WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal court today dismissed the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking to compel Michigan to turn over the sensitive personal information of millions of registered voters. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Hala Y. Jarbo, who was appointed by President Trump, granted motions to dismiss filed by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and intervenor-defendants, including the Michigan Alliance of Retired Americans and two individual voters, who are represented by Elias Law Group.
The ruling is the latest in a string of losses for the Trump Administration’s unprecedented nationwide campaign to obtain unredacted voter registration files from states across the country. The DOJ has sued more than 20 states seeking this information. Last month, a federal court in California became the first to dismiss the DOJ’s claims. Courts in Oregon and Georgia followed suit.
“This ruling is another decisive rejection of the Trump Administration’s brazen attempt to force states to turn over their citizens’ sensitive personal data,” said Elias Law Group partner Aria Branch. “Court after court is making clear that federal law does not give the government the right to demand voters’ Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers, especially when the Trump administration has been less than forthcoming about their ultimate plans for this data. We will continue to fight back against these lawsuits in every state where they are being litigated.”
In a 23-page opinion, Chief Judge Jarbou rejected the DOJ’s claims under all three federal statutes it invoked: the Help America Vote Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The court found that none of these laws authorize the government to obtain the voter registration records at issue.
Click HERE to read the full opinion.
Elias Law Group has moved to intervene on behalf of voters and pro-voting organizations in all of the DOJ’s voter data lawsuits.
###