Judge denies DOJ request for Wisconsin voter rolls

BY JR ROSS, State Affairs

A federal judge today dismissed the U.S. DOJ’s request for access to Wisconsin’s unredacted voter rolls, the latest court loss for the federal government in its pursuit of the information.

U.S. Judge James Peterson rejected the Department of Justice’s argument that the agency is entitled to voters’ personal information such as birthdays, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information.

In doing so, Peterson noted courts in similar cases filed in Michigan and Arizona had also concluded a state voter registration list isn’t a record that can be demanded under the Civil Rights Act.

The U.S. DOJ first began seeking information on Wisconsin voters last summer. It then sent a proposed memorandum of understanding to the Elections Commission to provide the information.

But the Elections Commission voted 5-1 to reject the request, citing state law that bars it from sharing voters’ personal information. Instead, the agency directed the U.S. Department of Justice to a website it maintains that allows people to obtain non-confidential voter information such as names, addresses and the elections in which they’ve participated for $12,500.

The agency then filed the suit in December.

In all, the federal government has requested similar information from 48 states and Washington, D.C., according to today’s ruling. It has filed lawsuits against 30 states and Washington, D.C.

Read the ruling.