Two days before the ruling, though, the federal government told Utah that it planned to send election monitors to the state ahead of the upcoming midterm election. Henderson said that the monitors are welcome to observe voting but stressed that they still have an obligation to comply with state election laws.
A federal judge has dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit seeking largely unrestricted access to Utah’s voter rolls.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Judge David Barlow found that the Civil Rights Act does not give the federal government free-ranging authority to demand state-maintained voter records.
Utah’s database, Barlow said, is “not a record or paper” that belongs to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, the named defendant in the Justice Department-led lawsuit. Since Henderson does not unilaterally control or have “possession” of the database, she need not make it “‘available for inspection, reproduction, or copying’ by the Attorney General [of the United States] under Title III” of the Civil Rights Act.
The Department of Justice, notes the Tribune, sued Utah last year after Henderson rejected a request to hand over the state’s enter voter database. The database contains sensitive personal information including voters’ addresses, birth dates, and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.
In a statement to the Salt Lake Tribune, Lt. Gov. Henderson said the state appreciates the court’s ruling.
“We appreciate Judge Barlow’s ruling dismissing the Department of Justice’s lawsuit that sought to force us to disclose the private data of every Utah voter,” Henderson told the Tribune. “Our office will continue to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the fundamental right to free, fair, and secure elections for the people of Utah.”
Before the case was resolved, Barlow approved the NAACP’s request to intervene on Utah’s behalf. The NAACP is among one of several organizations that was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy, and protecting that right requires vigilance, transparency, and accountability,” said Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP’s Salt Lake City Branch and the Tri-State Conference of Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
Williams noted that election oversight in all its forms must be “consistent with the law, protect the privacy of voters, and … not create opportunities for eligible citizens to be unfairly challenged or removed from the voting rolls.”
The Trump administration has requested similar information from other states and has repeatedly turned to the courts when rejected.
Two days before the ruling, though, the federal government told Utah that it planned to send election monitors to the state ahead of the upcoming midterm election. Henderson said that the monitors are welcome to observe voting but stressed that they still have an obligation to comply with state election laws.
Sources
Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson over voter data
Utah’s elections chief doesn’t have to give full voter rolls to Trump’s DOJ, judge decides
