Overview
- A federal judge in Kentucky dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit on Thursday and ruled with prejudice that the state need not provide unredacted voter registration records.
- The court found the DOJ relied on a federal civil-rights statute that the Sixth Circuit had recently limited and said the department’s written demand letters failed to state the required legal basis and purpose.
- The DOJ had sought full registration lists and sensitive data such as voters’ addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers, saying the records were needed to prevent fraud.
- Jefferson County Clerk David Yates and Kentucky officials opposed the order to hand over the data, arguing state privacy laws bar disclosure and calling the ruling a win for voter privacy.
- Kentucky’s loss fits a wider pattern of defeats for the DOJ in at least 17 states and now moves to the Sixth Circuit, where the appeals court’s ruling will likely shape whether a clear national rule emerges.