LEXINGTON, Ky. — Michigan's top election official is accusing the Trump administration's Justice Department of using a stated goal of maintaining clean voter rolls as cover for an unlawful effort to compile a nationwide voter database, according to arguments filed Monday in federal appeals court.

The dispute centers on the Justice Department's demand for sensitive voter data from states, including unredacted driver's license numbers, Social Security numbers and personal identifying information. Kentucky is among the states being sued, having been named as a defendant in February along with officials including Secretary of State Michael Adams and the Kentucky State Board of Elections.

In a brief filed with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's attorneys argued that "appears to be a pretext for improper purposes." The DOJ contends the 1960 Civil Rights Act gives it authority to demand the information to ensure states are maintaining accurate voter rolls and checking for noncitizen registrations.

Michigan and other states argue the Justice Department is actually building a nationwide voter registration list, a move not authorized under federal law. Benson's brief states that collecting Michigan's voter data "to conduct its own list maintenance and to use Michigan's list as part of creating a national voter file is not encompassed within the purpose stated in DOJ's demand."

Adams, a Republican who opposes the DOJ lawsuit against Kentucky, said previously that he would "not voluntarily commit a data breach" of Kentuckians' private information without a court order. Jefferson County Clerk David Yates filed a motion to intervene in the Kentucky case, calling it a motion to block transfer of unredacted voter rolls.

The DOJ's legal strategy appears tied to midterm elections. The Justice Department is suing 29 states and the District of Columbia for the information, which it says it would use to ensure clean voting rolls. However, recent Trump administration actions suggest a broader goal. The administration has directed the Department of Homeland Security to build lists of voting-age citizens in each state and share those lists with states, with plans to also share voter lists with DHS.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, characterized the situation as a legal collision course. He said the DOJ "has been trying to assure the courts that this data is not going to be used to create a national voter list" while Trump's executive order on mail-in voting appears to do exactly that.

Federal judges have not sided with the Justice Department so far. Judges dismissed DOJ lawsuits against California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon. In Kentucky, the State Board of Elections has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing federal law doesn't give the DOJ unfettered access to data on millions of Kentuckians who are registered to vote.