Judge Blocks DOJ Voter-List Purge Program in 18 States Over 3 Million Data Errors
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 9
Judge Blocks DOJ Voter-List Purge Program in 18 States Over 3 Million Data Errors
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 9
Summary
A Washington federal judge barred the Justice Department from collecting state voter rolls, matching them against federal databases and directing states to remove suspected noncitizens.
Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan said the program violated the Privacy Act and procedural laws and exceeded DOJ authority; her ruling highlighted a 2006 Social Security audit that wrongly listed more than 3 million naturalized citizens as noncitizens.
Eighteen Republican-led states had agreed to share full voter lists with DOJ, while 30 states and Washington were sued for refusing; the department has lost all 26 decided cases so far.
Last month’s Supreme Court ruling still lets states use the SAVE database on their own, but Sooknanan said it did not authorize DOJ’s broader data-sharing policy.
The decision is a setback for Trump’s push to police voter rolls, though its immediate election impact may be limited because federal law bars large-scale removals within 90 days of Election Day.