Imperfect Paradise: The Trump Administration wants your confidential voter data. What’s behind their battle with CA and other states?
California City
LAist Studios
4.5 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The legal battle with the Trump administration to get access to your sensitive voter data began in Orange County, but is now playing out nationally. The outcome could affect hundreds of millions of people across the country and determine how the federal government uses your private voter information. Shortly after suing Orange County, the Justice Department sued California and 22 other states, along with Washington D.C., for their full voter files. The Trump administration suffered its first legal setback this week with a federal judge’s ruling to dismiss the DOJ’s lawsuit against CA. But the legal and political battle is far from over. LAist Orange County Correspondent Jill Replogle dives into the Trump administration’s unprecedented push for states’ voter rolls, what’s behind it, and how it could end up in the Supreme Court.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | After the sudden death of a patient, renowned psychiatrist Lillian Steiner craves answers. |
| 0:05.1 | In a frisky film noir, mysteries begin to unfold, and the truth is never what it seems. |
| 0:10.2 | Starring Jody Foster, a private life, now playing Select Cities, coming soon to a theater near you. |
| 0:16.5 | Live stream supported by South Coast Repertory, presenting God of Carnage, one playground incident, four parents, and a living room peace summit that erupts into riotous, truth-reveilling mayhem, abiding comedy of manners, without the manners. |
| 0:31.0 | January 23rd through March 21st, tickets at SCR.org. |
| 0:36.3 | This is in Perfect Paradise. |
| 0:37.9 | I'm your host, Nereida Moreno. |
| 0:41.6 | Drivers license information, social security numbers, and other sensitive information about yourself. |
| 0:48.6 | The Trump administration is suing California to force it to share the complete unredacted data, |
| 0:55.3 | including this kind of confidential information for more than 23 million voters. A federal judge in L.A. ruled in favor of |
| 1:01.4 | California on Thursday, saying that the federal government doesn't have a right to the personal |
| 1:05.7 | information of the state's voters. But that's not the end of the battle. The Trump administration is suing at least |
| 1:11.8 | 22 other states and D.C. for their voter files. The Federal Justice Department says it needs |
| 1:17.6 | this information to make sure states are preventing against voter fraud. But critics worry that |
| 1:22.5 | they have other motives and are actually trying to amass a national voter file, something that's never been done before. |
| 1:30.3 | In this episode of Imperfect Paradise, we ask what's behind the Trump administration's quest to collect the personal information of tens of millions of voters? |
| 1:39.8 | What could be done with that information? |
| 1:41.3 | And why are election officials in California and around the country resisting the federal government's demands? |
| 1:49.8 | L.A.S. Orange County correspondent Jill Reppel has been reporting on the legal and political battle over voter data and is here with us now. Hey, Jill. Hi, Nereena. |
| 2:00.5 | So, Jill, you've reported on Southern California's |
| 2:03.6 | voting systems and local politics for years. And I want to start with your perspective as both a |
| 2:09.1 | reporter and a voter. What was the story that really got you thinking about this ongoing debate |
... |
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