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Democracy Forward
OrganisationUS

Democracy Forward

Washington DC legal nonprofit; filed FOIA suit vs DOJ over voter-data records, April 2026.

Last refreshed: 16 April 2026

Key Question

What DOJ records is Democracy Forward seeking after the voter-data dismissal?

Timeline for Democracy Forward

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Common Questions
What is Democracy Forward suing the DOJ for in 2026?
Democracy Forward filed a FOIA lawsuit on 15 April 2026 seeking Civil Rights Division records on voter-data collection efforts and internal communications about election-denial claims under AG Pam Bondi.Source: Democracy Forward / DOJ filings
Is Democracy Forward the same as Democracy Docket?
No. Democracy Forward (founded 2017) focuses on government accountability through FOIA suits and administrative litigation. Democracy Docket (Marc Elias's organisation) focuses on electoral law challenges. They are separate organisations.
Who runs Democracy Forward?
Skye Perryman has been president and CEO since 2022. She previously served at the EPA and worked as a federal appellate litigator.

Background

Democracy Forward filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Justice on 15 April 2026, seeking records from the Civil Rights Division on voter-data collection efforts and internal communications about election-denial claims. The suit targets Pam Bondi's DOJ following the Massachusetts federal court dismissal of a DOJ suit challenging that state's motor voter registration procedures. The FOIA action is designed to expose whether the Civil Rights Division's election-Integrity work is being directed by politically motivated claims.

Democracy Forward was founded in 2017 as a Washington DC-based legal nonprofit focused on government accountability through litigation and public records requests. It has pursued FOIA suits and administrative challenges across multiple administrations. Skye Perryman has led the organisation as president and CEO since 2022, having previously worked at the EPA and as a federal appellate litigator.

The organisation operates in an overlapping ecosystem with Democracy Docket (which focuses on electoral law litigation) and the ACLU's voting rights programme, but its primary tool is administrative accountability rather than direct electoral challenges. Its FOIA suit against the DOJ Civil Rights Division is one of several legal actions filed by voting-rights groups in the weeks following the Massachusetts dismissal.