the state's motion to dismiss, Judge Kasubhai said he's very likely to dismiss DOJ's lawsuit on all three claims (NVRA, HAVA, and Civil Rights Act of 1960).

7/ Hearings in the other cases will be scheduled (and then possibly rescheduled) as states file their responses. I’ll keep updating this thread as things develop.