Jun 23, 2026 · 36 min · 6 segments
Primary Day in Maryland. The federal government has issued new rules for work requirements for Medicaid enrollees and thrown states in another tizzy. Maryland's Office of People's Counsel is asking…
Sunil DasguptaHostKathy JentzGuest
David LappGuest
Morgan HendersonGuest
One of the Trump administration's biggest political arguments is that voter rolls in democratic states are not accurate.
Using civil rights language, Trump's Department of Justice has sought to access state voter rolls for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.
While Maryland's Democratic leaders believe this is political phishing and possibly a way to inject chaos into the state's electoral process, State Attorney General Anthony Brown in his response called the database request legally insufficient.
The Justice Department, he said, had provided no basis for its demand, neglecting to articulate why it believed a federal election law had been violated.
And it provided an inadequate purpose, failing to connect its demand to concerns about disenfranchisement through racial discrimination.
Last week, the Federal District Court of Maryland returned an opinion to deny the Trump Department of Justice its request for access to the state's voter rolls, or at least would not compel the state of Maryland to disclose the unredacted voter rolls.
The opinion said that the Justice Department's argument was not supported by cited case law and the request would lead to conflicting readings of the Civil Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
In more election news, Maryland may yet go through its redistricting efforts, which it had struggled with through the spring.
State Senate President Bill Ferguson is rumored to have softened his stance against redistricting.
One of the Trump administration's biggest political arguments is that voter rolls in democratic states are not accurate.
Using civil rights language, Trump's Department of Justice has sought to access state voter rolls for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.
While Maryland's Democratic leaders believe this is political phishing and possibly a way to inject chaos into the state's electoral process, State Attorney General Anthony Brown in his response called the database request legally insufficient.
The Justice Department, he said, had provided no basis for its demand, neglecting to articulate why it believed a federal election law had been violated.
And it provided an inadequate purpose, failing to connect its demand to concerns about disenfranchisement through racial discrimination.
Last week, the Federal District Court of Maryland returned an opinion to deny the Trump Department of Justice its request for access to the state's voter rolls, or at least would not compel the state of Maryland to disclose the unredacted voter rolls.
The opinion said that the Justice Department's argument was not supported by cited case law and the request would lead to conflicting readings of the Civil Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
In more election news, Maryland may yet go through its redistricting efforts, which it had struggled with through the spring.
State Senate President Bill Ferguson is rumored to have softened his stance against redistricting.
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