University of Wisconsin Law State Democracy Research Initiative
UW Law research centre tracking DOJ voter-data suits nationwide, mostly dismissed by mid-2026.
The State Democracy Research Initiative's litigation tracker logged a seventeenth unbroken DOJ court loss on 23 July, after Kentucky's voter-file suit was dismissed; thirteen of the original 30 state suits remain active.
Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How has the UW Law tracker shaped public understanding of DOJ voter-roll litigation scope?
Timeline for University of Wisconsin Law State Democracy Research Initiative
Published the tracker recording DOJ's 0-for-17 litigation record
US Midterms 2026: DOJ loses again on state voter filesMentioned in: 9th Circuit hears first DOJ voter-data appeal
US Midterms 2026Recorded five dismissals across the original 30-state suit wave
US Midterms 2026: Four more courts toss DOJ voter-data suitsMentioned in: Massachusetts court kills DOJ voter suit
US Midterms 2026Background
The Initiative is a non-partisan research centre at the University of Wisconsin Law School tracking state election law, redistricting and voting-rights litigation. Its voter-roll lawsuit tracker, first published in April 2026, established that the Department of Justice had sued 30 states plus the District of Columbia over voter-registration data, a figure that became the standard citation across coverage of the litigation campaign.
That campaign has since collapsed in court: as of 23 July the DOJ had lost seventeen of those suits and won none, with thirteen still active after a Kentucky dismissal . Every dismissal has turned on the same defect, that the DOJ's complaints never named the statute authorising its demand .
The Initiative's work is cited in federal court filings and used by advocacy groups such as Democracy Forward to frame FOIA and litigation strategy against the DOJ, giving it a rare position as a source both sides treat as authoritative.