US EditionFederal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against Massachusetts after it refused to turn over voter data
Judge Leo Sorokin said the Trump administration failed to justify its demand for voter registration records from millions of Massachusetts residents.
- On Thursday, District Court Judge Leo Sorokin dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking Massachusetts' voter registration data, marking a significant legal setback for the Trump Administration's nationwide voter collection effort.
- The Justice Department sued Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin in December after he refused to turn over voter data, which federal officials sought to verify citizenship status through the DHS SAVE program.
- Sorokin found the department failed to follow a 1960 Civil Rights Act requirement that demands include a factual statement explaining the purpose for accessing voter records. He called the request "facially deficient."
- Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell called the decision "a decisive win for Massachusetts voters and the rule of law." Galvin added that private voter information should never be the subject of a "fishing expedition."
- Four other federal judges have already dismissed similar Justice Department lawsuits, while the department has requested voter data from at least 48 states and sued at least 30, according to the Brennan Center.
54 Articles
54 Articles
A federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking Massachusetts voter data
The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston marks at least the fifth time a judge has rejected similar attempts by the Justice Department. The judge found that the Justice Department failed to follow the requirements for demanding the voter rolls set by a 1960 civil rights law.
Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking Massachusetts voter data
A federal judge in Boston dismissed a lawsuit from the Department of Justice (DOJ) that sought access to Massachusetts state voter rolls amid the Trump administration’s push for registration lists from nearly every state. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin wrote in his Thursday ruling that the DOJ’s request “fails for the simple reason that the…
Hastings Tribune
New Hampshire Union LeaderMassachusetts federal judge tosses DOJ lawsuit seeking voter rolls
BOSTON — A federal judge has dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit that was seeking Bay State voter rolls, as the Trump administration seeks to rid federal elections of voter fraud.
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice requesting voters’ records from the state of Massachusetts, which is the last setback in a broad Trump administration effort to collect detailed data on the country’s voters. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin’s ruling marks at least the fifth time that a judge rejects similar attempts by the Department of Justice. Sorokin, appointed by former President Barack Obama, …
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