Judge rules Trump administration's voter data use unlawful

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 00:00 · Archive

A federal judge has struck down the Justice Department's plan to cross-check state voter rolls against federal immigration databases.

US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan struck down the Trump administration's policy of seeking state voter rolls to cross-reference against federal immigration databases in a 78-page ruling on Friday. The Justice Department had sought the data to identify voters it considered ineligible, after directing the department last year to crack down on voting by ineligible people. Eighteen states, mostly Republican-led, provided unredacted voter rolls including sensitive personal information. The department cross-checked them against the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database and flagged people identified as noncitizens for potential removal from voter rolls.

Sooknanan ruled that the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act and Privacy Act. She wrote that the challenged policy represents the federal government's attempt to decide who gets to vote, an authority Congress left to the states. The judge said the administration had understated the risk of wrongly removing eligible citizens because of inaccuracies in the federal database, which could contain outdated citizenship records and misidentify naturalised US citizens.

The Justice Department said it was reviewing the ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the decision, saying the administration could not use the federal government to disrupt elections or put voters' rights at risk. The ruling applies to voter files the department has already received and those it is still litigating over. The Justice Department has sued 30 states and Washington, DC, over their refusal to provide voter data, but has lost almost all those suits according to CBS News analysis.

How it is being reported

• Judge strikes down DOJ's policy of reviewing state voter rollsA federal judge has struck down the Trump administration's plan to check state voter rolls against federal immigration databases and press states to remove voters it determines are registered illegally.CBS News · 9 Oct, 23:46
• US judge rules Trump administration’s use of voter data unlawfulA federal judge ruled against the Justice Department's use of voter data to cross-reference an immigration database.Al Jazeera · 9 Oct, 22:29

In this story: Trump administration · Justice Department · Sparkle Sooknanan · Common Cause · United States

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