A federal judge Friday tossed out a monthslong effort by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department to obtain Utah’s entire, unredacted voter database — for now.
In his ruling dismissing the lawsuit against Utah elections chief Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Judge David Barlow said the Civil Rights Act does not make the federal government entitled to all of Utah’s election records, contrary to the DOJ’s arguments.
Utah’s voter database is “not a record or paper which ‘comes into [the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s] possession,’ so she need not make it ‘available for inspection, reproduction, or copying’ by the Attorney General under Title III [of the Civil Rights Act],” Barlow wrote.
The DOJ filed the lawsuit earlier this year after Henderson rejected a request to hand over the entire voter database. Doing so, she has contended, would violate state privacy laws.
The database contains voters’ sensitive personal information, including addresses, birth dates and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.
“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 said in a statement to The Salt Lake 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.”
Last month, the DOJ disclosed in a letter to Henderson that she was under investigation for her refusal to share that data.
This is a developing story and will be updated.