Between January and March 2025, the Trump DOJ systematically withdrew from active voting rights enforcement cases in three states, effectively abandoning the federal government's role as a guardian of ballot access under the Voting Rights Act.
Virginia -- January 28, 2025
The DOJ voluntarily dismissed its case challenging Virginia's voter purge program, in which Governor Glenn Youngkin had ordered a systematic removal of voters from the rolls close to Election Day. A federal judge had previously blocked the purge, finding it likely violated the National Voter Registration Act's 90-day quiet period before elections.
Alabama -- March 17, 2025
The DOJ dropped its lawsuit that had halted Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen's voter purge program targeting alleged noncitizens. A federal judge had issued an injunction blocking the program in October 2024 after finding it removed eligible citizens. The DOJ stated it was dismissing to "permit Alabama the time and space to develop a legal, efficient, and effective process."
Georgia -- March 31, 2025
Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed the DOJ to dismiss its lawsuit against Georgia's SB 202, filed in June 2021 under the Biden administration, which alleged the law was designed to suppress Black voter turnout. Bondi characterized the case as a "Biden-era" lawsuit based on "false claims of suppression," asserting that Black voter turnout had actually increased under SB 202. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had formally requested the dismissal in February 2025.
The DOJ also dismissed a separate case challenging Houston County, Georgia's at-large method for electing county commissioners, which had been brought as a Voting Rights Act challenge to racially dilutive election structures.
Significance
The coordinated withdrawal from voting rights cases across three states signaled that the DOJ's Civil Rights Division would no longer function as an enforcement mechanism for the Voting Rights Act. Former DOJ lawyers warned the department "doesn't plan to enforce voting rights laws at all." The pattern was consistent: in each case, the federal government abandoned litigation that had been protecting minority voters from purges or restrictive election rules, leaving enforcement entirely to private litigants and civil rights organizations with far fewer resources than the Department of Justice.