Idaho’s attorney general office fired back at the U.S. Department of Justice this month, demanding federal officials cease direct contact with Secretary of State Phil McGrane and drop a civil lawsuit filed against him earlier this year over access to voter registration records.

James E. M. Craig, a division chief in the Idaho Attorney General’s office, sent a letter to the DOJ on July 10 laying out the state’s objections and defending Idaho’s ongoing voter roll maintenance efforts as a model of election integrity cooperation — not obstruction.

The DOJ Conflict

The confrontation stems from an April 1 lawsuit the DOJ filed against McGrane, alleging he failed to provide a complete, unredacted electronic copy of Idaho’s voter registration list in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The dispute escalated when federal officials sent McGrane a separate letter on July 7 that Craig said raised the specter of criminal liability under federal election laws.

Craig responded sharply, arguing that DOJ attorneys had violated Idaho professional conduct rules by contacting McGrane directly while he is represented by the attorney general’s office. His letter demanded the outreach stop and put the federal government on notice that Idaho considers the lawsuit meritless.

“We have several suggestions,” Craig wrote. “First, you can stop threatening your friends in Idaho. Second, you can voluntarily dismiss your lawsuit against Secretary McGrane.”

Idaho’s Voter Roll Review

The letter also offered a detailed defense of what Idaho has done to verify the citizenship status of its registered voters — an effort that predates the DOJ dispute and involves multiple state and federal agencies.

McGrane led a 2024 voter registration review that drew on records from the Idaho Transportation Department, Idaho State Police, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. That review, which covered approximately 1.1 million registered voters, resulted in the removal of all identified noncitizens from Idaho’s rolls. According to Craig’s letter, none of those individuals cast a ballot in the 2024 election.

Idaho continued that work into 2026, running more than one million names through the DHS SAVE system — a federal database used to verify immigration status. That effort yielded roughly 15 cases of potential noncitizen voter registration, which the state referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho for possible prosecution.

Craig used those referrals to press for action, asking the DOJ to provide a status update on those cases and suggesting the two sides are more aligned than the lawsuit implies.

“We all have the same goals here — to ensure that Idaho’s elections are free, fair, and transparent,” Craig wrote.

State Pushback on Federal Pressure

The dispute is one of several friction points between Idaho election officials and outside pressure in the run-up to November. McGrane has previously pushed back on federal pressure to overhaul Idaho voting rules ahead of the fall election cycle, and the attorney general’s intervention signals that Idaho intends to defend its current practices through legal channels if necessary.

Craig’s letter asked the DOJ to dismiss the lawsuit and to direct future communications to the attorney general’s office rather than to McGrane’s office directly. The demand reframes what the DOJ has characterized as a records compliance dispute as an overreach against a state that argues it has been a willing partner in federal efforts to protect election integrity.

Idaho’s voter roll verification efforts, including the SAVE system review, go beyond what many states have undertaken. State officials argue that the referrals to federal prosecutors demonstrate good-faith enforcement — and that the DOJ’s lawsuit undermines cooperation rather than encouraging it.

Whether the department responds to Craig’s requests or presses ahead with litigation will shape the legal and political landscape heading into the November election. Idaho voters will also face a high-profile ballot initiative this fall following the certification of a proposed abortion rights measure, adding further intensity to the state’s election environment.