US judge dismisses Justice Department lawsuit seeking Utah voter data
The dismissal prevents the department from simply refiling the same claim for voters' identifying records. The department says it plans to appeal.
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The dismissal prevents the department from simply refiling the same claim for voters' identifying records. The department says it plans to appeal.
US District Judge David Barlow dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking Utah’s complete voter list on Friday, rejecting its attempt to compel disclosure under that claim, Fox News said in its October 26 account of the judgment.
The department had sued Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, the state’s top election official, for the database. It sought voters' names, birth dates and addresses, along with their driver’s licence numbers or the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.
Barlow dismissed the complaint “with prejudice”. That means the department cannot simply file the same claim again, although it can ask a higher court to overturn the ruling.
The department based its demand on the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Federal lawyers argued that the law required Henderson to make certain voting records that “come into” her possession available for federal inspection.
Barlow cited a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that drew a distinction between receiving records and creating them. Its reasoning was that an ordinary English speaker would not describe someone as coming into possession of something that person had created, established and maintained. Barlow applied that distinction to the statewide database the department wanted.
The department also argued that the law’s purpose supported access: it was an enforcement tool for federal election laws, and states use registration databases to maintain their voter lists. Barlow rejected that argument, saying the law’s broader purpose could not override its wording.
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Henderson welcomed the dismissal, saying the lawsuit had sought to force disclosure of every Utah voter’s private data. She said her office would continue to safeguard free, fair and secure elections.
A Justice Department spokeswoman described the only appeals court to review the issue as split on largely partisan grounds. She said the department planned to appeal the Utah decision.
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