Federal judge dismisses DOJ’s voting data lawsuit against Maine
A federal judge has dismissed the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Maine looking for entry to voter registration data.
The DOJ sues Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in US District Court last fall to compel her to show over voter registration lists, which would come with such info as voters’ Social Security and drivers’ license numbers, in addition to their occasion affiliations.
The DOJ says that it has requested such data from virtually each state. About a dozen states have voluntarily shared their voter rolls, according to the Brennan Center. Maine and virtually 30 different states have refused and confronted federal lawsuits, the DOJ reported in February.
In court docket data and hearings, attorneys for the federal authorities have mentioned that this info would assist them be sure that voter registration legal guidelines are being enforced.
Bellows, by way of the Office of the Maine Attorney General, urged Chief US District Judge Lance Walker to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing it was authorities overreach.
In a press release Thursday, Bellows mentioned that Walker’s ruling affirms that “states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections.”
Both the League of Women Voters of Maine and two Maine voters, John Schneck and Marpheen Chann, intervened within the case to hitch Bellows in her protection.
League spokesperson Jen Lancaster mentioned the group felt that the DOJ’s request for voter data was an try to “seize” personal citizen data.
“The intent behind it was never clearly articulated in court,” Lancaster informed a reporter Thursday. “There was no clear reason why they needed to seize the data.”
A spokesperson for the DOJ didn’t reply to a request for remark.
During the March listening to, an legal professional for the DOJ pushed again on claims that the federal authorities was looking for to compile a nationwide voter database or use voter data for non-voting associated causes.
In a footnote to his order, Walker wrote that this response was “almost immediately undermined” by an executive order that President Donald Trump issued lower than per week later, calling on the Department of Homeland Security to create a “state citizenship list” to confirm voter eligibility federally.
“Government officials were not shy about it,” mentioned Zachary Heiden, chief counsel on the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. “They wanted to do this for reasons that had nothing to do with civil rights, or voter rights.”
It’s unclear whether or not the DOJ will enchantment Walker’s ruling to the first US Circuit Court of Appeals. The division has appealed different dismissals in California, Oregon and Michigan. Their circuit courts haven’t but issued any rulings, in accordance with an evaluation of court docket data.
