Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking Rhode Island’s unredacted voter records
The Facts
- A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking Rhode Island voter registration records.
- The judge was U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy.
- The lawsuit sought Rhode Island’s unredacted or detailed voter data, including sensitive personal information from the state’s voter rolls.
- McElroy wrote that federal law did not permit the Justice Department to conduct the kind of "fishing expedition" it was pursuing.
- The judge also denied the administration’s motion to compel Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore to provide the records.
- The Rhode Island ruling follows similar judicial rejections in other states as the Justice Department has sought detailed voter data nationwide.
Context
What information was the Justice Department seeking?
The department sought Rhode Island’s unredacted voter registration list, which sources say included sensitive personal data such as dates of birth, home addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers Newsweek,U.S. News & World R…,Law & Crime.
Why did the judge reject the request?
Judge McElroy said the Justice Department had not shown that federal election laws authorized this demand and described the effort as an impermissible "fishing expedition" without an adequate factual basis Aol,U.S. News & World R…,New Republic.
Did the Justice Department respond to the ruling?
According to multiple reports, the Justice Department said by email that it would not comment on ongoing litigation U.S. News & World R…,PBS.org,KHQA.
How left and right read it
Judge Mary McElroy’s ruling draws a clear line around how far the federal government can go in demanding sensitive personal information from state voter rolls. By dismissing the Justice Department’s lawsuit, denying its motion to compel Secretary of State Gregg Amore, and calling the effort a legally unsupported "fishing expedition," the court reinforced limits on broad federal data grabs.
The Rhode Island decision is another reminder that election oversight still has to rest on clear legal authority, even when the Justice Department says it needs detailed voter data. Judge Mary McElroy dismissed the lawsuit, denied the motion to compel Secretary of State Gregg Amore, and said federal law did not permit the kind of nationwide records request the department was pursuing.
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