The Trump administration is attempting to access Arizona’s voter registration records in a renewed legal effort. This follows a setback when a federal judge ruled against them, denying access to more than 4.3 million voter records in the state.
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the civil rights division at the U.S. Department of Justice, has officially filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The goal is to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Susan Brnovich’s previous decision, which barred access to these records. Dhillon’s recent filing does not specify Judge Brnovich’s alleged errors, suggesting that detailed arguments will be presented later.
The administration faces significant challenges. Judge Brnovich dismissed the case “with prejudice,” indicating that the Department of Justice has no grounds to alter her decision. She deemed further arguments as “legally futile.”
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a key figure in the lawsuit, expressed his commitment to opposing the appeal. “The DOJ’s announcement that it plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that barred them from accessing Arizona’s voter registration database today is nothing more than ongoing political theater and further damage to Arizona taxpayers,” Fontes stated.
Fontes clarified that public portions of the voter registration records, such as names, addresses, and party affiliations, are accessible to the administration. However, he emphasized that sensitive information including Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and birth details are protected by privacy laws.
The lawsuit was initially filed in January by Dhillon, asserting the need for comprehensive data to assess compliance with regulations requiring states to maintain accurate voter rolls. A federal grand jury has also subpoenaed records related to the controversial Senate audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 presidential election.
In April, Judge Brnovich issued a 13-page order acknowledging federal requirements for document preservation related to elections, empowering the Department of Justice to request such documents. However, she rejected the notion that Arizona’s voter registration list qualifies as a document requestable by the attorney general.
The Trump administration’s backup argument, citing the Civil Rights Act’s broad definition of “all records and papers,” was also dismissed by Brnovich as a misinterpretation of the law.
Arizona is not alone in this legal battle. It is one of over two dozen states that have faced lawsuits from the Department of Justice seeking voter registration data, with judges consistently siding with the states.
Fontes has raised concerns about the underlying motives of the lawsuit, suggesting it may aim to build a national database to check voters’ immigration status. Additionally, Trump has publicly pressured former Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the 2020 election results, a task now in the hands of interim Attorney General Todd Blanche.
A federal judge has dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit against Arizona seeking access to the state’s voter records.
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