WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has sent litigation-hold letters to election officials in 29 states and the District of Columbia ordering them to preserve hard-copy and electronic records from the 2024 election, the Associated Press reported Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. The targets are jurisdictions the Trump administration has already sued for statewide voter-registration files that include addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.

In a letter obtained by AP, Eric Neff, acting chief of the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, told Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson that the purpose was to require “reasonable steps to conduct a litigation hold and preserve and retain all hard copy documents and electronically stored information.” The same letter warned that failure to preserve relevant data “may constitute spoliation of evidence,” which could bring “civil and criminal sanctions,” AP reported.

Standard practice — or pressure after courtroom losses?

Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon posted on X that the letters were meant to stop destruction of records tied to the lawsuits seeking voter registration lists: “This is standard litigation practice, not a ‘threat.’” Democracy Docket, citing DOJ spokeswoman Kiersten Pels’ confirmation to the New York Times, said letters went to all states where the department is in active litigation — framed there as about 30 jurisdictions — and noted the department’s 0–23 trial-court record in those suits plus one appellate loss, with no federal judge yet granting the unredacted voter-file access DOJ wants.

Henderson told AP her office received the letter Friday and that earlier DOJ correspondence had not said Utah was “under investigation.” “What’s not helpful is the constant barrage of attacks and harassment and accusations, baseless accusations, that do nothing to help secure our elections,” she said. Arizona’s secretary of state office said it will “follow the law” and called implications that administrators are not doing so “disrespectful.” Minnesota’s office said it will comply while noting the demand exceeds the usual federal 22-month retention window after an election, AP reported.

AP noted the FBI has already obtained records or election equipment tied to the 2020 or 2024 contests from the most populous counties in Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan without publicly detailing the search aims. Judges have repeatedly dismissed DOJ’s voter-file suits; Attorney General Todd Blanche has floated taking the fight to the Supreme Court. Officials also worry the unredacted rolls could be shared with Homeland Security for citizenship checks — a use a DOJ attorney has acknowledged in at least one case, per AP.

When the federal government loses in court, then demands states keep every scrap of voter PII under threat of criminal sanctions, that is not a neutral filing clerk’s errand. Preserve evidence in real cases. Do not build a national dossier by attrition.

Sources