A federal judge on July 14 rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to obtain the private personal data of every registered voter in New Mexico, adding to the overall number of cases the DOJ has lost in which it has sought similar information.
The court found that “the DOJ’s Demand Letter fails because it altogether lacks an identifiable ‘basis.’ Nowhere does the DOJ articulate any factual suggestion that New Mexico has violated the NVRA [National Voter Registration Act] or HAVA [Help America Vote Act], indicate the State has a pattern or practice of noncompliance with the same, nor does it explain how the unredacted PII is necessary to evaluate compliance with the NVRA and HAVA.”
The DOJ did not immediately return a request for comment.
New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver approved of the court’s decision.
“I am pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss this case. Federal and state legal guardrails on social security numbers and dates of birth exist for the identity protection of every voter in our state,” she said.
She doubled down on the security practices deployed under her leadership.
“I absolutely will not risk any disclosure of voters’ private data, as it could carry very real and severe consequences for the personal lives of New Mexicans participating in our democratic process,” she said.
The Justice Department has now been barred in 14 similar cases nationwide, failing to obtain unredacted voter files via these lawsuits from states that declined its requests, according to Oliver.
In a 26-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante stated that those state-generated voter records fall outside those documents the federal government can demand under Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
The department alleged that Oregon’s refusal violated the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
