A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit seeking unredacted voter rolls from Washington, D.C., marking the 21st consecutive courtroom defeat for the Trump administration’s effort to obtain state voter records this year. The administration has sued more than two dozen states that refused to comply with requests for voter data, which includes birth dates and partial Social Security numbers.
The legal campaign is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to expand federal oversight of elections before the November 3 midterms. President Donald Trump has stated that widespread noncitizen voting benefits the Democratic Party. However, state audits and independent studies have found such voting to be rare, and a Reuters investigation found 129 prosecutions for noncitizen voting since 1996, many resulting from official miscommunication or voter confusion.
Judges across the country, appointed by presidents from both political parties, have consistently ruled that the U.S. Constitution grants states the primary authority to manage federal elections. In the Washington, D.C. ruling, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss stated that if the Justice Department disagrees with the records authorized by Congress for enforcement, it must address that objection to the legislative branch. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon maintained that states have an obligation to ensure only eligible citizens vote.
For individual voters, the outcome of these cases determines the privacy of their personal information, such as birthdays and partial Social Security numbers, which the Justice Department seeks to collect and compare against immigration databases. Critics, including voting rights groups and Elias Law Group attorney Lis Frost, argue the administration may use the lack of access to these rolls to question the validity of midterm results. Conversely, proponents like Don Palmer of the Heritage Foundation state that the campaign is a necessary priority to identify ineligible voters and maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
The Justice Department has already appealed 16 of its 21 losses. In one instance, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a dismissal of the government's suit against Michigan on June 24. The administration has also petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to allow an executive order that would limit mail-in ballots to voters on lists compiled by the Department of Homeland Security. Nine similar cases remain pending in federal courts, and the Justice Department has indicated it will continue to appeal unfavorable rulings.