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Federal Judge Dismisses Justice Department Lawsuit Seeking Rhode Island Voter Data
Washington – A federal judge has dealt a setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain state voter registration information by dismissing the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Rhode Island. The suit sought access to the state’s unredacted voter rolls, which include sensitive personal details of registered voters.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, appointed by President Trump during his first term, ruled in favor of Rhode Island officials, describing the Justice Department’s request as a “fishing expedition” beyond the scope of federal election law. She also denied the administration’s motion to compel Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore to provide the data.
Secretary Amore welcomed the ruling, emphasizing the state’s responsibility for maintaining voter lists and expressing confidence in Rhode Island’s procedures to ensure their accuracy. He criticized what he called executive overreach by the federal government, stating, “The power of our democratic republic, built on three coequal branches of government, is clearer than ever before.”
This ruling marks the fifth time courts have rejected the Justice Department’s attempts to access voter registration records, following dismissals in California, Oregon, Michigan, and Massachusetts. The department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia after those jurisdictions declined to turn over their voter rolls, which contain names, birthdates, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers.
The Trump administration asserts that the information is necessary to verify compliance with federal laws-the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act-that require states to maintain accurate voter lists. However, Judge McElroy found no factual basis in the government’s claims that Rhode Island was violating these requirements. She wrote that the Justice Department’s stated purpose “does not plausibly relate to individual voting rights.”
The dispute began in September when the Justice Department requested Rhode Island’s voter list. Amore offered to provide the publicly available version but declined to share the complete, unredacted records, citing privacy concerns and the absence of legal authority for such a demand.
Reports have revealed that the Justice Department plans to share voter data with the Department of Homeland Security to cross-check registrations against immigration records, an arrangement that raised additional privacy concerns. The administration contends this is part of efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting, though such occurrences are rare and illegal under federal law.
President Trump has repeatedly claimed without strong evidence that noncitizens are voting in elections. He has pushed for legislation requiring proof of citizenship and photo identification for voters, such as the SAVE America Act passed by the House but unlikely to advance in the Senate. Last year, he also issued an executive order mandating documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, but key provisions of that order have been blocked by the courts.
As legal challenges continue, this latest ruling reinforces the judiciary’s role in balancing federal and state authority over voter information and election administration.