SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against California seeking detailed voting records and personal data on 23 million registered voters, concluding that the government’s request was “unprecedented and unlawful.”
A lawsuit filed by the Trump administration last year alleged that California and other states illegally blocked a broad federal effort to review detailed voter data that states say is private and protected.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in Santa Ana said in a 33-page decision that the government “may not unilaterally usurp the right to vote.”
Additionally, the judge ruled that attempts to collect and centralize personal information would have a chilling effect on voter registration and threaten “the right to vote as a cornerstone of American democracy.”
“Without action from Congress, the unfettered integration of all executive branch voting rights will be impossible,” Carter said. “This runs counter to the promise of fair and free elections.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
It accuses states of failing to respond adequately to questions about their procedures for maintaining electoral rolls. The department has sued 23 states, most of which are controlled by Democrats, and the District of Columbia, seeking detailed voter data including names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
State election officials have questioned what the Justice Department plans to do with the information. Last fall, ten Democratic secretaries of state wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressing concern about reports that the Justice Department was sharing state voter data with the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, operates a program to check citizenship status.
Secretary of State Sherry Weber, California’s chief elections officer, said in a statement that the state will “continue to challenge this administration’s disregard for the rule of law and voting rights.”
