Federal Judges Dismiss DOJ Voter Data Suits in CA, OR

Federal judges in California and Oregon have dismissed or signaled dismissal of U.S. Department of Justice lawsuits seeking detailed voter registration data from the states, ruling that the requests exceed legal authority and pose risks to voter privacy and participation.

In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Santa Ana, California, dismissed the Justice Department's case against the state in its entirety. The lawsuit, filed last year, demanded an electronic copy of California's statewide voter registration list for its 23 million registered voters, including names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver's license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. It also sought records of duplicate registrations, canceled registrations due to death or noncitizenship, and explanations for changes in inactive voter counts in several counties.

Carter described the request as unprecedented and illegal, arguing it represented an overreach by the executive branch into state-administered elections. "The administration may not unilaterally usurp the authority over elections," he wrote in a 33-page decision. He warned that centralizing such...