Overview
- Judge Joseph LaPlante dismissed the Justice Department’s suit Monday, ruling that the department did not satisfy the Civil Rights Act provision and failed to allege any Help America Vote Act violation.
- The Justice Department had asked for unredacted state voter rolls that include names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
- The New Hampshire ruling is the tenth federal court loss for the department in similar demands, though DOJ has obtained or been promised full lists from about 13 states.
- New Hampshire officials and intervening residents argued the request would breach state privacy laws and put voters’ personal data at risk, and Secretary of State David Scanlan said the decision upheld his duty to protect voter privacy.
- Recent reporting about an agreement by a Social Security Administration employee to help search for alleged fraud and DOJ acknowledgments that data could be shared with Homeland Security have raised fresh questions about interagency data handling as litigation continues and further appeals remain possible.