Overview
- Chief Judge Hala Jarbou dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit, ruling that HAVA, the NVRA, and the Civil Rights Act do not permit the United States to obtain Michigan’s full voter registration list.
- The DOJ had sought an electronic list with names, birth dates, addresses, and either driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers; Michigan provided only the public, redacted file.
- Jarbou warned that reading the NVRA to require disclosure of private registration data could impose an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote protected by the First Amendment.
- The decision follows recent federal-court rejections of similar DOJ demands in California and Oregon, as nationwide litigation continues against roughly two dozen states and the District of Columbia.
- A DOJ spokesperson declined to say whether the department will appeal, while Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel praised the ruling.