Spectrum: County Attorney Joins Voter Info Battle
Deborah Harbsmeier, Spectrum News 1
March 17, 2026 — The Jefferson County clerk and Jefferson County attorney say they are seeking to protect voters’ personal information. Clerk David Yates, D-Louisville, announced Monday his office has filed a motion to intervene in the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking access to Kentucky’s full, unredacted voter registration lists.
The Justice Department sued the Kentucky secretary of state and the State Board of Elections. The department wants Kentucky to hand over an unredacted voter registration list — meaning a list that still includes sensitive information like people’s Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. Kentucky has said no because state law says that data must be kept private.
According to release from the county clerk's office, Yates is the first county clerk in the state to file such a motion. As the chief election officer for Jefferson County, he said it’s his legal duty to protect the private information of every voter in the county, and that this lawsuit affects how his office does its job.
County Attorney Mike O’Connell, D-Louisville, said they acted quickly after seeing the Justice Department lawsuit because it directly affects the clerk’s constitutional and legal responsibilities to keep voter information safe in Kentucky’s largest county.
Under Kentucky law, county clerks are in charge of voter registration records; they process applications, update voter lists and keep sensitive information secure. Sarah Martin, the second assistant Jefferson County attorney and head of the civil division, said there is no valid legal reason for former President Donald Trump’s administration to demand this kind of sensitive data. She called it an overreach and a threat to democracy, and said their office will work with Yates to protect local elections and prevent misuse of voter information.
Yates warned that if unredacted voter information is released, it could scare people away from registering or voting because they might worry their personal data isn’t safe. He said the Constitution gives states and local governments control over elections for a reason: to prevent the federal government — under any president — from pushing them around. He said he would not allow Trump and the Justice Department to pressure local officials into giving up that authority.
In the motion, Yates said turning over unredacted data would force his office to break Kentucky’s privacy laws and fail in its duty to protect Jefferson County’s voter records.