A Trump-appointed judge ruled that federal law does not authorize the government to compel Michigan to release voters’ private registration information.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge has blocked an effort by the Trump administration to force Michigan to turn over its full, unredacted voter registration rolls, ruling that federal election laws do not require states to disclose voters’ sensitive personal information.
U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou of the Western District of Michigan dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department after the state declined to provide a complete voter list containing personally identifiable data, according to a case summary reported by CBS News.
Jarbou, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, granted Michigan’s request to dismiss the case, siding with state officials who argued that releasing unredacted voter data would violate privacy protections.
The dispute arose last year as the Justice Department launched a nationwide effort to obtain voter registration data from nearly every state, citing concerns about identifying and preventing noncitizen voting. In July, federal officials requested Michigan’s full voter rolls along with detailed information about the state’s voter registration procedures.
Michigan responded in September by providing a redacted version of its voter list, withholding information such as birth dates and driver’s license numbers. State officials said disclosing those details would conflict with state and federal privacy laws. After federal officials rejected the redacted records, the Justice Department filed suit later that month seeking full access.
In a 23-page ruling, Jarbou concluded that none of the federal statutes cited by the Justice Department—including the Help America Vote Act, the National Voter Registration Act, or the Civil Rights Act—authorize the federal government to compel states to provide private voter registration information.
She also warned that requiring disclosure of confidential voter data could place an unconstitutional burden on Americans’ First Amendment right to vote.
The Justice Department’s broader push has extended well beyond Michigan. According to tracking by the Brennan Center for Justice, the department has requested full voter rolls from nearly every state and the District of Columbia since May.
At least 11 states have either complied with the requests or indicated plans to do so. Over the past year, the department has filed lawsuits against 24 states and Washington, D.C., seeking access to voter data.
Federal judges in Oregon and California have also rejected similar efforts by the Justice Department, delivering additional legal setbacks to the administration’s nationwide campaign for unredacted voter registration records.
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