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After brutal Illinois defeat, Trump DOJ’s voter roll crusade is 0 for 19
Democracy Docket • • nation
Key Points:
- A federal judge dismissed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) lawsuit demanding Illinois' unredacted voter database, marking the DOJ's 19th consecutive loss in similar cases nationwide.
- Judge Colleen Lawless ruled that the DOJ lacks authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to compel Illinois to surrender its complete voter registration list, emphasizing that the state created and maintains the list.
- The court found DOJ’s request conflicted with federal laws requiring states to preserve and regularly update voter records, and that DOJ failed to provide a sufficient factual basis or legitimate purpose for accessing sensitive voter information.
- The ruling aligns with previous decisions from courts across the country rejecting DOJ’s attempts to obtain unredacted voter data, and while DOJ may appeal, no court has yet mandated states to comply with such demands.
- The Illinois case was defended by state officials and intervenors represented by the Elias Law Group, whose chair is Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket.
