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.