After the Ninth Circuit Argument, a New USCIS Declaration Names LexisNexis Accurint as the List's Data Source

Judge David Carter’s docket in the government’s suit against California shows the second round of DHS sworn statements Filed 10/26/26, ahead of his TRO hearing. That was the day after the appeals court heard remote oral argument, which the panel had set for “Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 1 p.m. PDT.”

In the earlier round, USCIS’s Nicolas Bartell wrote that the agency enhances voter data “through a reliable third-party data analytics and” investigative platform, with no name given (2026-10-19–doj-seeks-tro-us-v-california-sworn-dhs-declarations-describe-how-20000-voter-list-was-built). In a filing the next day, the civil-rights groups LULAC and the NAACP, which are seeking to join the case, wrote that Bartell’s second declaration says USCIS has been enhancing voter data “through Lexis Nexis’s Accurint Service.” They wrote that the government filed the declarations “Less than 15 hours before the hearing” and “without seeking leave.” Their expert, Dr. Oskooii, wrote that HSI’s Eric McLoughlin “still does not fully address the provenance” of the voter file HSI used. Those are the groups’ characterizations.

The OCR readings in the verification note cover the rest (SAVE, the purchase, and where HSI got the roll). At the Sunday argument, the Los Angeles Times reported, Judge Gabriel Sanchez asked which third parties were involved in providing the data and “Donnelly could not answer” (2026-10-25–ninth-circuit-hears-doj-emergency-appeal-us-v-california-sunday-argument-jurisdiction-doubts).