Judge rejects DOJ effort to get sensitive voter information from Rhode Island
Summary
A federal judge appointed by President Trump rejected the Justice Department's request to get Rhode Island's full voter registration lists. The judge ruled the request was not supported by federal election laws and called it a "fishing expedition." This marks the fifth time courts have denied similar efforts to access state voter data.Key Facts
- U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy denied the Justice Department’s request for Rhode Island’s unredacted voter information.
- The Justice Department sued Rhode Island to obtain sensitive voter data like birth dates and partial Social Security numbers.
- The judge said the request did not show any evidence Rhode Island was breaking voter registration laws.
- Rhode Island’s Secretary of State Gregg Amore opposed releasing the private voter data, saying it is the state’s right to manage voter lists.
- This case is the fifth loss for the Justice Department in efforts to access voter registration lists from states.
- The Justice Department claims it needs voter data to enforce two federal laws requiring accurate voter rolls (NVRA and HAVA).
- The Justice Department plans to share the voter information with the Department of Homeland Security to check for noncitizen voters.
- Courts have previously rejected similar lawsuits in California, Oregon, Michigan, and Massachusetts.
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