Trump-appointed federal judge rules against admin on Maine voter roll data

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A federal judge appointed by PresidentDonald Trumpdismissed a U.S.Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Thursday.

Thelawsuit, brought against Bellows in September, alleged that Maine violated federal election laws when the state refused to turn over data about Maine voters to the federal government.

Bellows argued that the DOJ did not provide an explanation for how it planned to use the data they requested, which included the names of everybody on Maine’s voter rolls as well as driver’s license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth.

She rejected the DOJ’s request in August and then filed amotion to dismissthe federal lawsuit in December.

TRUMP-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES DOJ LAWSUIT SEEKING ARIZONA VOTER DATA

Maine Secretary of State and candidate for Governor Shenna Bellows speaks during a May Day rally organized by local unions, on May 1, 2026, outside City Hall in Portland, Maine.(Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

“The Gulf of Maine is awfully cold, but maybe that’s what the DOJ needs to cool down.So, here’s my answer to Trump’s DOJ today: Go jump in the Gulf of Maine,” she said in a July news conference.

On Thursday, Maine Chief U.S.District Judge Lance Walker, who Trump appointed in 2018, granted Bellows’ motion and dismissed the DOJ lawsuit.

“The United States’ requests would require me to turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism and how those expressions have found expression in Americanelections,” Walker said.

DOJ SUES SIX STATES FOR REFUSING TO TURN OVER VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS, WARNS ‘OPEN DEFIANCE’ OF FEDERAL LAW

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows demonstrates how Mainers are now electronically registering to vote or updating voter registration at BMV locations during a visit to the BMV in Portland on Thursday, June 23, 2022.(Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Bellows praised the ruling.“Today’s ruling affirms that the states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections.From the moment the Trump Administration sought every American’s voter data, I said no.When they tried to bully me by suing Maine, I helped lead of coalition of states to fight back – and we’re winning.I will continue to defend every Mainer’svoting rightsand their privacy,” she said in a statement.

“Let me be clear – Trump and the DOJ may continue to try to interfere with free and fair elections run by the states.We will not let them,” Bellows said.“Under our Constitution, states are the primary regulators and administrators of elections for federal office, unless Congress passeslegislationthat preempts that framework.And Congress’s power to do even that is itself subject to limitations.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald leaving Justice Department

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for the Fraud Division Colin McDonald leave the Justice Department after a news conference on the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts in Washington on April 7, 2026.(J.Scott Applewhite/AP)

The DOJ hassued 30 statesfor refusing to turn over unredacted lists of their voter rolls.Those lawsuits have been dismissed in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and now Maine,according tothe National Conference of State Legislatures.

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The DOJ has not publicly commented on the dismissal.