Freedom of Information Act
US federal law, signed in 1966, giving the public a right to request agency records.
Watchdogs are using the Freedom of Information Act to test the government's claims about voters: Democracy Forward sued the Justice Department under it in April 2026, and on 30 September American Oversight sued Homeland Security over a claim of 250,000 non-citizens on the rolls.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What internal DOJ communications is the FOIA suit designed to expose?
Timeline for Freedom of Information Act
Mentioned in: Watchdog sues DHS over Mullin's 250,000
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Common Cause sues over DOJ voter database
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Democracy Forward files FOIA against DOJ
US Midterms 2026Background
The Freedom of Information Act gives anyone the right to request records from federal agencies. President Lyndon Johnson signed it on 4 July 1966, and Congress has amended it several times since, including to cover electronic records. Agencies must release what is asked for unless one of nine exemptions applies, among them personal privacy, national security and law enforcement.
If an agency refuses or fails to answer, the requester can sue in federal district court. A suit under the Act asks only for documents; it does not decide whether the programme behind them is lawful, and cases often run for years.
In the 2026 election cycle it has been the standard route for outside groups to examine claims the government makes about voters, from the Justice Department's voter-data operation to Homeland Security's non-citizen figures.
Records requests target the voter-data drive
The Act became a second front against the federal push for voter data. Around 15 April, Democracy Forward sued the Justice Department under it for Civil Rights Division records on how the voter-data campaign was built. Such suits typically take 18 to 36 months to force disclosure, so nothing was expected before November; the value lies in the lasting transparency cost.
The tool turned on Homeland Security in late September. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued on 29 September, and American Oversight followed on 30 September, both seeking the records behind Secretary Markwayne Mullin's July claim of 250,000 non-citizens on voter rolls. American Oversight says the figure rested on commercial databases.
What is the Freedom of Information Act and how does it work?
Why did Democracy Forward file a FOIA lawsuit against the DOJ in April 2026?
Can FOIA be used to get DOJ internal emails?
Why did American Oversight sue DHS over non-citizens on voter rolls?
