Voting-rights and electronic-privacy groups point to emails and memos they obtained through public-records requests. One email attachment, dated July 6, 2026, says a DHS investigative unit had “enriched” information from Kentucky and five other states, with the material “pending Palantir entry into ELITE.” The filing alleges the documents show a systematic effort to collect voter data.

ELITE is a tool developed by Palantir, which describes the system as helping identify the locations of foreign nationals who meet criteria for removal from the United States. The groups also cite a recent whistleblower disclosure to lawmakers warning that DHS employees were being directed to use voter information of questionable origin, compiled with what the whistleblower called “supplemental magic.”

The case follows a broader dispute over federal access to voter records. This summer, courts dismissed Department of Justice lawsuits against Kentucky and other states after election officials refused to turn over unredacted voter data containing confidential information. The Justice Department later said Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams was under investigation for not complying with federal demands.

The groups’ concerns center on the potential use of election information in immigration enforcement. Marcia Johnson of the National League of Women Voters said the alleged data collection could sidestep court rulings she said found such demands violated the federal Privacy Act.

“If voting data is used by immigration enforcement agents, it could have a chilling effect at the polls in November,” Johnson said. She added that eligible voters might worry they could be stopped from voting.

Adams’ office said it is not a party to the lawsuit. A spokesperson said Kentucky’s voter rolls had not been improperly accessed or altered, and that the office did not know whether the federal government had created its own voter file. Even if it had, the spokesperson said, it would not affect Kentucky’s elections.