Michigan joins Oregon and California in blocking DOJ as voter-roll lawsuits hit 24 states

A federal judge in Michigan blocked the Justice Department’s efforts to access sensitive voter registration data of Michigan voters.

In July, Attorney General Pam Bondi requested from Michigan officials an electronic copy of the state’s voter registration list, which includes the full names, birth dates and driver’s license numbers of all registered voters. State officials said they’d only turn over partial information to protect voters’ privacy, leading to the Justice Department to sue the state

Judge Hala Y. Jarbou dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit due to its “failure to state a claim.”

The Justice Department argued that it was authorized access to the state’s full voter registration based on the Help America Vote Act, the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

“As explained below, the Court concludes that HAVA does not require the disclosure of any records, the NVRA does not require the disclosure of voter registration lists because they are not records concerning the implementation of list maintenance procedures, and the CRA does not require the disclosure of voter registration lists because they are not documents that come into the possession of election officials,” Jarbou wrote in her opinion.

Jarbou ruled that forcing Michigan officials to disclose sensitive voter information “would potentially cause the statute to impose an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote guaranteed by the First Amendment.”

“Thus, the Court will grant the motions to dismiss,” she added.

Roughly two dozen other states have been hit with lawsuits from the Trump administration in its effort to seek voter rolls. The Trump administration argues that it needs this information in order to ensure voter rolls are accurate.

Judges in Oregon and California have also blocked the Trump administration’s efforts.

Meanwhile, at least eleven states have complied with the Trump administration’s requests.