Overview
- A federal judge in Maryland, which dismissed the case Monday, ruled the Justice Department cannot obtain the state’s voter registration database and threw out the suit on its merits.
- The Maryland ruling follows a string of federal dismissals in states including California, Michigan, Oregon, Massachusetts and Rhode Island that have criticized the scope of the government’s requests.
- Maryland’s voter file contains voting histories, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, and state officials and civil-rights groups argued those sensitive details risk misuse.
- Separately on Monday, a judge in Washington, D.C., vacated the administration’s overhaul of the SAVE citizenship-verification system after finding agencies broke privacy and administrative law and that the system produced inaccurate noncitizen matches.
- The Justice Department has appealed some losses and already obtained files from at least 16 states, so litigation and selective compliance will determine whether the administration can build a broader federal database or be further constrained by courts.