A federal judge has ruled against the U.S. Department of Justice's effort to collect and consolidate sensitive voter registration records from states, finding that the policy exceeded the agency's authority and violated federal privacy laws.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Common Cause and individual voters, including Texans who say they were harmed by the government's voter eligibility checks.
U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan of the District of Columbia vacated the DOJ's voter list maintenance policy, which sought unredacted voter rolls from states and Washington, D.C., for comparison with the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.
The department intended to identify suspected noncitizens registered to vote and ask states to remove voters deemed ineligible.
The court found that federal statutes cited by DOJ did not authorize the agency to collect and share complete statewide voter registration records. It also concluded that the policy failed to adequately account for errors in citizenship records, violated provisions of the Privacy Act, and disregarded requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
The lawsuit included Texas voter Anthony Nel, who said his registration was canceled after the modified SAVE system failed to confirm his citizenship. Texas plaintiff Ruth Nasrullah also challenged the collection of sensitive personal information.
"I never imagined I'd have to worry about whether my personal information was safe for exercising my right to vote," said Nasrullah. "Today's ruling means that I can head into November's election with more trust that my data - and my vote - are protected."
Ming Cheung, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project, said the ruling limits the administration's ability to use federal agencies to interfere with election administration.
Common Cause President and CEO Virginia Kase Solomon called the decision a victory for voter privacy, while Nikhel Sus, chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said states, not the federal government, are responsible for maintaining voter rolls under the Constitution and federal law.
