Judge rules US Justice Department filed a lawsuit over Georgia voter data in the wrong city

A federal judge in Georgia has dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that sought voter information from the state. U.S. District Judge Ashley Royal ruled on Friday that the government filed the case in the wrong venue, stating it should have been filed in Atlanta rather than Macon, despite the secretary of state maintaining an office in both locations.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department can refile the lawsuit in the appropriate jurisdiction. The department has not issued any comments regarding the dismissal or its plans moving forward.

This lawsuit is part of a broader federal initiative targeting 24 states and the District of Columbia as the Justice Department seeks to collect comprehensive voter information, including sensitive personal data such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security numbers. The effort has already faced significant pushback, with a federal judge in California rejecting a similar lawsuit on privacy grounds, while an Oregon judge has indicated he may dismiss that state’s case as well.

The Trump administration has framed these legal actions as necessary measures to ensure election security. The Justice Department maintains that states refusing to provide voter lists and information are in violation of federal law.

Raffensperger, a Republican, has taken a rare stance against the federal government’s demands, arguing that Georgia law prohibits releasing voters’ confidential personal information unless specific qualifications are met—qualifications he says the federal government has failed to satisfy. The secretary of state claims his office has already shared the public portion of the voter roll along with information about Georgia’s process for removing ineligible or outdated registrations back in December.

“I will always follow the law and follow the Constitution,” Raffensperger said in a statement released Friday. “I won’t violate the oath I took to stand up for the people of this state, regardless of who or what compels me to do otherwise.”

The dispute over voter records has become a contentious issue in Raffensperger’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign. Many supporters of former President Donald Trump continue to hold animosity toward Raffensperger after he refused Trump’s January 2021 request to “find” enough votes to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.

The controversy intensified on Thursday during a state Senate committee hearing where several Republican state senators criticized Raffensperger for refusing to comply with the federal request, arguing he has the legal authority to provide the data. The committee voted along party lines to advance a resolution urging Raffensperger to hand over the information, describing his refusal as the “latest example of a pattern of behavior by the secretary and his office to refuse oversight of his administration of Georgia’s elections.”

State Sen. Randy Robertson, a Republican from Cataula who filed the resolution, expressed frustration with the lawsuit’s dismissal, noting that even if the Justice Department refiles, the resolution will be further delayed.

“As public officials we all should participate in any investigation done by a law enforcement agency,” Robertson told The Associated Press on Friday.

Robertson is among numerous Republican lawmakers backing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones over Raffensperger for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Jones, who has already secured Trump’s endorsement for governor, was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate falsely claiming Trump had won Georgia and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors following the 2020 election.

The case represents the ongoing tension between federal oversight of elections and state authority over voter information, particularly regarding the privacy concerns of citizens’ personal data.