The Markup: Courts Weigh in on Voter Rolls, Mail Ballots, and Voter ID

Welcome to The Markup, Voting Rights Lab’s weekly digest of the latest election law and policy updates. 

This week, a federal judge blocked the Justice Department from using a flawed federal database to find alleged noncitizens on state voter rolls; the Justice Department sued California over more than 20,000 mail ballots; and courts from Montana to New Jersey are issuing rulings that will decide who can vote, which IDs are accepted, and which ballots count. 

Our Election Policy Tracker is following 1,726 bills this session across 44 states and D.C. Wondering where the biggest risks are this November? Our Election Risk Heat Map identifies emerging threats down to the county level. 

The Good News

Federal court blocks DOJ from using national database to identify noncitizens on state voter rolls.

The ruling prohibits the federal government from using a flawed Department of Homeland Security system to identify noncitizens on state voter rolls. The database has a track record of flagging eligible U.S. citizens for removal. In April, four voters sued to challenge a Department of Justice (DOJ) policy of collecting voter registration files from 18 states to cross-check against federal databases. The administration has sued 30 states to obtain unredacted voter rolls. It has lost all 26 cases decided so far. The judge prohibited the DOJ from using state data it had already obtained. The DOJ is reviewing the decision and considering an appeal, leaving the injunction in effect ahead of Election Day.

Nebraska Supreme Court affirms that U.S. citizens who have never lived in the state have the right to vote.

Montana court rules birth year requirement for mail ballots is unconstitutional.

Last year, the Montana legislature passed H.B. 719, which required all mail voters to include their birth year on their ballot envelope. Election officials had to reject any ballot without it, and rejection rates have increased statewide since the change took effect. The district court’s decision invalidates the law. Election officials will count any ballot returned without the voter’s birth year as long as it is otherwise valid.

The Bad News

DOJ sues California to block counting of mail ballots from alleged noncitizens.

The DOJ filed a lawsuit against California to stop election officials from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters who federal authorities claim are noncitizens. The lawsuit follows an Oct. 13 letter in which the DOJ gave California officials 48 hours to review a list of suspected noncitizens and instructed them to set aside ballots from individuals whose citizenship could not be confirmed or face legal action.

Earlier this year, a list of purported noncitizens the administration provided to Nevada election officials contained only citizens. The lawsuit comes just weeks before the November election. California automatically mails ballots to all registered voters.

On Our Radar

Texas voting rights groups file lawsuit over voter registration delays.

In September, election officials learned that a technical issue had prevented the Department of Public Safety (DPS) from providing local officials with more than 500,000 online voter registration applications dating back to October 2025. Although DPS fixed the issue and all counties processed the backlog ahead of early voting, the plaintiffs claim the failure to process the voter registrations adequately violates a 2021 legal settlement. Some voters will need to cast provisional ballots.

Separately, officials revealed last week a new backlog originating from the state’s voter registration name-and-address change website.

Wisconsin rulings limit backup options for mail voters and protect voters’ ballots from administrative errors.

This summer, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit seeking to allow voters to cast provisional ballots when their mail ballots were unlikely to arrive on time. A Dane County judge, however, declined to issue a temporary injunction that would have allowed this accommodation to take effect. Without this backup option, election officials are urging voters concerned about Postal Service delays to return their absentee ballots to drop boxes or directly to their municipal clerk. 

Separately, a judge ruled that ballots that arrive late because of election officials’ errors can be counted. Wisconsin law requires ballots to arrive at polling places by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. However, during the April primary, an administrative error meant 23 ballots in Madison were not delivered to polling places on time. The Wisconsin Election Commission ordered that the ballots not be counted, but a circuit judge reversed that decision in May. The circuit judge’s most recent decision affirms that such ballots must be counted.

North Carolina to notify 1,392 registered voters flagged as potential noncitizens.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections will mail letters to 1,392 registered voters whom the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database flagged as potential noncitizens. The letters will ask recipients to provide documentation verifying their U.S. citizenship or to voluntarily cancel their voter registration if they are not citizens. The database initially flagged 1,599 registrations, but state election officials reduced the number after reviewing state motor vehicle and voter records.

Eligible citizens flagged by SAVE may vote in November, but the board may begin formal removal proceedings after the election. The SAVE database has faced criticism for relying on outdated or incomplete records that incorrectly flag eligible citizens, including naturalized citizens.

New Hampshire federal court limits restrictions on use of student IDs for voting.

H.B. 323, enacted this year, removed student IDs from the list of eligible voter IDs. Secretary of State David Scanlan issued a subsequent directive prohibiting the use of student IDs for any voting purpose, including voter registration. He also sought to ban consideration of student IDs as a backstop for voters without an enumerated ID. The court blocked this directive; however, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to restore it before the November election.

Alabama Supreme Court to interpret limits on assistance for voters with disabilities.

The court must clarify S.B. 1, enacted in 2024, which criminalizes certain forms of voter assistance. At issue is whether it is a crime to assist voters with disabilities while being paid by a third-party organization. In a challenge to those restrictions, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals determined the statute was vague and asked the Alabama Supreme Court to interpret it. 

New Jersey lawsuit challenges Ocean County’s review of voters’ residency.

The League of Women Voters of New Jersey and three Bay Head residents filed a lawsuit against the Ocean County Board of Elections and its chairman. The lawsuit alleges that officials improperly targeted Democratic and unaffiliated voters for residency challenges ahead of the November election. The dispute arose after a local Republican official submitted a list of voters whose property tax bills were mailed to addresses outside Bay Head; the list excluded Republicans in similar circumstances.

The Ocean County Board of Elections instructed these voters to complete a detailed residency questionnaire and attend an Oct. 13 hearing, or risk having their eligibility questioned. The lawsuit alleges that the process violates New Jersey’s voter-protection law and state constitutional protections, and it asks the court to prevent officials from making eligibility decisions based on party affiliation, tax-bill mailing addresses, questionnaire responses, or failure to attend the hearing.